Student Life at Exeter Summer - Phillips Exeter Academy

July 6 – August 6, 2026

This is a life-changing experience. Apply to Exeter Summer

Apply to Exeter Summer

Summer community like no other

Student life at Exeter Summer extends from the Harkness table to the dining hall to the playing fields. You will connect with people from different backgrounds and from around the world. Whether you’re a day student or a boarder, you’ll take part in the wide range of activities available both on and off campus.

Your advisers and teachers may sponsor their own trips to local eateries, beaches and nearby attractions to create a bonding experience for dorms and classes. During your own free time, you can enjoy a variety of places on campus like the Lamont Gallery, the Class of 1945 Library and our many athletic facilities.

Athletics at Exeter Summer

Participate in PE courses or choose from competitive sport club offerings.

Music at Exeter Summer

Expand your musical pursuits and sign up for extracurricular music programs or private music lessons.

Exeter Summer Student Activities

The Student Activities Office offers a variety of recreational options during weekends. Choose from optional excursions such as beach outings, amusement parks, shopping trips, mini-golf, mountain hikes and local sporting events, which are chaperoned by Exeter Summer faculty and staff. Trips vary in cost from approximately $10 to $50 and are not included in tuition.

On-campus extracurricular activities range from dramatics and choir to chamber orchestra and educational films and seminars. Some Exeter Summer favorites include: talent shows, plays, movies on the quad, and Cultural Awareness Day which features music and food from countries around the world.

Dorm Life

At the end of the summer session each year, students universally agree that living in a dormitory is one of the most valuable experiences of spending the summer at Exeter. You share a special bond with your dorm mates reinforced by events such as dorm barbecues and trips. Living with peers who represent many different backgrounds and interests broadens your knowledge of others and provides important preparation for college.

Life in a residential school requires you to take responsibility for managing a daily schedule and for meeting the expectations of the school community. We strive to help students adjust to being away from home by providing a number of support mechanisms. In turn, we expect students to check in to dorms by the appointed time, to observe quiet study hours in the evenings, and to abide by school rules.

Through dorm life, you have further opportunities to get to know your teachers, who serve as dorm parents and advisers to individual students. In addition to interacting with teachers in the classroom, you will spend time with them informally in the dorm and dining hall, and participate in such activities as the faculty/student basketball game. The ratio of faculty to students in dormitories is approximately 1:10.

Day students are affiliated with an assigned dorm and are encouraged to participate in dorm activities.

College Fair and Counseling Workshops

Each summer we host a college fair that offers students the opportunity to meet approximately fifty college admissions officers. A wide variety of colleges and universities send representatives to our campus for the large college fair. In recent years, those colleges have included Brown University, Yale, Brandeis, Smith College, University of Chicago, and Vanderbilt University.

In addition, the Exeter Summer holds college counseling workshops designed to demystify the college application process. The Academy Library also offers college search materials and guides.

Health Services

The Lamont Health & Wellness Center is staffed on a 24-hour schedule by registered nurses. The center is open daily for walk-ins and scheduled appointments. You’ll find people ready to help with routine and emergency care. Submittal of a medical form is required of all students prior to arrival in Exeter.

Religious and Spiritual Services

If you follow a religious discipline or attend services during the year, we would like you to have the opportunity to do so in the summer as well. While we may not be able to provide everything you are accustomed to having in worship, we would like to encourage you to continue your practice as fully as possible. Adults on campus will help students organize meetings. Phillips Church and Multi-Faith Center is our central hub for our religious and spiritual life together. Local area churches and temples also welcome student participation.