Applying for Financial Aid

Socioeconomic diversity has been a characteristic of Phillips Exeter Academy from our founding. It’s built into our ethic—to attract and teach “youth from every quarter”—and it’s crucial to the nature of our community and our classrooms.

In the fall of 2007, Exeter announced that it would offer an Exeter education free to any accepted or current student whose family income is $75,000 or less. This new initiative, in conjunction with the strong middle income financial aid initiative begun in the late 1990s, means that 95 percent of families in the U.S. are at income levels that, depending on their circumstances, would allow them to be eligible for financial aid at Exeter. Read more about this financial aid initiative...

Financial aid is renewable each year the student remains at the Academy. Families are required to furnish information regarding their current financial circumstances each spring so that Exeter can conduct a review and make whatever adjustments are necessitated by changes in circumstances and in tuition. Questions? Please contact John Hutchins, director of financial aid.

Eligibility & Need

How to Apply for Financial Aid

Eligibility & Need

At Exeter, financial aid is need-based.

This need is established through an analysis of the Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS) by the School and Student Service for Financial Aid, as well as other financial documents.

Eligibility:

Financial aid is available primarily to United States and Canadian citizens; limited funds are available to international students.
An application for financial aid must be made at the time of application for admission if a family expects to be considered for aid at any time in their child's Exeter career.

Need:

Exeter’s financial aid program is based on the assumption that parents have an obligation to finance their children’s education to the extent they are able.

We consider the financial resources of both natural parents, if living, before making any award. If either natural parent remarries, Exeter shall bear in mind the obligations of the parent to his or her new family. If the parent with custody remarries, Exeter considers the resources of the step-parent bearing in mind the obligations of the step-parent to his or her natural children.
We have the expectation that each parent in a family will work. When a parent of a financial aid applicant is not working, it will be important for the family to provide a complete explanation of why that is the case. Exeter reserves the right to "impute" an income for a non-working parent in determining a family’s financial need.