Exeter Summer

Phillips Exeter Academy, in Exeter, NH, welcomes nearly 800 students from around the world each summer for an academic experience unlike any other. Exeter Summer runs for five weeks and accepts students who have finished grades 7 through 12. The program enrolls about 300 students in the Access Exeter program (for rising 8th and 9th graders) and 500 students in the Upper School (for rising 10th graders through graduated seniors). Students have the choice to attend Exeter Summer as either a boarding or day student.

In Access Exeter, students are enrolled in one of several “academic clusters,” a collection of three courses linked by a single theme. These clusters include Leadership and Justice; Land and Sea: Exploring the Power of the Natural Land; Problem-Solving: An Odyssey of the Mind; A Global Community; The Creative Arts, Exeter C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation, and several others.

The Upper School offers over 100 courses covering a wide array of subjects. Boarding students in the Upper School select three courses, while day students may take anywhere from one to three courses. Courses include Game Programming, Journalism, Observational Astronomy, The Media and Society, Beginning Chinese, and Digital Photography.

Instead of receiving letter grades, all students receive written evaluations from their instructors and dorm advisers, which can be sent to colleges as supplementary application materials. These reports often include a description of the work and activities done in the course/dorm, as well as a detailed evaluation of the student's progress, engagement, and effort level demonstrated throughout the five weeks.

In addition to taking classes, boarding students sign up for two different physical education activities of their choice, which include basketball, soccer, tennis, dance, crew, lacrosse, squash, cross country running, swimming, The program also offers evening extracurricular activities, such as musical ensembles, special interest meetings, talent shows, and open-mic nights. Students also can participate in off-campus excursions (like trips to a bowling alley or the movies) and day trips to Portsmouth and Boston, as well as several college visits.

An important aspect of Exeter Summer is its diverse student body. Students come from as many as 45 states and 40 countries, resulting in a community marked by diversity in culture, language, religion, and worldviews. Any student who attends Exeter Summer will gain incredible exposure to different cultures and ways of thinking both in and out of the classroom.

The tuition is posted each year on the Exeter Summer website.