Phillips Academy Andover Photo #9 - 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.

Phillips Academy Andover

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Phillips Academy Andover Photo #1 - We are the Big Blue! With Big Blue sports, it's team first.
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Phillips Academy Andover Photo #1 - We are the Big Blue! With Big Blue sports, it's team first.
Phillips Academy Andover Photo #2 - 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 #3 - Students relax on the great lawn.
Phillips Academy Andover Photo #4 - 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 #5 - 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 #6 - Think openly and deeply. Andover brings together bright, curious students with dynamic teacher-scholars.
Phillips Academy Andover Photo #7 - 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 #8 - 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 #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 (2024-25)

  • Top Ranked MA School
  • Grades: 9-12
  • Enrollment: 1,154 students
  • Yearly Tuition: $73,780
  • 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% of private schools in Massachusetts for:

School Overview

School Membership(s)School Assoc.
Religious Affiliation
Grades Offered
Grades 9-12
Offers Post-Graduate Year
Yes
Year Founded
1778
Summer School Offered
Yes
Summer Program Details

Student Body

Total Students
1,154 students
Student Body Type
Co-ed
% Students of Color
32%
State avg.: 29%
Students by Grade
Phillips Academy Andover Student By Grade

Academics and Faculty

Total Classroom Teachers
232 teachers
Student : Teacher Ratio
5:1
National avg.: 13:1
% Faculty w/Advanced Degree
84%
Average Class Size
13 students
Number of AP Courses
70 courses
List of Courses Offered
Advanced 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, 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, ceramics, Chamber Music Performance Seminar, Children in Literature: Growing Up in a Changing World, Community Engagement in the City of Lawrence: We, 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), drawing, 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, photography, Playwriting, Race and Comparative American Literatures, Religion and Pilgrimage, Shakespeare, The American Civil War, The Internet in Print, The Middle East, the People (Spanish), The World in Pieces:Poetry and Cinema of the Avant-Garde, Twentieth Century Drama, U.S. History, Understanding Latin America (Spanish), video, Writers in Depth
Average SAT score
1446
(Out of 1600)
Average ACT score
31
(Out of 36)
Matriculation DataMatric. Data
Classroom Dress Code
Casual
No dress code

Tuition and Acceptance Rate

Admission Deadline
Feb. 1
Yearly Tuition Cost
Tuition Notes
Boarding Tuition: $73780 Day Tuition: $57190
% on Financial Aid
45%
Average Financial Aid Grant
$43,000
Acceptance Rate
13%
National avg.: 85%
Admissions Director
Jill Thompson
Admissions Associate
Jill Thompson
Endowment Size
$1326 million

Sports

Extracurriculars

Total ExtracurricularsTotal Extra-curric.
54 extracurriculars
ExtracurricularsExtra-curric.
Club or Organization:
3D Printing Club, Academy Manor Nursing Home volunteers, ActiveMinds Andover, AdoptaPlatoon, Afro-Latino-American Society (Af-Lat-Am), Alianza (Latino Student Alliance), Amnesty International Club, 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, 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, Culinary Appreciation Club, Culture Politics & Religion (CPR), Cyber Security and Forensics Club

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, Courant Art & Literary Magazine

Recreational Athletic Programs:
Ballroom Dance Society, Blue Strut, Cluster Ultimate Frisbee, Coed Crew

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, andmorally, 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.
  • 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 $73,780 for private students.
What schools are Phillips Academy Andover often compared to?
Phillips Academy Andover is often viewed alongside schools like Brooks School 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 national average of 69%. Phillips Academy Andover's acceptance rate is ranked among the top private schools in Massachusetts 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.
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 sports does Phillips Academy Andover offer?
Phillips Academy Andover offers 25 interscholastic sports: Ballet, Baseball, Basketball, Crew, Cross Country, Cycling, Dance, Diving, Field Hockey, Football, Golf, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Nordic Skiing, Soccer, Softball, Squash, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball, Water Polo, Winter Track and Wrestling. Phillips Academy Andover is ranked as one of the top 20% of private schools in Massachusetts for most sports offered.
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.

School Reviews

5  
If you are a hardworker, Andover is the right place for you. Truly the best school out there, and prepares you for college extremely well. You won't think that anything is hard after 4 years at this place...GO BIG BLUE!
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Quick Stats (2024-25)

  • Top Ranked MA School
  • Grades: 9-12
  • Enrollment: 1,154 students
  • Yearly Tuition: $73,780
  • Acceptance rate: 13%
  • Average class size: 13 students
  • Application Deadline: Feb. 1
  • Source: Verified school update

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Did You Know?

The average private school tuition in Essex County, MA is $26,714 for elementary schools and $44,822 for high schools (read more about average private school tuition across the country).
The average acceptance rate in Essex County, MA is 65% (read more about average acceptance rates across the country).

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