In short: Phillips Exeter Academy enrolls 1,096 students in Exeter, New Hampshire, teaches around Harkness tables of twelve, offers more than 450 courses and no AP classes, charges $71,797 for boarding in 2026-27, and admits need-blind with a January 15 deadline.
Applying to Phillips Exeter Academy?
SSAT or ISEE (PSAT/SAT/PreACT/ACT for grade 10 and above) prepBook a school consultation- Location
- Exeter, NH
- Founded
- 1781
- Official Website
- www.exeter.edu
Application timelineper school website
- Financial aid application opensOpens
- Application and financial aid materials dueDeadline
- Decisions released
Overview
Phillips Exeter Academy is a coeducational boarding school in Exeter, New Hampshire, founded in 1781. It enrolls grades 9 through 12 and a PG (post-graduate) year. The school reports 1,096 students in 2026-27, with 890 boarding and 206 day students, on a 700-acre campus of 147 buildings. Its 2025-26 college profile lists students from 44 states, the District of Columbia and Guam, and from 39 countries.
Academics
Teaching happens at the Harkness table: twelve students and one instructor around an oval table, a method that originated at Exeter and now shapes the whole school. The catalogue lists more than 450 courses taught by 243 faculty. The college profile states that Exeter does not offer AP classes, because its courses often go well beyond the AP curriculum and more than half are taught at the pace and level of college courses, frequently with college textbooks. Research courses include partnerships with labs at Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania. The practical consequence for a student arriving from a test-focused background is that speaking in class is itself part of the assessment.
Applying
The application runs through Gateway to Prep Schools and includes a candidate profile, a $60 fee, two essays of 200 to 500 words, a parent statement, an interview in person, online or by video, current and prior transcripts, and four recommendations from a principal or counselor, an English teacher, a math teacher and a personal referee. Testing depends on entry grade, as described in the FAQ below. Applications open in July, close on January 15, and decisions are released on March 10. No acceptance rate is published.
Cost and aid
For 2026-27 the school publishes boarding tuition of $71,797 and day tuition of $56,077, plus an estimated $900 for books and supplies. These are the posted rates for that year and exclude travel, insurance and personal spending. Admission is need-blind: the school states that decisions are made without regard to a family’s financial circumstances, awards roughly $30 million in grants with no loans, reports that about 48 percent of students receive assistance, and states that families earning under $150,000 pay no tuition. Eligibility rules for families outside the United States are not spelled out online, so confirm them in writing with the financial aid office before you apply.
What California families should plan for
A January 15 deadline pushes the last usable SSAT sitting into December, and Southern California test centers fill early in the fall; book a seat two months ahead. If you want an on-campus interview, attach it to a Thanksgiving or winter trip east. Then weigh the parts that no calendar solves: a 14-year-old three time zones away, several cross-country flights a year, dorm routines you cannot supervise, and the value of having a trusted adult within driving distance of campus. EDUBUS is based in Irvine and works on school selection, SSAT preparation and high school planning around this school’s published dates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which tests are required for ninth grade?
Ninth-grade applicants submit the Upper Level SSAT (Secondary School Admission Test) or the Upper Level ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam), taken within a year of the January 15 deadline. Grade 10 and 11 applicants may use the SSAT, ISEE, PSAT, SAT, PreACT or ACT; grade 12 and PG (post-graduate year) applicants use the PSAT, SAT, PreACT or ACT. The Character Skills Snapshot, a non-academic questionnaire offered alongside the SSAT, is optional.
Does a student in an English-language California school need a TOEFL score?
The school describes the TOEFL, IELTS and Duolingo English Test as recommended rather than required for students whose first language is not English. A child who has been in English-medium schooling in Orange County for years generally does not need one; a recent arrival still building academic writing may choose to submit a score as supporting evidence.
Does Phillips Exeter Academy publish an acceptance rate?
No. The admissions pages publish financial aid participation and the number of entering students but not an acceptance rate. Figures on ranking sites are third-party estimates and EDUBUS does not repeat them.
Will the absence of AP courses hurt college applications?
The school's college profile states plainly that it does not offer AP classes because its courses often go beyond the AP curriculum, and that more than half of its courses are taught at the pace and level of college courses. Colleges assess rigor through the school profile rather than an AP count, and students may still sit AP exams independently for placement credit.
How far is Exeter from Irvine, and what does that mean day to day?
Exeter is in southeastern New Hampshire, roughly an hour by car from Boston Logan. Expect a connection or a Boston flight plus a drive, a three-hour time difference that makes a standing weekly call necessary, and several long trips a year. EDUBUS, based in Irvine, plans SSAT preparation, essays and interview practice backward from the January 15 deadline.
