Eligibility and Financial Aid Profiler

This year, nearly half of our students (not including faculty and staff children) are receiving aid. The average award for a boarding student is $32,282, which covers more than 83 percent of tuition. All aid is in the form of grants, not loans; no money needs to be paid back after a student graduates.

In 2009-210 Exeter is providing an Exeter education free to any accepted or current student whose family income is $75,000 or less. Thus, qualified students from nearly two thirds of the families in the United States could enjoy a free Exeter education.

This financial aid initiative, in conjunction with the strong middle income financial aid initiative begun in the late 1990s, means that 95 percent of families in the US are at income levels that, depending on their circumstances, could allow them to be eligible for financial aid at Exeter. Under the middle income initiative, boarding students from more than 200 families with incomes between $75,000 and $200,000 are receiving financial aid awards at the Academy this year. Exeter has one of the most ambitious financial aid programs of any independent school or college in the United States. Learn more about Exeter's financial aid initiative...

To see how families like yours are benefiting from aid grants, enter your information into the boxes below. First, select your gross income, then the number of family members and select Go. The average amount being paid toward boarding tuition this year by financial aid families at Exeter in your income and size bracket appears. It's that simple. 

Please note: the average family contribution noted above is not a promise of financial aid. If you would like to discuss your specific situation, please contact John Hutchins, Exeter’s director of financial aid, at (603) 777-3434 or jmhutchins@exeter.edu.

Keep in mind the following:

• Exeter's financial aid is offered in response to a family's need (need-based). There are no merit-based or athletics awards at Exeter. 
• This need is established through an analysis of the Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS) by School & Student Services by NAIS.  Using their basic guidelines and methodology to determine a family’s contribution.  Families must also provide recent tax documents.
• 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.
• A family's contribution may vary among schools, according to their own institutional policies and professional judgments.
• The Office of Financial Aid is the final authority on your contribution.
• Special circumstances are treated on a case-by-case basis. 
• 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.