Hi I’m applying to Phillips Exeter Academy, and I want to know what life is like there. What do the girls wear, what are the classes like? When do you wake up and go to sleep? What do you do in your free time? How do you decorate your room? What dorm life is like? What each dorm is known for? I wanna know everything!
Girls wear a lot of leggings, stretch cotton long sleeve t shirts, blouses and/or sweaters. Classes are 50 minutes and you could have 2 of them on Wednesdays (half days) or 6 classes plus a sport another day. I get like 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep. I don’t have free time. I decorated with a faux fur rug and 2 butterfly chairs. It depends on the dorm, the smaller it is the closer the dorm is. The dorms all have stereotypes but they aren’t known for anything.
That reminds me. Exeter was the only school that AO confidently told me that students don’t have time for pleasure reading, when I asked about it. 
Actually he was a teacher/interviewer and not an AO. Making the answer more trustworthy.
(tl;dr? Different strokes for different folks, pick what you want to devote your time to. Check out the school newspaper and the dress code tumblr blog for more info on Academy Life. Good Luck! <3)
Warning for the OP (user: @eliza11 ): I'm applying to PEA just like you. Despite the research I've done, there is no substitute for a real Exonian like @GryffinHunter telling you what the school atmosphere is like. With that in mind, I'm happy to share any info I've gathered! :)
I had my tour/interview a few days ago. Because my tour guide, a prep girl, claims to have been very careful to avoid procrastination, she says she usually gets to sleep as early as she wants. Many kids in her dorm sleep late because they spend time hanging out at the grill instead of doing homework.* The general idea that I’m trying to give is that different time-management methods will give you a different experience. It also depends on what you prioritize, because my tour-guide loved to read and had a new book every week, which totally conflicts with what @jwalche heard (from a teacher, no less!). Athletics, which are appointments you cannot miss, can also take away an enormous amount of free time. Your experience will most likely vary depending on what you want to do.
The best way to learn everything about the culture of Phillips Exeter without being there IMO is to binge-read the Exonian, their online newspaper. It may help you decide whether you want to go there, as student opinions seem to be mostly uncensored and you can read about events going on, sports results, important issues in the student body–even stuff going on in the Student Council.
Also, for the dress code: if you go on tumblr, you'll find a blog called The Exeter Dress Code. It's got pictures of stylish outfits worn by students on campus; you'll find tons of inspiration there!
*Keep in mind, my tour guide was a prep, so her workload will probably only increase as she gets older. I’m not certain which courses she’s taking either, but I don’t think any of Exeter’s courses can be called “easy” or low-effort (except the required health classes for preps/lowers).
i wonder if the classes at Exeter or any like school are truly more difficult or it is simply an artifact of time management skills, demands of Extracurriculars etc? I know my child has an onerous amount of work now (all honors classes). Very hard to manage and a very motivated organized kid.
I believe that because the classes are so small and meet around a Harkness table, more effort is required of the students. Students are chosen beforehand to be very intelligent, most likely so they can be challenged by demanding courses. If your child is very intelligent, and seems to be already quite challenged, they might or may not have to expect such an increase in work. Boarding schools like Exeter have more to offer than just a challenging course load. Though that’s definitely a plus, it’s a factor that’s probably more attractive to kids who haven’t been properly pushed in their old schools.
That’s just my ideas from reading articles and listening to my mom, but the actual courses might just be that hard. Many kids who’ve told me about their experiences at Exeter have described it as going to college early.
Agreed Junemaybees. I am curious why your first choice is PEA? What is about it compared to other similar schools makes it your top pick?
It actually wasn’t always my first choice. I had indeed been leaning towards Exeter because of it’s emphasis on Computer Science and their amazing math team, but I was ultimately on the fence between Exeter and Hotchkiss, a school in CT. After visiting Exeter’s campus and experiencing the town, though, I was completely hooked. Something just clicked, between walking through the brilliant Science Center and getting caught in a snowball fight behind the Dining Hall, and I just didn’t want to go anywhere else. The whole atmosphere of the school made me smile and filled me with motivation.
I’m applying as a new Lower/Sophomore, if that information helps. 
Junemaybees: thank you for your reply. You sound like such a bright, personable person. Good luck!! I am very familiar with Hotchkiss. Close friends have two kids there right now. It’s a wonderful place that is a little less hyper competitive than others. However, if you are interested in math and computer science I can see why you would lean to PEA. It’s funny how a place can just click for someone. I fell in love with St. Paul’s . Hotchkiss and St Pauls are my two favorites. However, my child said that Exeter was the place. Fingers crossed everyone gets what they want.
@junemaybees The interview told me that students read A LOT of books, but they are mostly class related either directly or indirectly. And because they read so much already, they tend do something else with what little free time they get.
The biggest appeal for Exeter for daughter is how math is taught. I was explained that students are given 8~10 questions to solve on own beforehand, realize the concepts on own while doing so, and use the class to discuss about them for deeper understanding rather than being lectured. And that’s how daughter wants and has been taught by me. Math is the last remaining homeschooled subject for her for that reason.
Jwaiche: we sort of had the same feeling and not just from Exeter. These kids are very busy. They read a ton for school and much of their free time is for much needed socializing or ECs.
We visited Exeter’s dinning hall at 8:30am. There were about 13~14 kids eating. Three seemed to be having a heated discussion (looked class related) while eating. The rest were all digging into a textbook with heavy concentration, while eating. When I mentioned it to the interview, he said that since it is a business day, it is natural for students to be doing their business. And they are expected to be well prepared for the discussion based classes.
Then I realized that not all discussion based classes are the same. Some you can survive without prep. Some are more friendly and is a place fore more prepared students to help less prepared ones. And some could be where everybody is so well prepared and have thoughtful ideas to share you will look dumb if you aren’t equally well prepared.
+1 to this! I think that the biggest plus for me when I decided on Exeter was that conversations about classwork extended beyond the classroom. It’s so much fun to be able to talk about stuff without being told to stay quiet because class is over.
Ds is coming to the end of his years at PEA, so a few observations based on four years of viewing from afar
- Prep year is easier than the others. he had grades prep year, not P/F - Jr / Upper yr is a killer.
- he has had time for pleasure reading if he wanted, or video gaming or TV on netflix or the like, or socializing - it is a question of priorities.
- There is no place to hide in a class of 12 kids. That is why they all try to be prepared. Grades do depend on participation, and the teachers do notice, as evidence by the comments we get.
- The classes are all discussion, including math - I too was blown away at our first parents weekend when the math class was each kid putting his/ her solution to a problem on the board and then they all went around and discussed/ critiqued, etc.
- The classes are all discussion, including math - I too was blown away at our first parents weekend when the math class was each kid putting his/ her solution to a problem on the board and then they all went around and discussed/ critiqued, etc.
- He had to take responsibility, no way a parent could nag about everything that he needs to do when you are 1K plus miles away and talk weekly. You could see it rubbing on him when he was home (shock that a teenager is rubbed by parental involvement)
- He came home at every break tired, and at the end of Jr year (Upper in PEA speak) he was positively crispy and fried. He had his Drivers license by then and I was looking forward to sharing the driving on the 15-16 hr trip home and he slept most of the way.
He never viewed it as competitive, other than everyone is pretty motivated - Never had a negative tone of someone looking to do better by making someone else do worse.
- It is a stellar education, and he is on an entirely different mental plane than his friends at home who attended PS, which is one of the 10 to 15 best in our large midwestern state.
Without disclosing too much, may I ask what colleges he is hoping to attend? I feel everyone thinks you go to these schools to go to Harvard or Yale but 70% of the kids go to a varied selection of solid non Ivy schools.
thanks kidsparent. did your son come from a ps? if so, what was the biggest shock, if any?
@Center About 15% of the graduating class go on to HYPMS and 1/3 to top 10. The majority go on to top 30ish universities or 20ish LACs or equivalent international schools or speculated programs. So, if the student remains “serious” and keeps up, I wouldn’t worry about colleges. What difference does it make in the long run between a top 5 and a top 30 in terms of one’s career and life anyway? (And this comes from the parent of kids who did make their ways to the “top” colleges)
I have been away for a while so my apologies for the tardy reply
I would prefer not to say what his specific college roster looks like since I don’t want to out him, as it were. However, he did try early decision at an Ivy and was shot down, he is now waiting on a really broad mix of traditional PEA style schools and others that don’t get many PEA students. In the end he will decide, but my hope is that he choses outside the PEA college track mainstream. I think that will suit him best. I echo panpacific, given the quality of his PEA education he will be able to do well wherever he choses to go, as long as he fits in and is happy there.
Interestingly, his friends back home, who i don’t necessarily see as having gotten the same level of education, are having what many would say are better college application out comes. HYPSM are well represented, as are top tier LAC, etc. To me it is all fuel for the argument that it is all about fit and that the adcoms at the schools are fairly predictable and somewhat easily managed.
I don’t recall what the largest shock was, and he did come from public middle school.
So, I’m kinda late to this thread, but I am also an Exonian and contrary to popular belief, you can have free time! It really just depends on how you use it. I also usually get from 7-10 hours of sleep, depending on the homework. Dorm life is amazing! I’m really close to my dorm, and my room is very decorated. I see that you’re applying as a new lower, and I am a new lower, so if you have any extra questions, just PM me