Phillips Exeter Academy tuition & admissions
Tuition 2026-27
$56,077
Boarding $71,797
Application deadline
January 15
2027
Students
1,055
6 students per teacher
Admission test
Varies by grade
| Grades | Day | Boarding |
|---|---|---|
| 9-12 | $56,077 | $71,797 |
Financial aid: $28,367,899 to 498 students (about $56,964 each) in 2024, per the school's IRS Form 990.
| Entry grades | 9, 10, 11, 12 |
| Admission test, grades 9 | ISEE or SSAT |
| Admission test, grades 10-11 | ISEE or SSAT |
| Admission test, grades 12 and PG | No test |
| Interview | Required |
| Apply through | Gateway to Prep Schools; Exeter Applicant Portal |
| Application fee | $60 |
| Deadline | January 15, 2027 |
| Decisions released | March 10, 2027 |
| Seniors | 312 |
| Go to a 4-year college | 99% |
| SAT (middle 50%) | 1360–1530 |
| ACT (middle 50%) | 31–35 |
| AP courses | None (own advanced courses) |
| AP exams scored 3+ | 94% |
| National Merit semifinalists | 27 |
| Students | 1,055 |
| Teachers (full-time equivalent) | 176 |
| Students per teacher | 6.0 |
| School days per year | 165 |
| Endowment | $1,677,405,802 (FY2025) |
| Annual revenue | $239,865,952 (2024) |
| Head of school pay | $868,710 |
10 or more students
Babson, Boston College, Bowdoin, Brown, Case Western, Chicago, Colby, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, George Washington, Harvard, Holy Cross, MIT, NYU, Northeastern, Notre Dame, Penn, Princeton, Purdue, Trinity College, Tufts, UC - Berkeley, U Mass Amherst, U Michigan, UNH, Wash U. St. Louis, Wellesley, William & Mary, Williams, Yale
Fewer than 10 students
Amherst, Appalachian State, Auburn, Barnard, Bates, Bentley, Berea College, Binghamton, Boston University, Brandeis, Bryant, Bucknell, Cal Tech, Carleton, Carnegie Mellon, Catholic U of America, Central CT State U, Clark, Clarkson, Clemson, Colby-Sawyer, Colgate, Colorado College, Columbia Univ. - Sciences Po Dual BA Program, Concordia, Connecticut College, CUNY Bernard M. Baruch, CUNY Macaulay Honors College, CUNY Sophie Davis, Davidson, Denison, Dickinson, Drew, Drexel, Duke, Emory, Endicott, Florida A&M, Fordham, Franklin and Marshall, Furman, Grinnell, Hamilton, Harvey Mudd, Haverford, Hobart and William Smith, Howard, Indiana Bloomington, James Madison, Johns Hopkins, Lehigh, Louisiana State, Macalester, Marist, Merrimack, Michigan State, Middlebury, Morehouse, Mount Holyoke, Northwestern, Oberlin, Occidental, Ohio State, Penn State, Pomona, Reed, Rhodes, Rice, RIT, Rollins, RPI, Rutgers – New Brunswick, Rutgers - Newark, Saint Anselm, Saint Leo, Santa Clara, Santa Monica, Sarah Lawrence, Sciences Po, Scripps, Skidmore, Smith, SMU, South Dakota State, Southwestern, Spelman, St. Lawrence, St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Olaf College, Stanford, Stetson, Stockton, Stony Brook, Swarthmore, Syracuse, The New School, Townson, Trinity, Tulane, Union (NY), U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U Alabama, U Arkansas, UC – Davis, UC - Irvine, UC - San Diego, UC - Santa Barbara, UCLA, U Colorado - Boulder, UConn, U Denver, U Florida, U Georgia, U Hawaii at Manoa, U Houston, U Illinois – Urbana-Champaign, U Illinois – Chicago, U Kentucky, U Maine, U Maryland, U Miami, U Minnesota – Twin Cities, U Nebraska – Lincoln, U Oregon, U Pittsburgh, U Rhode Island, U Richmond, U Rochester, U South Carolina, U Tennessee, U Texas - Austin, U Texas – San Antonio, U Utah, U Vermont, U Virginia, U Washington, U Wisconsin – La Crosse, U Wisconsin - Madison, Vanderbilt, Vassar, Villanova, Wake Forest, Washington & Lee, Wesleyan, WPI
International
American U Paris, Edinburgh, Hanzehogeschool Groningen, Imperial College London, ITEMS - Campus Monterrey, McGill University, Nottingham Trent University, Trinity College Dublin, U British Columbia, Universita Bocconi, Universiteit Utrecht, Oxford, U St. Andrews, U Toronto
From the school's college counseling profile.
Posts about Exeter are mostly from Reddit's college-admissions community, with current students, alumni and applicants weighing in alongside many passing mentions. Commenters agree the school is a strong feeder to elite colleges but dispute how much of that reflects the school itself versus legacy, athletic and wealth advantages. Students describe a demanding, discussion-based academic model with a generous aid policy, and the few posts on day-to-day life are mixed.
- AdmissionsCurrent students and alumni point to strong top-college placement, while critics note that many elite-school admits are legacies, recruited athletes or faculty children. [1][2][3]
- AdmissionsSeveral commenters say attending Exeter is a major boost for elite college admissions, though not a guarantee. [1][2]
- AdmissionsOne applicant who was waitlisted despite a 3.3 unweighted GPA and strong extracurriculars says the outcome was a surprise. [1]
- AcademicsOne current student describes Harkness classes as conversations among about twelve students without a teacher, which can make learning content harder but builds communication and goal-setting skills. [1]
- WorkloadCommenters describe the pressure as intense, citing a former student who transferred out because of stress and a joke that Exonians look years older after a month. [1][2]
- Social lifeOne current student says student life is great but that extracurricular leadership positions can be cutthroat and driven by student politics. [1]
- Social lifeA current student says the school is not especially elitist and that people rarely flaunt their wealth, so it is hard to tell who is on aid. [1]
- Cost and aidA current student and an alumnus say financial aid is very generous, with about two-thirds of students receiving some aid, while other commenters call the cost crazy expensive. [1][2][3]
- DiversitySome commenters argue that the school's elite status reinforces wealth advantages, while current students say the community is less overtly wealthy than its reputation suggests. [1][2]
- FacilitiesProspective families praise Exeter's large campus, sports facilities and library. [1][2]
- OtherCommenters comparing it with Andover say Andover is more academically collaborative, while Exeter is seen as more casual and as having a stronger campus. [1][2]
Summarized by AI from 16 Reddit posts since 2019. Opinions are the posters', not ours.
Reviews from families
No reviews of Phillips Exeter Academy yet. Parents, students and alumni: yours would be the first.
- How much is Phillips Exeter Academy tuition?
- For 2026-27, tuition at Phillips Exeter Academy is $56,077 (day) or $71,797 (boarding) for grades 9-12, per the school's website.
- Does Phillips Exeter Academy require the ISEE or SSAT?
- It depends on the grade: the ISEE or SSAT for grades 9; the ISEE or SSAT for grades 10-11; no test for grades 12 and PG.
- When is the Phillips Exeter Academy application deadline?
- The main application deadline is January 15, 2027, and decisions are released March 10, 2027. Families apply through Gateway to Prep Schools; Exeter Applicant Portal.
- What are Phillips Exeter Academy's average SAT scores?
- The middle 50% of Phillips Exeter Academy students scored 1360–1530 on the SAT (class of 2026), per the school profile.
- Does Phillips Exeter Academy offer financial aid?
- Yes. Phillips Exeter Academy reported $28,367,899 in financial aid to 498 students on its 2024 IRS Form 990.
- How many students attend Phillips Exeter Academy?
- Phillips Exeter Academy enrolls 1,055 students in grades 9–12, with about 6 students per teacher (NCES Private School Survey, 2023-24).
More private schools in NH
Sources: tuition and admissions from exeter.edu (checked Oct 2026); enrollment from the NCES Private School Survey 2023-24; finances from the 2024 IRS Form 990. “—” means we couldn't find it.