Community Reflects on 2024 Overenrollment

By SELASIE AMEMASOR,  DHRUV BHAGHAYATH, JACK CASSIDY, SOPHIE FENG, AVA KRUTSCHNITT,  AARYAN PATEL, URANIA SHI, EMI SOUTHGATE, KEVIN THANT and MEGHAN TATE ZEE

    Similarly to admissions offices nationwide, Phillips Exeter Academy accepts more students than they plan on enrolling to ensure that the class is always filled. Because not every applicant says yes to Exeter, deciding how many extra applicants should be enrolled is always a struggle. The yield for last year’s incoming students was 79 percent, about four points higher than usual, leading to hardships such as emergency doubles and other housing issues. The over-enrollment also affects the school’s acceptance rate, which may have influenced the Academy’s updated rankings. Here’s what affected students, as well as Admissions faculty, had to say about the matter.

    Many students have noticed an influx of emergency doubles or even emergency triples. This is when a room usually reserved for a single person gets made a double or a triple due to an “emergency.” The situation has led to numerous students being overcrowded in tiny rooms, especially in smaller dorms.

    Lower Jade Yoo highlighted her experience in an emergency double: “My and my roommate’s beds were right next to each other, and our desks were right next to our bed, making it very crowded.”

    “I could never focus in my room, and it was noisy when someone had people over,” Yoo continued. “I always had to study outside.”

    A similar sentiment is echoed throughout campus, with numerous students being forced into a small, crowded room.

    But when admissions were asked about the matter, Dean of Enrollment John Hutchins said, “Exeter’s enrollment has been extremely stable in the several years following the pandemic, which is consistent with our enrollment in the years preceding the pandemic as well.”

    It seems as though admissions is not accepting more people than normal and the Academy is not experiencing an influx of accepted students as many may believe.

    Hutchins elaborated on the admissions process, indicating data usage to meet enrollment numbers and that “each family will make their own decision regarding enrollment.”

    He attributed the high enrollment numbers of this year’s class to more students enrolling last spring than at the predicted rate. Last year, the number of families willing to send their children to Exeter increased.

    But what does this mean for students on campus? The new dining hall has not opened for some time, and the Elm tent is ineffective, leading to overcrowding in many public spaces.

    Yoo echoed this sentiment: “Elm and EPAC are really crowded, but it is wholesome in a way seeing so many people.” As campus bustles back to life, the effects of over-enrollment can be seen in the long lines at Elm and Grill, even more so than last year.

    The new dorms Langdell Hall and Merill Hall also recently opened, creating two new housing spaces for students.

    Lower Lake Zhou described an interesting phenomenon in his dorm, Cilley Hall. “Last year, all the preps were in a double except one, but now almost every prep has a single.”

    Attributing this change to Langdell’s opening, Zhou further commented, “Me and my roommate’s old room has been given to a prep making him have one of the biggest rooms in the dorm.”

    Many large dorms have seen a drop in residency, such as Cilley, which went from 70 people last year to only 56. But when asked about the effect of these new dorms on enrollment numbers, Hutchins responded, “Fortunately, we have ample space to accommodate all students. The renovation of Merrill and Langdell has not changed our enrollment goals as far as the size of the school.”

    But the opening of these dorms certainly does help in the case of many emergency doubles and singles, as well as giving both new and old students ample living space to carry out their tasks.

    Many families around the world seek an Exeter education. Last spring especially, most parents decided that sending their child to the Academy would be the best decision. Despite the possible effects of over-enrollment, most students will not have to worry about the dreaded emergency doubles or triples due to the two new dorms. As campus bustles back to life, students will have to deal with longer lines, more smiles, and a bigger Exeter community.