Phillips Academy Andover

180 Main Street
Andover, MA 01810
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Phillips Academy Andover Photo #1 - The quintessential New England campus is 21 miles to Boston by car or train, and a 10 minute walk to downtown Andover.
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Phillips Academy Andover Photo #1 - The quintessential New England campus is 21 miles to Boston by car or train, and a 10 minute walk to downtown Andover.
Phillips Academy Andover Photo #2 - Students relax on the great lawn.
Phillips Academy Andover Photo #3 - Welcome to the state of being curious about everything. We offer over 300 intensely interactive courses, all designed to inspire a lifelong love of learning.
Phillips Academy Andover Photo #4 - The Growth Mindset-Students work with cutting edge tools; have opportunities for independent research, and collaborate with working scientists, on and off campus.
Phillips Academy Andover Photo #5 - Think openly and deeply. Andover brings together bright, curious students with dynamic teacher-scholars.
Phillips Academy Andover Photo #6 - All-School Meeting is our "community classroom," held almost every Wednesday in Cochran Chapel. Many ASMs feature distinguished guest speakers. Recent speakers included President George H.W. Bush '42, and novelist/poet Julie Alvarez '67.
Phillips Academy Andover Photo #7 - In any given year, students perform in more than 100 concerts, Dance Labs, Drama Labs,and main stage dance and theater performances.
Phillips Academy Andover Photo #8 - We are the Big Blue! With Big Blue sports, it's team first.
Phillips Academy Andover Photo #9 - We offer 67 interscholastic teams in 21 different sports and our student-athletes are as passionate about sports as they are about coursework.
Phillips Academy Andover Photo #10 - Our school seal features the Latin phrase "non sibi" ("not for self"), which is a motto we take very seriously. Our Office of Community Engagement oversees dozens of ongoing initiatives on campus and with partner organizations. Volunteering isn't required, but it's part of who we are.
A Place of Limitless Opportunities -- you come to Andover because of the 1,100 other students who come to Andover.
They are, as our founding charter calls for them to be, "youth from every quarter." They`re talented in quirky and serious ways, they have ideas and opinions like- but mostly unlike-yours, they have fascinating histories and surprising ambitions and generous hearts.
They come because they love ideas and learning and discovering.
And they come because maybe you will be here too. One of the Latin mottoes on our seal translates as "the end depends on the beginning." Andover is a place where we`re always beginning.
We`re always discovering new opportunities, experimenting with a new approach, finding courage to take risks.
We`re always looking for new ways to reach out to people in need, to work together with new communities.
Always making room for you to be your most honest, authentic, daring self. Imagine teachers who give you the freedom to think openly and deeply, to question and make mistakes.
With more than 300 dynamic courses, Andover's rigorous academic program offers a strong foundation in the arts, humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences.
Our more than 150 electives include student-faculty research, independent projects, and immersive learning opportunities locally and abroad.
There is no single teaching method. Faculty share a philosophy of "learning by doing" and a zeal for using technology to inform and empower.
The Academy's approach to teaching not only prepares students superbly for college, but also instills a lifelong love of learning.

Quick Stats (2024)

  • Grades: (Boarding) 9-12, PG
  • Enrollment: 1,146 students
  • Yearly Tuition (Boarding Students): $61,950
  • Yearly Tuition (Day Students): $48,020
  • Acceptance rate: 13%
  • Average class size: 13 students
  • Application Deadline: Feb. 1
  • Source: Verified school update

Top Rankings

Phillips Academy Andover ranks among the top 20 boarding schools (out of 289 schools) for:

Category
Attribute
Offering Breadth
Student Test Scores
Student Test Scores
School History

School Overview

Definition of Terms | 2023 School Data
Phillips Academy Andover
Boarding School Avg.
School Focus
College Preparatory
College Preparatory
Grades Offered (Boarding)
9-12, PG
8-12
School Type
Co-ed
Co-ed
Supports Learning Differences (LD)
Yes
Learning Difference Programs
support and coaching offered for time management, organizational assistance, and test studying/taking strategies as well as, note taking techniques, enhanced listening skills as well as enhanced textbook reading techniques
n/a
Religious Affiliation
Non-denominational
Year Founded
1778
1907
Campus Size
500 acres
130 acres

Student Body

Enrollment
1146 students
310 students
% Students of Color
50%
25%
% International Students
12%
20%
% Students Boarding
75%
67%
Average SAT Score
1446
* National Avg. »View
Average ACT score
31
*National Avg. »View
Offers Post-Grad Year
Yes
No

Academics and Faculty

Saturday Classes
No
No
Classroom Dress Code
Casual
Average Class Size
13 students
12
* National Avg. »18
Student : Teacher Ratio
5:1
7:1
# of AP / Advanced Courses Offered
70
17
ESL Courses Offered
No
Yes
% Faculty with Advanced Degree
80%
71%
Summer Program Offered
Yes
Summer Program Details

Tuition Cost

Endowment Size
$1134 million
$25 million
Yearly Tuition
(Boarding Students)
$61,950
$64,000
Yearly Tuition
(Day Students)
$48,020
$35,000
% Students on Financial Aid
47%
40%
Avg. Financial Aid Grant
$40,800
$25,000
Merit Scholarships Offered
No
No

Acceptance Rate

Application Deadline
Feb. 1
Jan. 15
Acceptance Rate
13%
60%
Director of Admissions
Jill Thompson

Course Listings

List of Courses Offered

AP / Advanced Courses

# of AP / Advanced Courses Offered
70
17
Courses
A Room of Their Own: Women's Studies and Literature, A Social History of Latin America, Accelerated Advanced Chemistry, Advanced Biology, Advanced Chinese, Advanced College Chemistry, Advanced courses in painting, ceramics, drawing, photography, video, Advanced Electronic Music, Advanced Fourth-Level German, Advanced Latin Authors, Advanced Theory & Composition, Advanced Topics in French, African Literature, An Introductory Survey of African American Literature, AP AB Calculus, AP Accelerated AB Calculus, AP Accelerated BC Calculus, AP BC Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, AP Statistics, Applied Logic, Architecture, Asia (history), Atomic America: Service Learning, Calculus-Based Physics, California Dreaming, Chamber Music Performance Seminar, Children in Literature: Growing Up in a Changing World, Community Engagement in the City of Lawrence: We, the People (Spanish), Comparative Government, Contemporary American Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Creative Writing: Fiction, Creative Writing:Poetry, Critical Race Theory: The American Dream Deferred, Current Events and Multimedia: Approaches to the Hispanic World (Spanish), Economics Research Colloquiem, Ethics:The Environment, Foundations of Modern Physics, Haunted by Shadows:Viewing African Independence through Lens and Literature, History of Art, Honors Computer Science Seminar: Software Design; Computer Graphics; Data Structures & Algorithms, Honors Math Seminar: Differential Equations; The Genius of Euler; Bayesian Statistics, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Introduction to Hispanic Literature (Spanish), Introduction to Theory and Composition, James Joyce, Justice and Globalization, Macroeconomics and the Global Consumer, Medieval Literature, Microeconomics and the Developing World, Molecular and Cellular Biology: Indepdendent Laboratory Research, Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra, Nonviolence and Social Change, Our Americas: Crossing Borders (Spanish), Out of Tune: Music and the State in the 20th Century, Playwriting, Race and Comparative American Literatures, Religion and Pilgrimage, Shakespeare, The American Civil War, The Internet in Print, The Middle East, The World in Pieces:Poetry and Cinema of the Avant-Garde, Twentieth Century Drama, U.S. History, Understanding Latin America (Spanish), Writers in Depth

Sports

Extracurriculars

Total Extracurricular Organizations
178
23
Extracurriculars
Club or Organization:
3D Printing Club, Academy Manor Nursing Home volunteers, ActiveMinds Andover, Activism, AdoptaPlatoon, Afro-Latino-American Society (Af-Lat-Am), Alianza (Latino Student Alliance), Amnesty International Club, and Mentoring (DREAM), Andover Ambassadors, Andover Japanese Connection, App Development, ARC Buddies, Archaeology and History Club, Asian Society, Astronomy Club, Babel Foreign Language Magazine, Backtracks Magazine, Baking Club, Bancroft Elementary Teachers Aides, Big Idea Club, Birding Club, Blue Key Society, Boss Magazine, Bread & Roses community kitchen volunteers, Bread Loaf Pen Pel Program, Bread Loaf Writing Workshop, Calliope (female a capella), Campuses against Cancer, Catholic Student Fellowship, Chess Club, Chinese Language & Culture Club, Chinese Taiwanese Student Association, Christian Fellowship Club, Classical Physics Club, Classics Club, Clutch Collaborative, Community Awareness For Everyone (CAFE), Computer Science Club, Constructed Languages Club, Courant Art & Literary Magazine, Culinary Appreciation Club, Culture Politics & Religion (CPR), Cyber Security and Forensics Club, Dear Sam Wellness Club, Deerfield Dance Club, Deerfield Scroll -- Student Newspaper, Disability Rights, Diversity Task Force, Documentary Society, Drug Alcohol Awareness Committee, EAT Club, Eco-Action, Education, Elements, Entrepreneurship Club, Environmental Action Group, Fashion Design Club, Figure Skating Club, Film Makers Society, Finance & Politics of Sports, Finance Club, Fitness, French Club, Frontline Political Magazine, Games Club, Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA), German Club, Girls Global Health, GirlUp Andover!, Global Health Initiative, Global Nomads, Grill Club, Hindu Student Union, Indo-Pak, International Club, International Review online publication, Japanese Animeshon Club, Jewish Student Union, Junto, Justice NOW, Model UN, Modern Engineering Forum, Motorsports Club, Moviemakers Club, Muslim Student Union, Non sibi Society, Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (Friends of the Orphans), Out of the Blue, Over the Hills and Farther Away, OXFAM, PA Democrats, PA Liberal Action, PA Republican Society, Philomathean, Philosophy, Photography Club, Physical Health Information Team, Physics Club, Political Union, Pot Pourri Yearbook, Project V.O.I.C.E. (ESL), Psychology Club, Quiz Bowl, Real World Challenge aeronautics, Red Cross, Robotics Club, Science & Technology Club, Science and Medicine Journal Club, Science Club, Science Club for Girls, Se Puede After-School Tutoring Program, SIS Female Empowerment program, Sketchy comedy writing club, South East Asian Club, Spanish, Speech Club, Sports Forum, Sports Medicine Club, Student Activities Board, Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, Students in Medicine, Techmasters, The Childrens Place volunteers, The Fellowship (FOCUS), UNICEF Club, VOICE-Foreign Language Magazine, Women's Forum, Word slam poetry club, WPAA Radio, Youth Development Organization volunteers

Arts and Music Programs:
Andover Art Society, Andover-Lawrence String Program, Architecture Club, Art Exchange, Art for Expression, Art Music Society, Azure, blue.print, Classical Music Forum, DJ Factory-Electronic Music Production, DramaLabs, Drum Line, Footnotes tap dance group, Frisbee Club, Gospel, Handbell Choir, Hypnotiq, Music MDs, Unaccompanied Minors, Under the Bed, Yorkies

Recreational Athletic Programs:
Ballroom Dance Society, Blue Strut, Cluster Ultimate Frisbee, Coed Crew, Cross Country, Dance Instruction, Disc Golf, Double Dutch, Fencing Club, FIT (Fundamentals in Training), Hip Hop Club, Instructional Swim, Intramural Hockey, Intramural Sports, Outdoor Pursuits, Paddle Tennis Club, Pilates, Ping Pong Club, Skating, SLAM cheer team, Spinning, Sports and Games Club, Squash instruction, Tennis Instruction, Volleyball Instruction, Yoga

College Matriculation

Year: 2014 - 2016
10 Most Popular College Choices  (# Enrolled)
Brown University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Georgetown University
Harvard
Princeton Unversity
Stanford University
University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania
Yale University

School Notes

  • Why Andover? Because you`ll be welcomed into an inspiring community of smart, motivated, curious, open-minded, and genuinely nice people from across the country and around the world. Because this is a high school that celebrates difference and prizes originality. Because at Andover you can be your most honest, authentic, daring self. 
  • Phillips Academy, a residential secondary school, seeks students of intelligence and integrity from diverse cultural, racial, socioeconomic, and geographic backgrounds.The school`s residential structure enables faculty to support students in their personal, social, and intellectual development. The academic program fosters excellence in all disciplines within the liberal arts tradition. Faculty members guide students in mastering skills, acquiring knowledge, and thinking critically, creatively, and independently. The school strives to help young people achieve their potential not only intellectually, but also artistically, athletically, and morally, so that they may lead responsible and fulfilling lives.The Academy is committed to establishing a community that encourages people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs to understand and respect one another and to be sensitive to difference of gender, ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation. In its programs, the school seeks to promote a balance of leadership, cooperation, and service, together with a deeper awareness of the global community and the natural world.Andover`s 1778 Constitution charges the Academy to prepare "Youth from every quarter" to understand that "goodness without knowledge is weak- yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous." This obligation challenges students in mind, body, and spirit to see beyond themselves and to go beyond the familiar; to remain committed to developing what is finest in themselves and others, for others and themselves.This revised version of the Statement of Purpose, voted by the faculty in winter 2000, reaffirms the Academy`s goals set forth in the Constitution of 1778.
  • LD types supported: support and coaching offered for time management, organizational assistance, and test studying/taking strategies as well as, note taking techniques, enhanced listening skills as well as enhanced textbook reading techniques
  • Phillips Academy Andover accreditations: NEASC
  • Sample of notable school alumni/alumnae:
    • President George Bush - 41st President of the United States
    • Oliver Wendell Holmes - Poet, literary leader and doctor
    • Benjamin Spock - Author; authority on child-rearing; anti-war activist
    • Jack Lemmon - Academy Award-winning actor
    • President George W. Bush - 43rd President of the United States
    • Julia Alvarez - Poet, novelist, and author
    • Frederick Law Olmstead - designed NYC's Central Park
    • Christopher Hughes - co-founded Facebook and served as online strategist for Obama campaign
    • Rebecca Dowling Adams - US's first female Top Gun pilot
Source: Verified school update

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Phillips Academy Andover cost?
Phillips Academy Andover's tuition is approximately $61,950 for boarding students and $48,020 for day students.
What schools are Phillips Academy Andover often compared to?
Phillips Academy Andoveris often viewed alongside schools like Phillips Exeter Academy, Deerfield Academy, Choate Rosemary Hall by visitors of our site.
What is the acceptance rate of Phillips Academy Andover?
The acceptance rate of Phillips Academy Andover is 13%, which is lower than the boarding school average of 60%. Phillips Academy Andover's acceptance rate is ranked as one of the top boarding schools with low acceptance rates.
Who are famous alumni from Phillips Academy Andover?
Phillips Academy Andover famous alumni include: President George Bush, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Benjamin Spock, Jack Lemmon, President George W. Bush, Julia Alvarez, Frederick Law Olmstead, Christopher Hughes and Rebecca Dowling Adams.
What sports does Phillips Academy Andover offer?
Phillips Academy Andover offers 29 interscholastic sports: Ballet, Baseball, Basketball, Climbing, Crew, Cross Country, Cross Country Running, Cycling, Dance, Diving, Fencing, Field Hockey, Football, Golf, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Nordic Skiing, Soccer, Softball, Squash, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Track and Field, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball, Water Polo, Winter Track and Wrestling. Phillips Academy Andover is ranked as one of the top boarding schools for most sports offered.
Does Phillips Academy Andover offer a summer program?
Yes, Phillips Academy Andover offers a summer program. Visit their summer school page for more information.
What is Phillips Academy Andover's ranking?
When is the application deadline for Phillips Academy Andover?
The application deadline for Phillips Academy Andover is Feb. 1.

Alumni Reviews Review School

Review
Description

Class of 2019
5.00
Rutgers
As I look back on my life, I found the English Department profoundly brilliant. The level of reading (weekly) was extraordinary. The level of commitment of the faculty was genuine.. . .

Class of 2018
5.00
University of Chicago
Our campus has a cluster system which means we have five somewhat distinct residential communities. It definitely helps build smaller communities within Andover’s larger student body. Another thing that was unique about Andover was their. . .

Class of 2019
5.00
Stanford
Andover has a need-blind admissions policy, which means that they don't take into account someone's ability to pay for the school when deciding whether or not to admit them. This makes the school much diverse. . .
Show more reviews (13 reviews)
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Quick Stats (2024)

  • Grades: (Boarding) 9-12, PG
  • Enrollment: 1,146 students
  • Yearly Tuition (Boarding Students): $61,950
  • Yearly Tuition (Day Students): $48,020
  • Acceptance rate: 13%
  • Average class size: 13 students
  • Application Deadline: Feb. 1
  • Source: Verified school update

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