Record applications fuel admission season

A record number of applicants—3,140—from across the country and abroad capped another successful admission season at Phillips Academy.

Jim Ventre ’79, dean of admission and financial aid, said this year’s applicant pool was among the strongest academically and the most diverse he has seen in recent years. “We were incredibly impressed by the depth of talent, the diversity of experience, and the promise of each student who applied to Andover,” he said. “There is high demand for an Andover education, and throughout this process we were fortunate to meet so many bright, motivated young people.”

The school’s admission rate held steady at 13 percent, while 80 percent of those who were admitted chose to enroll. The school’s yield has remained at 80 percent or above for seven consecutive years.

Ventre added that Andover’s strategic recruitment efforts across the United States and internationally coupled with a need-blind admission policy contributed to the strong season. With this incoming class, the student body will represent 44 states and 45 countries. Forty-eight percent of all students will receive financial aid, while 15 percent will receive full scholarship support.

Andover is the only secondary boarding school in the country to have maintained a need-blind admission policy since 2008. The policy removes financial need as an obstacle to admission and is based entirely on scholarships, the majority of which are funded by philanthropy. The school’s commitment to the historic admission policy stems from its founding mission to educate “youth from every quarter,” which values socio-economic diversity as a key component.

Ventre also credited Andover’s continued success to the dedicated team of more than 600 Alumni Admission Representatives around the world who conducted more than a third of all prospective student interviews.