Admitted Students Experience Day at Exeter

Prospective students and their families arrived on campus, some as early as last Sunday, to attend the annual Experience Exeter revisit day hosted by the Academy’s Admissions team. Experience Exeter provides an opportunity for prospective students and their family members to tour the campus, attend classes and eat meals at the dining halls, allowing them to experience the daily life of an Exonian. Potential students were matched with current students of similar interest, and shadowed them throughout their day. Parents embarked on tours across campus and were also invited to sit through classes. The event will continue through the end of this week.

“There really is nothing that can substitute for an in-person visit because now, we can mingle with the students and faculty and really get the feel of this place.”

For prospective families, the day started off with an introduction from Principal Lisa MacFarlane and Director of Admissions William Leahy in the Grainger Auditorium. Families then interacted with a student panel before leaving to sit in on classes with their assigned Exonian.The panel consisted of eight students of different years, genders and races. Many of the parents and prospective students asked questions about dorm life, the support systems in place for students and the daily workload. Lower Ingrid Bergill, one of the students on the Monday morning panel, was glad that she had the opportunity to share her experience. “I hope both the parents and the kids realized that the school is more than the amount of homework, a fancy name or how many kids end up at fancy colleges, and that the best part of Exeter is really the people we meet and the opportunities we get,” she said.After prospective students left with their campus hosts, their parents had the opportunity to discuss classes with instructors of various subjects including math, history, religion, English, modern languages and the classical languages, as well as faculty involved with ESSO and Student Activities. Fred Hu, a parent of a prospective student, said that the morning portion was well designed as it answered many of his existing questions. “The panels were really helpful because we got to see additional insights of the culture and lifestyle at Exeter,” he said. “There really is nothing that can substitute for an in-person visit because now, we can mingle with the students and faculty and really get the feel of this place.”Student visitor Alexis Ramon said that the day was well spent, adding that he was not able to interact much with the students during his tour before receiving an acceptance letter. “I wasn’t able to see every class or the student life when I first visited and so it’s nice to be able to experience what a regular student would—I got a first hand experience sitting at a Harkness table in a science class and was amazed by the quality of the discussion,” he said. “It’s nice to get a complete picture before I make my final choice.”Current prep William Park found the experience of hosting rewarding, especially since he himself was new to Exeter just last year. “It’s rewarding to be able to show someone else what Exeter especially because I was in his shoes just last year,” Park said. “I think this experience is very fair in that the admissions let the prospective students see Exeter as it is—no exaggerations or cover-ups, but just a typical day for any student. Now that I think about it, a typical day really is quite amazing.”While the students visited classes with their Experience Exeter hosts, parents sat in on an Academy life Panel and took advantage of a variety of options during their afternoon. Afternoon activities included visiting the Lamont Art Gallery, attending information sessions for day students held by Dean of Students A.J. Cosgrove and touring either the full campus or the dorms.Director of Admissions William Leahy explained that the afternoon was intended to be more free for parents so that they could have the opportunity to participate in options that interested them. “The afternoon is pretty informal and it’s designed to be a little bit like having a mini open-house,” he said. “We just let the parents go and see all these different things that they want to.”The day ended with students and parents returning to the Phelps Science Center to listen to the closing remarks delivered by Principal Lisa MacFarlane. Mother of prospective student Frank Mercer enjoyed the overall experience. “The way the teacher engaged with the students and watching the students being so involved in the conversations really impressed me,” she said. “The students were also very nice about helping me answer questions about course selections and placement tests.”She went on, commending the school still further. “The overall experience was absolutely great,” she said. “If my kid can get this experience, I’d be very satisfied.”With Experience Exeter coming to an end on Friday, Leahy hopes prospective students and parents will feel aided in making their decisions, whether or not they choose to come to Exeter or not. “I think Exeter is quite easily seen as a very distinctive school because of our teaching philosophy, because of our vertical housing, because of just the incredible power of the faculty,” he said. “These kids are going to have choices and we want them all to see just how incredibly powerful Exeter is, and of course, we want them all to come.”