PEA Admissions Rate Rises to 14%

On the morning of March 10, hundreds of students all around the world opened their inboxes to a congratulatory message announcing their acceptance by Phillips Exeter Academy. In the next few days, admitted students received packages containing Big Red merchandise and handwritten letters from admissions officers as they deliberate whether to commit to the Academy. 

According to Director of Admissions William Leahy, the Academy accepted 14% of its applicants in the 2021-2022 admissions cycle, of which 76% have already enrolled. The new students come from over 30 states and 19 countries with a wide range of backgrounds, identities, and experiences.

 Leahy also expressed his excitement to be able to meet future Exonians through on-campus events. “Due to our interviews being all online this year, being able to actually meet so many of our newly-admitted families was personally really exciting,” Leahy shared. “We love how excited our new families were to come to visit and to meet all the people who make Exeter such a remarkable community.”

This year, between March 31 and April 4, the Academy reintroduced Experience Exeter, a major event the Academy hosts for prospective student families. Canceled for the past two years as per COVID-19 restrictions, Experience Exeter enables the help of student volunteers, tour guides, and panelists to offer prospective students an authentic on-campus experience. 

Many Experience Exeter panelists shared their highlights from the day. “I was chosen to represent the student body along with five other students,” prep and panelist Sophie Phelps said. “We didn’t apply, we were just chosen by members of the Exeter community.”

“I decided to speak on the panel because I hoped to bring out the uniqueness of Exeter life. I wanted to mention dorm traditions, the Harkness magic, and the last-day-of-school 5 AM Dunkin' Donut runs that students wouldn't be able to get out of a website,” senior and panelist Russell Tam said. “Fun moments like swim team throw-downs, acapella serenades, or Abbott Casino are the ones that best bring out Exeter.”

Upper Jenna Silvestri discussed Exeter on the weekends. “I talked about going into town and eating at Stillwells because I think the town of Exeter is unique to PEA. Although none of the questions were particularly connected to my interests, I am really passionate about the town of Exeter— so it was nice getting to express my enthusiasm to the prospective students.”

Members reflected on the importance of holding an informative panel for prospective students. “I think the panel is a great way for students to learn about the school through an inside perspective of a student. It's a great way for them to get a feeling of what the school's like and ask specific questions they may have about life at Exeter. Virtual panels are also very accessible for students of all backgrounds,” Tam continued.

In addition to panelists, many students also signed up as Experience Exeter hosts who guided a new student through a typical school day.

Experience Exeter hosts, like lower Ethan Jha, discussed why they first choose to become a host. “I decided to do Experience Exeter because I thought it was going to be fun and engaging, and I wanted to do something to just give back to the community,” Jha said.

“When I was an incoming prep, I had my Experience Exeter day and it was pretty awesome,” senior Bradley St. Laurent said. “I met the whole cross country team [since] I had one of the cross country captains as my person [host], and it was a great experience… It really eased any anxieties or worries that I had. I was thinking “wow these people aren’t crazy smart mutants that only do school work, woah they’re human and cool people.’”

Several students who were hosts for Experience Exeter did so through athletic recruitment. “The person I was hosting felt very accepted and very excited,” St. Laurent said. “He was potentially a cross country recruit. I introduced him to the team, gave him a tour, and it was really cool.”

Likewise, lower Stacy Chen hosted a potential basketball recruit. “My coach reached out to me because the girl that I was hosting is a girls varsity basketball recruit, so I wanted to get to know her better and have her meet the team. We really want to yield as many recruits as possible… I think it was a really awesome feeling because I was in their shoes two years ago, so it was cool to see that sort of carry-on. I enjoyed having lunch with the person I hosted and the rest of the basketball team,” Chen said.

Experience Exeter hosts recalled their highlights from the day with their guest students. “I really liked seeing new people being integrated into the Exeter community. For example, at lunch we ate with my friends and then another part was when we were doing small groups in the classroom as it was really interesting to see her communicating with my classmates,” lower Sophie Zhu said.

“All the kids I toured were great and seemed really interested in what Exeter had to offer. I loved showing one of the kids I toured the art building and seeing how amazed he was by our ceramics studio,” lower Jack Hutchins added.

Overall, Experience Exeter hosts recommended future students to take part in introducing new students as well. “I would do Experience Exeter in the future because it was very fun to introduce prospective Exonians to our school, and I personally think it was a fun experience,” lower Daniel Hu said.

On the other hand, many prospective students took Experience Exeter as an opportunity to understand daily life at the Academy, in terms of class dynamics, friends, and workload. 

Prospective student Emerson Seymour found that Experience Exeter allowed him to understand more of the Exeter Experience. “I really felt like I was a part of the school and each and every person there really helped to make me feel included and valued. I loved seeing how engaging the classes were and how each and every student really participated to the best of their ability in every subject I saw.”

Fellow incoming prep Ethan Benenson also found the community to be welcoming and supportive, especially about giving advice for Exeter life. “Every single person that I met was super nice and welcoming. They were all just having a lot of fun. They were very open about giving me tips on the best dorms, the best classes, and whatnot,” recounted Benenson. “As soon as you talk to a few people, you can tell that the environment is very supportive and that people care about each other. Although everyone wants to do well, the competition is supportive.”

“It really gave me a sense of what it was like to be a good and true Exonian. I think the day was really well planned, organized, and executed considering we only had seven hours. The students, the student relationships, and Harkness were really able to shine and have their moment,” incoming prep Rebecca Nguyen added. 

Incoming prep Tristan Price found himself even more excited for his PEA experience from Experience Exeter. “This school is amazing. I was excited about the facilities before, and after Experience Exeter I am even more excited,” Price recounted. “The classes are a bit different from my current school, but they are perfect for me. Harkness is one of the main reasons that I am coming to Exeter.”

In terms of classes, many incoming students found that they were especially drawn to the Harkness discussions they witnessed, and look forward to learning in this unique method. Prospective student Abe Webb reflected on the Harkness discussion he attended. “In regards to the classes, Harkness was very prevalent and now having a firsthand experience in watching it work makes me believe that it is an effective teaching method… I am most excited about the opportunity to be surrounded by such a great community of people and amazing teachers.”

Incoming prep Andrew Gould added, “I went in already excited for life at Exeter but it was important to me to be able to have a more intimate look at school life. Seeing Harkness in person at its birthplace was truly inspiring.”

Incoming prep Ananya Ray describes an engaging math Harkness discussion she witnessed. “Every person was engaged with the material and no one shied away from asking questions. I admired the way students led the discussion when explaining how they solve certain problems,” Ray reflected. “Being a collaborative person myself who learns well in groups, I had a lot of fun getting to see the dynamics of partner work and how great every pair complimented each other. They would catch each other's mistakes and talk out formulas and methods to solve equations, all in a manner that was respectful, light-hearted, and enjoyable.” 

Incoming prep Olivia Zhang also mentioned a Harkness discussion she attended. “The classes took some getting used to, but everyone was so engaged. It was kinda new to me because most of my classes weren’t discussion-based, and even though we were sitting together people would be in their own little world,” Zhang says. “There was a lot of sharing between the students for work that they did and I noticed that people weren’t afraid to be critiqued.” 

One concern that arose is feeling homesick, especially in a unique boarding school environment. Incoming prep Leonardo Lombardi described being nervous about “feeling homesick. Since my family lives in Italy, they will not be able to see me often. I think this is going to be one of the greatest difficulties of attending Phillips Exeter,” says Lombardi. “However, I consider myself lucky, due to the digital era we live in, so we will be able to call each other every day. I have a close bond with my family and trust we’ll be able to reshape our relationship in a positive and constructive way.”

Another challenge many new students will face is finding their way around campus, and deciding which amongst the myriad of extracurriculars and subjects to focus on. Incoming prep Elaina Fortney says, “I’m nervous about finding my way around campus. I can totally see myself getting lost more than once. In some ways, I am also worried about all the opportunities at Exeter – so many options for clubs, sports, and other activities. It could be challenging to fit in everything I’d like to do and excel in the classroom.”

Overall, students look forward to attending Exeter in the fall, and for the years to come. 

Incoming prep Inilarum Mohan said, “I am super excited to meet the students. When I was choosing between high schools, what made Exeter stand out was the people. The students respond graciously to my panic-filled questions on what I should expect at Exeter. After I accepted, everyone was quick to welcome me to their school. They really are why I chose Exeter.”

As for the greater Academy community, Leahy thanks students and faculty members alike for sharing their daily lives with prospective students. “I would like to thank every member of this community, students and adults, who helped welcome our new families during the revisit days,” Leahy concluded. “It was wonderful to see everyone coming together to share their Exeter experience with our admitted families.”