New Admits To Join PEA Community

Out of the 397 students who were accepted to Phillips Exeter Academy, 290 new students will attend Exeter in the fall, resulting in a 73 percent yield for the 2016-2017 school year. The admissions office received 2,388 applicants and had a 16.6 percent acceptance rate. Out of those newly enrolled, 219 are boarding and 71 are day students.

According to head of Admissions Michael Gary, many of the goals of this year’s admission process were accomplished. The enrollment plan was to enroll 298 new students but not over enroll in the boarding category, keep the class of 2017 to a reasonable size and enroll the largest number of day students in 14 years. The acceptance rate decreased by a total of 2.5 percent from last year. The incoming prep class will have 169 students and the class of 2017 will only gain 22 new seniors.

“Being able to live on the same campus as people from all over the world would be very enlightening and fun because you can share different stories and experiences with each other.”

Gary also said that they strived to maintain diversity among the admitted students. 20 percent of the enrolled students are either African American, Latino or Native American, and the new students represent 13 countries and 33 states. “We’re always looking for kids who can not only do the work but also contribute to the community,” he said. “We successfully executed the plan, thanks to my staff and students’ help with meeting and greeting prospective families throughout the season.”

Aspiring fashion designer, fiction writer, choir singer, photographer, yogi, cyclist and volleyball player Lhamo Dixey will join the class of 2020 this fall. She hopes to improve her various skills at Exeter and is excited to learn through Harkness discussions. In seventh grade she first heard about Exeter from a family friend, David Rintels ’55, and from then knew she always wanted to go. “Even though, yes, it may be a long plane ride from California and I will miss my parents and friends very much, I was always willing to board, only if it was for Exeter though,” Lhamo said.

Fellow incoming prep Cameron Frary from Andover, Massachusetts will mark his family’s fourth generation of Exonians. He grew up around Exeter his whole life, learned to skate at the ice rinks, went to his father’s reunions and has gone to the E/a games. “But despite all this, my family did not put pressure on me to choose Exeter over Andover,” Frary said. “It was purely up to me and I just felt at home at Exeter.”

Ally DeCoste will also join the class of 2020 in the fall to play soccer, hockey and lacrosse. She decided to apply to Exeter after playing a scrimmage against the hockey team with her club team. “My mom and I walked around the campus that day and we loved it,” DeCoste said. “Some great memories I've had on campus have been sleeping over with other incoming hockey players and walking into town and getting ice cream.”

Basketball and volleyball player, violinist, debate captain and student government leader Janalie Cobb will also arrive as a prep in the fall. She was first violin in Chicago's Youth Symphony Orchestra for several years and is looking forward to joining as many clubs as possible. “I'm hoping that it'll be a place where I can be a ‘nerd’ as well as a dancer, singer, volleyball player and anything else I'd like to be. I can't wait to be myself,” Cobb said.

Isobel Anderson from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada will join the class of 2019 in the fall. She  said that she applied to Exeter because of its cultural diversity. “Being able to live on the same campus as people from all over the world would be very enlightening and fun because you can share different stories and experiences with each other,” Anderson said.

Ben Eckstrom from New York will join the class of 2018 in the fall. Eckstrom decided to come to Exeter to play basketball at the New England prep school level. “I am looking forward to coming in the fall and starting workouts with other guys who are also real serious about being student-athletes and basketball,” Eckstrom said. “I really love Exeter's facilities and I am excited to work with Coach Tilton.”

Field hockey and lacrosse player Alexa Harris will also be a new upper next fall. She is excited for Harkness learning and playing for the sport teams. “I could not be more thrilled to have the incredible opportunity to be a part of the Exeter community,” she said. “Being part of an atmosphere where everyone is so engaged in school and other, outside interests is exciting to me.”

Nick Hall from Cohasset, Massachusetts will join the class of 2017 as a postgraduate. His main focus is football, but he also wrestles and plays baseball. “I look forward to competing on a new team and in a new league,” Hall said. “I’m nervous about the academic workload, but excited about the classes I chose too.”

Caroline Fleming in the class of 2020 plays soccer, basketball, runs track and plays the piano. Coming from a small all girls school, she is looking forward to making new friends. “I am pretty nervous for the amount of homework,” she said.

Her brother Carson Fleming is in the class of 2018 and said he is excited to have his sister on campus. “I'd say one of the best pieces of advice I can give her and other new students is that everything gets easier as you get more used to it, so don't focus as much on work to start off with and make sure to get to know the community,” he said.