Phillips Exeter Academy

Not to be confused with Phillips Academy Andover.

Phillips Exeter Academy
Aerial view of Phillips Exeter Academy in 2025
20 Main Street Exeter, New Hampshire 03833
Information
Type	Independent day boarding college preparatory
Motto	Latin: Non Sibi ("not for oneself") Latin: Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Greek: Χάριτι Θεοῦ ("By the Grace of God")
Religious affiliation	Nonsectarian
Established	1781 (1781)
Founder	John Phillips Elizabeth Phillips
CEEB code	300185
Principal	Jennifer Karlen Elliott
Faculty	217
Grades	9–12, PG
Gender	Coeducational
Enrollment	1,078
Average class size	12 students
Student to teacher ratio	6:1
Campus size	700 acres (280 ha)
Campus type	Suburban
Colors	Lively maroon and grey
Athletics	22 Interscholastic sports 62 Interscholastic teams
Athletics conference	NEPSAC
Team name	Big Red
Rival	Phillips Academy (Andover)
Accreditation	NAIS TABS
Newspaper	The Exonian
Yearbook	Phillips Exeter Academy Notebook (PEAN)
Endowment	$1.65 billion (February 2, 2026)
School fees	Books & Supplies: $900
Tuition	Boarding: $71,797 Day: $56,077
Affiliations	Eight Schools Association G30 Schools Ten Schools Admission Organization
Alumni	Exonians
Website	exeter.edu

Phillips Exeter Academy (also known as Exeter or PEA) is an independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an estimated 1,100 boarding and day students in grades 9 to 12, as well as postgraduate students.

Exeter houses the world's largest high school library. The academy admits students on a need-blind basis and offers free tuition to students with family incomes under $150,000. Its notable alumni include President Franklin Pierce, Senator Daniel Webster, over 35 U.S. congresspeople, six governors of U.S. states, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, businessman and philanthropist Tom Steyer, three Medal of Honor recipients, and three Nobel Prize recipients.