The School:
- Number of students: 1045
- Grades: 9-12
- Number of faculty: 200
- Tuition: $36,500 for boarders, $28,200 for day students
- Percentage of students receiving financial aid: 43%
- Acceptance Rate: 21%
- Admissions Deadline: January 15
- School Website: Phillips Exeter Academy
As you drive into the scenic colonial town of Exeter in southern New Hampshire, you are quite aware that Exeter, the school, greets you from every quarter. The school dominates the town at the same time as it draws the town into its community and life.
A Brief History:
John and Elizabeth Phillips established Exeter Academy on May 17, 1781. Exeter has grown from those humble beginnings with 1 teacher and 56 students to become one of the finest private schools in America.
Exeter has been fortunate over the years to receive some remarkable gifts. One in particular stands out and that is the gift of $5,8000,000 in 1930 from Edward Harkness. The Harkness gift revolutionized teaching at Exeter. (See What Is A Harkness Table?)
Program:
Exeter offers over 450 courses in 19 subject areas taught by a superb, highly qualified and enthusiastic faculty numbering 208, 84% of whom have advanced degrees. Student stats of note: 1000 students, 80% of whom are boarders, 39% are students of color and 9% are international students.
Exeter also offers over 20 sports and an astounding 111 extracurricular activities.
Facilities:
Exeter has some of the finest facilities of any private school anywhere. The library alone with 160,000 volumes is the largest private school library in the world. Athletic facilities include hockey rinks, tennis courts, squash courts, boat houses, stadia and playing fields.
Financial Strength:
Exeter has the largest endowment of any private school. As of June 2007 it stood at slightly over one billion dollars. As a result Exeter is able to take very seriously its mission of providing an education for qualified students regardless of their financial circumstances.
Technology:
Technology at Exeter is the servant of the academy's vast academic program and community infrastructure. Technology at the academy is state of the art and is guided by a steering committee which plans and implements the academy's technology needs.
Matriculation:
Exeter graduates go on to the finest colleges and universities in America and abroad. The academic program is so solid that most Exeter graduates can skip many freshman year courses.
Alumni & Alumnae:
Writers, stars of stage and screen, business leaders, government leaders, educators, professionals and other notables litter the glittering list of Exeter Academy alumni and alumnae.
Financial Aid:
Qualified students from families making less than $75,000 can attend Exeter
free of charge.
An Appraisal:
I will make this disclaimer up front: my nieces Madeleine and Alexandra graduated from Exeter. My daughter Rebecca worked in the Admissions Office.
Phillips Exeter Academy is all about superlatives. The education which your child will get is the best. The philosophy of the school which seeks to link goodness with learning, though it is over two hundred years old, speaks to twenty-first century young people's hearts and minds with a freshness and relevancy which is simply remarkable. That philosophy permeates the teaching and the famed Harkness table with its interactive teaching style. The faculty are the best. Your child will be exposed to some amazing, creative, enthusiastic and highly qualified teachers.
The Academy motto says it all: "The end depends upon the beginning."
