“Fly-In” Program Sends Buses to Andover for Prospective Students
During this year’s Experience Exeter, in hopes of accommodating prospective students who have never before visited Exeter’s campus, the Admissions Office designed a bus program to take families who visited Phillips Academy Andover’s campus to Exeter with multiple Red Dragons. Because the “Fly-In” dates immediately followed Andover’s campus visiting dates, the Admissions Office decided that it would be convenient for families to have a bus system which allowed them to visit both schools without hassle.
After arriving at Exeter, prospective students and their families were invited to a reception held in the Academy’s Music building. During the reception, accepted students and families enjoyed food and drink, musical performances by groups such as Precision and conversations with current students and faculty.
According to Associate Director and Coordinator of Multicultural and Diversity Recruitment Nahin Jorgge, the Admissions Office put in hours of work in order to schedule the ideal times and living spaces for these families to use during their stay.
“The Fly-In Program is a special program for families who have never visited campus prior to their student’s acceptance,” Jorgge said. “The Admissions Office designed this program to give those families a chance to experience Exeter before making a decision as to whether to attend or not.”
The main goal behind the Fly-In program revolved around the idea that for prospective students, visiting the place which they might call home for the next several years would be an essential precursor to making an informed decision on which school to attend.
“The Fly-In Program is a special program for families who have never visited campus prior to their student’s acceptance,” Jorgge said. “The Admissions Office designed this program to give those families a chance to experience Exeter before making a decision as to whether to attend or not.”
Lower Lauren Wilson, who hosted a Fly-In student, believed that the program accomplished its mission of offering prospective Exonians a chance to see Exeter. In addition to simply viewing the campus, Wilson explained how students could immerse themselves in campus activities in the time they had, something that could not have been done by looking at Exeter brochures or its website.
“They were able to sleep over in a dorm with their match. They were able to take a tour, eat multiple meals and get to meet more friendly faces than they would’ve been able to at the normal Experience Exeter day,” Wilson said. “They were also able to listen in on an ALES meeting, a student panel (with purely students of color) and hear genuine testimonies from the students in general.”
Wilson was not alone in her beliefs. Prospective lower Christian Flowers said that not only did he get a better feel for Exeter, but he also could understood what “it truly meant to be an Exonian.”
“Personally, I believe that this program was excellent and should most certainly be continued for new incoming students,” he said. “Experience Exeter did a marvelous job of making me feel welcome in a great environment.”
Within the actual program, lower Alejandro Arango, who hosted Flowers, especially enjoyed the dinner reception, which featured an old admission video. “The dinner was actually very inspiring. An old admissions video was shown that showed several teachers, students and alums throughout the last years that were impacted and changed by Exeter,” he said.
The reception was a time for students to relax and take in all the opportunities that were offered at Exeter. Since the anxiety of “not being accepted” had dissipated, accepted students enjoyed the evening, listening and seeing Exonians at work, whether they would be singing and dancing to a beat, speaking as part of a panel or reading poetry.
The program is not only beneficial for the incoming students, but also the current community of Exeter as well. “The Fly-In Program gives us a chance to interact with and get to know better the great students we would love to have on campus,” Jorgge said.
And like Arango, many hosts enjoyed participating in the reception on top of hosting a shadow student for the rest of the day.
“What I enjoyed most about touring is how I could give back the same experience to the next generation of Exonians,” upper Hector Cruz said. “I remember my own Experience Exeter and how puzzling the campus was. Yet I remember falling in love with the place—though it might have been a little too cold for my taste, I was overwhelmed by the passions to speak and to listen around the Harkness table.”
Both hosts and accepted students seemed to agree that the Fly-In program and the buses from Andover should be continued in coming years due to their magnitude of success.
“I think [the programs] went very well. Mostly, the whole program felt very loose [and] natural,” Arango said. “My shadow enjoyed it a lot.”
On a similar note, Wilson explained how the program allows prospective students to make a more informed decision on which school to attend next year. As a result, she hopes that more accepted students will choose Exeter on account of the program.
“Exeter can be a scary place to commit to, especially if you’ve never been to campus,” she said. “[The Fly-In program makes] it possible for families to connect with students, parents and faculty before making their decisions, [which] is really important, and with the hospitality I believe we showed, I think we were able to solidify many spots for next year.”