Two schools founded by the same family, three years apart, that teach in genuinely different ways.
Cardinal Education is an independent educational consulting company. We are not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with any private or public school, including Phillips Academy Andover and Phillips Exeter Academy.
Quick Answer for Busy Parents
Andover and Exeter are both elite coeducational boarding schools in New England with almost identical size and selectivity. The meaningful differences are pedagogical and practical. Exeter teaches nearly everything around the Harkness table, a discussion format built for students who think aloud. Andover offers greater breadth across departments and a residential cluster system. Critically for applicants, Exeter closes January 15 and Andover closes February 1, so applying to both requires two different timelines.
Samuel Phillips Jr. founded Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts in 1778. Three years later his uncle, John Phillips, founded Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, along with Elizabeth Phillips. The two schools have never been formally affiliated, and they have spent nearly 250 years competing with each other in what is among the oldest interscholastic rivalries in the United States.
The family resemblance runs deeper than the name. Both schools carry the motto Non Sibi, meaning “not for self,” and both also use Finis Origine Pendet, “the end depends upon the beginning.” Both sit on roughly 700-acre campuses within reach of Boston. Both compete in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council, Andover as Big Blue and Exeter as Big Red. Families who assume the schools are interchangeable are not being unreasonable on the surface. The differences show up in the classroom.
How the Two Schools Actually Teach
Exeter originated the Harkness method in the 1930s, and it is not a technique the school uses occasionally. Classes of roughly twelve students sit around an oval table with a teacher who intervenes sparingly. Students are expected to have prepared, to speak, to disagree, and to build an argument collectively. It works extraordinarily well for a student who processes ideas by articulating them, and it is genuinely difficult for a student who needs to sit with material privately before committing to a view.
Andover takes a different position. Faculty describe a shared philosophy of learning by doing rather than one prescribed classroom format, and teaching methods vary by department and instructor. Andover’s pitch is breadth: more than 300 courses across eleven departments, over 150 electives, two accredited museums on campus, and a distribution requirement that pushes students across disciplines rather than letting them specialize early. Our comparison of Ivy feeder versus well-rounded boarding schools is a useful companion read here.
Neither approach is better. They select for different students, which is precisely why the choice matters.
Side-by-Side: Andover and Exeter at a Glance
| Phillips Academy Andover | Phillips Exeter Academy | |
| Founded | 1778, by Samuel Phillips Jr. | 1781, by John and Elizabeth Phillips |
| Location | Andover, Massachusetts, about 25 miles from Boston | Exeter, New Hampshire, about 45 miles from Boston |
| Enrollment | 1,172 students | Approximately 1,080 students |
| Average class size | 13 | 12 |
| Student-teacher ratio | 7:1 | 6:1 |
| Signature pedagogy | Breadth across eleven departments; learning by doing | Harkness discussion in nearly every class |
| Course catalog | More than 300 courses, over 150 electives | More than 350 courses |
| Athletics | 23 sports, 67 interscholastic teams | 22 sports, 62 interscholastic teams |
| Team name | Big Blue | Big Red |
| Application deadline | February 1 | January 15 |
| Shared motto | Non Sibi | Non Sibi |
Not sure which one fits your child?
We work with families applying to both schools and will tell you honestly where your child is the stronger candidate.
Applying to Both: The Deadlines Do Not Match
This is the single most common planning error we see. Exeter’s application closes January 15. Andover’s closes February 1. Families who anchor on the later date and work backward routinely find themselves compressing the Exeter application into December. Build the calendar around January 15 and Andover becomes comfortable rather than the reverse. Our guide to building a balanced boarding school list covers how to sequence a multi-school year.
Requirements overlap substantially but not exactly. Both use Gateway to Prep Schools for the Candidate Profile. Both require standardized testing, though Exeter specifies which tests are acceptable by grade level while Andover accepts the SSAT Upper Level, ISEE Upper Level, PSAT, SAT, or ACT across the board. Andover additionally requires a recorded video response through its own portal and a personal recommendation beyond the standard academic ones. Exeter releases decisions on March 10. Preparing for boarding school interviews at both schools is largely transferable work, and SSAT preparation serves both applications.
Which School Fits Which Student
Andover tends to suit students who:
- Want to sample widely before narrowing, across sciences, arts, languages, and philosophy
- Are drawn to on-campus resources like the Addison Gallery of American Art or the Peabody Institute of Archaeology
- Do their best thinking in varied formats rather than one consistent classroom structure
- Value a slightly larger community and the residential cluster system that subdivides it
Exeter tends to suit students who:
- Think by talking, and gain energy from live intellectual disagreement
- Prepare thoroughly and independently before class rather than relying on lecture
- Want a single coherent pedagogical culture across every subject
- Are comfortable being visibly accountable in every class, every day
A student who is quiet but deep is not automatically wrong for Exeter, and a student who loves discussion is not automatically wrong for Andover. But the fit question deserves more than a campus tour. Our piece on choosing a boarding school for your child’s personality goes further into how to assess this honestly.
Making the Decision
If your child is admitted to both, congratulations, and then take the pedagogy question seriously. Sit in on a Harkness class at Exeter if the school allows it. Watch how your child responds. The right answer is usually visible within twenty minutes and has very little to do with which name sounds better at a dinner party.
Talk it through with someone who knows both schools.
We help families weigh Andover and Exeter on fit rather than prestige, and prepare applications for either or both.
Related Articles:
How to Get Into Phillips Academy Andover: A Complete Admissions Guide for Parents
The Complete Boarding School Application Deadline Guide for Families Applying to Exeter and Andover
Famous Phillips Academy Andover Alumni and What Their Paths Reveal