For families considering top boarding and private high schools in the United States, the conversation almost always comes back to the same two names: Phillips Academy Andover and Phillips Exeter Academy.
They’re America’s oldest boarding schools and sit roughly 90 miles apart in New England. They share a founder’s family, comparable acceptance rates that rival the Ivy League, and whose alumni include U.S. presidents, Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and generations of leading academics, executives, and artists.
When families look at top-tier boarding schools, the process is about identifying the specific nuances of each community. While these schools are often grouped together, they offer fundamentally different environments and student experiences. The most important work involves the research and campus visits required to understand the distinct culture of each institution and where your child actually fits.
The Realities of Top Boarding and Private High School Admissions
Before getting into the school-by-school breakdown, here are a few things every family entering top private boarding and high school admissions should understand.
Fit is the single most important factor. These schools are building tight-knit communities of students who will live and learn together for four years. Admissions decisions are about whether your child will strengthen that community, not just whether they have the grades.
Schools choose students, not the other way around. No matter what you read online or hear from a neighbor, the school makes the final call. They’re looking for the applicants who will strengthen their community.
Every school is different. Andover, Exeter, Choate, and Deerfield are peers, but they are not interchangeable. Each has its own culture, mission, and student community.
Rankings are mostly noise. Schools don’t aspire to be ranked, and they don’t rank themselves. Ranking methodologies vary so widely that the same school can land at #98 on one list and #3 on another in the same year. The right fit for your child won’t be defined by a list.
Academic ability is assumed. The vast majority of applicants to schools like Andover and Exeter can succeed academically. Grades and test scores get you in the door. What gets you admitted is everything else.
At a Glance: Andover vs Exeter
| Phillips Academy Andover | Phillips Exeter Academy | |
| Founded | 1778 | 1781 |
| Location | Andover, MA (~21 miles from Boston) | Exeter, NH (~50 minutes from Boston) |
| Enrollment | ~1,150 students | ~1,100 students |
| Grades | 9 to 12 + Postgraduate Year | 9 to 12 + Postgraduate Year |
| Acceptance rate | ~13% | ~14 to 17% |
| Student-teacher ratio | 5:1 | 5:1 |
| Average class size | 13 | 12 |
| International students | ~15% | ~20% |
| Financial aid | Need-blind admissions; meets 100% of demonstrated need | Need-blind admissions; meets 100% of demonstrated need |
| Application deadline | February 1 | January 15 |
| Required testing | SSAT or ISEE (test-optional in recent years) | SSAT or ISEE (test-optional in recent years) |
| Endowment | ~$1.5B+ | ~$1.6B+ |
Both schools are co-educational, both are need-blind, and both routinely send graduates to the most selective universities in the world. The differences are meaningful, but they’re more about culture and community than prestige.
What Andover and Exeter Look for in Applicants
The applicants who get into Andover, Exeter, and their peers aren’t necessarily the strongest students. They’re the strongest fits.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
| What “fit” looks like | What “not a fit” looks like |
| Brings something to the campus community (athletics, music, robotics, mathletes, dance, theater) | Lacks maturity or struggles to connect with diverse peers |
| Demonstrates fresh perspective from upbringing, life experiences, or unique abilities | Finds discomfort in seminar-style or Harkness-designed classrooms |
| Shows potential to grow within and contribute to the community | Singularly focused on studying or on getting into Harvard |
| Personality genuinely aligns with the school’s mission (e.g., a Quaker-affiliated school will value students who serve others as a matter of course, not as a strategic move) | Treats service or activities as a means to an end rather than a genuine interest |
Schools need athletes, musicians, scientists, artists, and leaders to keep their extracurricular ecosystems alive. They also need students who will bring perspectives the community doesn’t already have. That’s what they’re really evaluating when they read your application. Academic ability is assumed at this level. The differentiator is whether your child will make the school better by being there.
Culture and Student Experience
This is where the two schools genuinely diverge, and where fit matters most.
The “Exeter Intensity”
Exeter has a reputation, earned and proudly worn, for academic intensity. The school invented the Harkness Method in 1930 and built its entire identity around it. Every class, in every subject, is taught as a discussion around an oval table. Conversations about ideas don’t end when class does. They continue at meals, in dorms, and across the Academy Building lawn. The town of Exeter, New Hampshire is small and quintessentially New England. The school is the town in many ways. For students who want immersion, Exeter delivers that completely.
Andover’s “Quintessential Boarding School” Feel
Andover’s campus is one of the most beautiful in American education. It’s historic, sprawling, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The culture emphasizes well-roundedness. While Andover also uses Harkness extensively, its academic program is broader, combining seminar with lecture, lab work, and project-based learning across 300+ courses. Athletics are required. Community service is woven into the school’s identity (Non Sibi, “not for self,” is the school motto). Students are expected to commit deeply to academics, but also to step beyond them.
A useful way to think about it: Exeter often attracts students who want to go deeper. Andover often attracts students who want to go wider. Neither is better. They’re different temperaments.
Athletics, Arts, and Extracurriculars
Both Andover and Exeter offer extensive programs across athletics, arts, and student activities, with state-of-the-art facilities to match. Here’s how they compare:
| Phillips Academy Andover | Phillips Exeter Academy | |
| Sports teams | 29 programs, 67+ teams | 65 teams (varsity and JV) |
| Athletic requirement | Required for all students | Required for all students |
| Notable athletic facilities | Snyder Center, Phelps Stadium, NHL/NCAA-regulation ice rinks, Brown Boathouse on the Merrimack River | Thompson Field House, Saltonstall Boathouse, Downer Family Fitness Center |
| Visual arts | Painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, photography, film, weaving, architecture | Studio art, fashion design, film, photography, the Lamont Gallery |
| Performing arts | Tang Theatre and Steinbach Theatre, dance program with international tours, 30+ student-directed plays annually | Goel Center for Theater and Dance, “The Bowld” 250-seat performance space, 4,600+ annual performance opportunities |
| Music | Phillips Academy Chorus, Fidelio, Gospel Choir, international touring orchestra | 6 a cappella groups, 15 chamber groups, 3 orchestras, 4 choirs, 30+ private instrument options |
| Museums and galleries | Addison Gallery of American Art, Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology | Lamont Gallery |
| Student clubs | 100+ student-run clubs | 180+ student clubs |
| Signature programs | Outdoor Pursuits, Phillips Academy Poll, Model UN | Washington Intern Program, ESSO (50+ service clubs), Exeter Math Club Competition |
A few standout differences worth flagging:
- Andover’s Addison Gallery is genuinely exceptional, often compared to college-level museums. For students serious about visual art or art history, this is a meaningful differentiator.
- Exeter’s math program is one of the strongest in the country at any level. Exeter has produced multiple International Mathematical Olympiad team members and faculty include former IMO coaches.
- Both schools require athletics, but Exeter is slightly more athletics-saturated culturally. Nearly three-quarters of students compete in at least one varsity or JV sport.
College Matriculation: Where Graduates Go
Both Andover and Exeter are among the strongest “feeder” institutions to elite universities in the country.
Andover (Class of 2024): Roughly 17.6% of graduates matriculated to Ivy League schools, with notable placements at Cornell (14), Columbia (10), Harvard (9), Princeton (6), and Yale (6). The broader graduating class enrolls across more than 100 institutions each year, with strong representation at UChicago, MIT, and Stanford as well.
Exeter (Classes of 2022 to 2024): Over the past three years, 10 or more Exeter students have matriculated to each of Boston University, Bowdoin, Brown, the University of Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, NYU, Northeastern, Penn, Princeton, Tufts, UC Berkeley, USC, Wesleyan, and Yale.
Both schools’ college counseling offices are exceptional, with deep relationships across the country’s most selective universities. For families thinking long-term, this is one of the most concrete advantages a top-tier boarding school offers.
Andover vs Exeter Tuition and Financial Aid
Both Phillips Academy Andover and Phillips Exeter Academy are among the more expensive secondary schools in the country, and also among the most generous when it comes to financial aid.
Phillips Academy Andover Tuition
For the 2024 to 2025 school year, Andover’s tuition was approximately $73,800 for boarding students and $57,200 for day students. Andover practices need-blind admissions and meets 100% of demonstrated financial need through grants rather than loans. Approximately 47% of Andover students currently receive financial aid.
Phillips Exeter Academy Tuition
For the 2024 to 2025 school year, Exeter charged $69,537 for boarding students and $54,312 for day students. Exeter is also need-blind (a policy adopted in 2021) and meets 100% of demonstrated need. Approximately 45% of Exeter students receive financial aid. Notably, families earning under $125,000 per year pay nothing, including books and academic supplies.
Common Mistakes Families Make When Applying
The families who navigate top boarding and private high school admissions most successfully are usually the ones who avoid these common traps. Here are the mistakes I see most often as a Former Admissions Officer:
Skipping the research. Every school is unique. Families who treat top-tier boarding schools as interchangeable get this wrong. Read the school’s mission. Visit campus. Understand what each community values. Schools can tell when applicants have done their homework, and they can tell when they haven’t.
Treating the application like an information dump. Students try to cram every award and accomplishment into every essay. Parents treat the Parent Statement as a PR opportunity. Admissions officers read thousands of applications a year. They notice, and they don’t reward, repetition or self-promotion. Every section of the application should add new information.
Writing the wrong kind of essay. Two essay topics fall flat almost every time: the academic struggle story (“I struggled in class, I asked for help, I worked hard, I got an A”) and the sports injury story (“I got hurt, I worked through it, I came back stronger”). Admissions officers have read every version of these. The U.S. is a sports-crazy country with dozens of movies about athletes overcoming adversity. Your child’s average sports injury isn’t going to land like Rudy. Write about something only your child could write about.
Trying to be what the school wants. Students try to construct an “application persona” they think admissions officers will love. They lean into being the STEM kid or robotics kid. The strongest applicants are authentic. They’re not performing. They’re sharing who they actually are.
Get Personalized Support Applying to Top Boarding and Private High Schools
Andover and Exeter are both extraordinary schools. The question isn’t which is “better.” It’s which is right for your child. Families who approach the decision with that mindset, and who give themselves enough time to prepare, almost always end up in the right place.
At InGenius Prep, we guide families through admissions to top boarding and private high schools with expert, personalized strategy. Every student works 2-on-1 with a Former Admissions Officer and a Graduate Coach. It’s the same team model that has produced acceptances at the most competitive schools in the country, including:
Choate Rosemary Hall, Deerfield Academy, Lawrenceville School, Hotchkiss, St. Paul’s School, Harvard-Westlake, Cate School, The Hill School, Northfield Mount Hermon, Peddie School, and more.
From Candidacy Building through Application Counseling, interview preparation, and waitlist advocacy, we help students develop into standout applicants, and then craft applications that reflect the full strength of who they are.
If you’re a parent of a middle schooler thinking seriously about Andover, Exeter, or any of the country’s top boarding schools, the best time to start the conversation is now. Schedule a free consultation with our team to learn how we can help your student build a compelling candidacy and apply with confidence to their dream schools.