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St. Andrew's School

School rating 4 / 5 by

350 Noxontown Road Middletown DE 19709 United States
Boarding
9th to 12th
Gender
Coed

Academic

St. Andrew's School review by .

St. Andrew's has an incredibly rigorous academic program, but it is definitely more of a liberal arts school. Every student must take advanced literature classes, but it is possible to graduate only having taken regular science classes (as opposed to advanced). St. Andrew's does not offer AP classes, but all juniors are encouraged to take the AP English literature test after their junior year, and many students take the Calculus AP test as well. It is also possible to take the Economics AP test after taking the economics class, a science AP after taking the appropriate science class, or any of the history AP tests after taking the appropriate class. Basically, junior and senior level classes are difficult enough that students learn all the material needed for the AP without having to take a class that is specifically taught to the test, which is really nice. The core courses are pretty standard: 4 years of math, 4 years of english, 3 years of language, 3 years of science, 2 years of history, 1 year of religion, and some electives including art and singing and public speaking and health and others. The school's main strength is literature, and every student comes out of St. Andrew's able to write a good essay very quickly. We wrote 5 - 10 pages a week and read 20 times that. Sometimes we wrote shorter "journals" and sometimes longer essays. Class discussions are round-table style and usually very lively and interesting. Participation in class discussion is a large part of the grade. The discussion is largely student-driven with students asking each other questions and bringing up points instead of just the teacher, which makes class much more enjoyable. Math and science are not quite emphasized as much, but even so I had amazing teachers in my advanced class and ended up at a highly regarded engineering school, so it does work out for students who make the effort. I had the opportunity to take Multivariable Calculus in high school, which is pretty unusual. As mentioned earlier, the teaching philosophy is largely focused on round-table discussions, which has definitely helped me in internships and in college-level literature classes. I learned to speak up more and to be proactive during class instead of passively taking notes. In addition, the final project for seniors is called the "senior exhibition", and it involved independently reading a book and then writing a paper on it. This whole process takes about four months, after which students must turn in their final paper and then defend it orally in front of a panel of English teachers. It can be intimidating, but it's really important to be able to defend ideas and is really good preparation for students doing a college thesis. St. Andrew's prepared me very well for the rigors of university. We had designated study hall hours where everyone was studying, so I learned to be very focused and efficient when doing my work so that I did not have to do much extra. I also learned to use my free periods during the day to start my homework early so that I was done by the end of study hall. Working in groups became important when my math and physics classes started getting really difficult my senior year, so I learned to ask for help when I needed it and to work through problems with a classmate which has been an invaluable skill as an engineering major in college.

College Counseling

I did not use the college counseling office very much in high school because I....

Sample insights on college counseling

  • They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
  • For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

I filled out the application by myself with very little help from my parents, and....

Sample insights on admissions

  • For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
  • Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...

School Life

Student life is quite good at St. Andrew's. Students live in single-sex dorms with a dorm parent. Most rooms are double-occupancy with some triples and a few singles that are reserved for seniors. The dining hall is open for the three meals. Lunch is a sit-down family-style meal every weekday, while breakfast and dinner are buffet-style. Students attend chapel services every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. There are Saturday morning classes, but every Tuesday is a half-day to make up for it. Students are allowed out of their dorms from 6am to 10pm.....

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