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Everything families need to understand about Phillips Andover admissions, from the February deadline to what actually distinguishes a candidate.
Quick Answer for Busy Parents
Phillips Academy Andover admits students into grades 9 through 12 and a postgraduate year through a single annual cycle that closes on February 1. The Fall 2027 application is open now. Applicants file a Candidate Profile through Gateway to Prep Schools, complete one interview in one of three formats, submit required standardized test scores, and provide an essay, a recorded video response, a graded writing sample, four recommendations, a parent statement, and grade reports covering three academic years. Andover is among the most selective secondary schools in the United States and does not publish an official acceptance rate.
Why Do Families Choose Phillips Academy Andover?
Andover was founded in 1778 by Samuel Phillips Jr., which makes it the oldest incorporated boarding school in the country and older than the Constitution it has spent two centuries sending people to Washington to argue about. Its motto, Non Sibi, translates as “not for self,” and the school’s founding charter speaks of educating “youth from every quarter.” Both phrases still do real work on campus. They explain why the school built a need-based admissions model, why community service is woven through the calendar, and why the student body draws from across the country, with eighteen percent from outside it.
The academic case is straightforward. More than 300 courses across eleven departments, over 150 electives, a trimester calendar, an average class of 13 students, and a 7:1 student-teacher ratio. Andover holds two accredited museums on its own campus, the Addison Gallery of American Art and the Peabody Institute of Archaeology, which is unusual for a secondary school and not decorative. Niche’s 2026 rankings place Andover first in Massachusetts for STEM and first in Massachusetts among college prep private high schools, and second among all Massachusetts private high schools. Nationally, the same rankings put Andover sixth among boarding schools, sixth for college prep, and seventh among private high schools overall. Rankings move year to year, so we generally counsel families on how to read school rankings rather than chase them.
Academic and Community Snapshot
| Measure | Figure |
| Total enrollment | 1,172 students |
| Boarding / day split | 861 boarding, 311 day |
| Average class size | 13 |
| Student-teacher ratio | 7:1 |
| Students of color | 61 percent |
| Students from outside the U.S. | 18 percent |
| College counseling team | 14 counselors |
| Athletics | 23 sports, 67 interscholastic teams |
| Campus | Approximately 700 acres, suburban |
Graduating students post the following score bands. These are outcomes for enrolled seniors rather than admissions requirements for applicants.
| Test | Middle 50% | Average |
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing | 660–740 | 699 |
| SAT Math | 670–770 | 711 |
| SAT Total | 1340–1500 | 1410 |
| ACT Composite | 29–34 | 31 |
Departments span Art, English, History and Social Science, Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, Music, Natural Sciences, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Physical Education, Theatre and Dance, and World Languages.
How Hard Is It to Get Into Phillips Andover?
Andover does not release an official acceptance rate. Third-party aggregators commonly quote a figure of roughly 13 percent, and while that is a reasonable order of magnitude, it is an unconfirmed estimate, and we present it as one. The more useful framing is compositional. Andover fills roughly 230 seats in grade 9 and 305 in grade 10 from a national and international applicant pool in which excellent grades and high test scores are ordinary. If you want a broader sense of how these numbers behave across elite schools, our explainer on acceptance rates at top private schools is a good starting point.
What actually gets weighed is achievement, talent, character, and promise, in the school’s own words. In practice that means a demanding transcript, scores that place a student comfortably in the range, evidence of genuine depth in something, and recommendations that describe a specific person rather than a good student. Families comparing options typically also look at Phillips Exeter Academy, Deerfield Academy, Choate Rosemary Hall, and Groton School.
Top Tips for Applying to Andover
- Start in the spring before the application year, not in November.
- Decide day versus boarding deliberately, because the choice is permanent at submission.
- File the Candidate Profile early to unlock interview scheduling sooner.
- Prepare specifically for the recorded video response; it is required, not optional.
- Select a personal recommender who has seen your child somewhere other than a classroom.
- Choose a graded writing sample that shows argument and revision, not just a high mark.
Best Practices for Families
- Verify requirements on Andover’s own admission pages each cycle rather than relying on last year’s guidance.
- Let your child own the essay and video; admissions officers detect parental voice easily.
- Keep the parent statement descriptive rather than promotional.
- Visit if you can, virtually if you cannot, and take notes your child can use in an interview.
- Have a genuine second and third school on the list.
Common Questions About Andover’s Selectivity
Does Andover publish its acceptance rate?
No. Figures circulating online come from third-party aggregators rather than the school, and should be treated as estimates.
Is it easier to get into grade 10 than grade 9?
Andover enrolls more students in grade 10 than grade 9, but applicant volume differs too, so a larger class does not automatically mean better odds. Entry into grades 11 and 12 is considerably tighter, since most seats are already filled.
Does applying as a day student improve chances?
Andover has not indicated that it does. Since the 2025-2026 school year the choice has been open to all applicants without geographic restriction, so it should be made on fit rather than perceived advantage. Our piece on choosing between day and boarding walks through the real tradeoffs.
The Phillips Andover Admissions Process, Step by Step
- Complete the Candidate Profile, part one of the application, on the Gateway to Prep Schools website and submit it to Phillips Academy.
- Receive Andover application portal login credentials by email approximately 24 hours after submitting the Candidate Profile.
- Schedule and complete one interview through the portal: on-campus, virtual, or a recorded interview. Interviews run through January.
- Submit required standardized testing: SSAT Upper Level, ISEE Upper Level, PSAT, SAT, or ACT, plus English proficiency testing where applicable.
- Complete the remaining application items through Gateway and the Andover portal, including the essay, video response, graded writing sample, parent statement, grade reports, and recommendations.
- Submit everything by the February 1 deadline and monitor the portal for any missing-item reminders.
Phillips Andover Admissions Calendar and Key Dates
| Milestone | Timing | Notes |
| Fall 2027 application opens | Late summer 2026 | Currently open |
| Portal credentials issued | ~24 hours after Candidate Profile submission | Prerequisite for interview scheduling |
| Interview appointments released | Rolling through the fall | New times added periodically; check back if none suit |
| Interview period | Through January 2027 | On-campus, virtual, or recorded |
| Application deadline | February 1, 2027 | All required materials due |
| Campus visits and tours | Published per cycle by the school | Confirm current dates directly with the admission office |
Andover publishes visit opportunities on a per-cycle basis rather than a fixed annual calendar, so specific dates should be confirmed with the admission office rather than carried over from a previous year.
Phillips Andover Application Requirements in Detail
Standardized Testing
Andover requires one of the SSAT Upper Level, ISEE Upper Level, PSAT, SAT, or ACT. Students attending a school outside the United States that is not English-medium are additionally asked to take the TOEFL iBT, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test, and Andover notes that most admitted international students score at or above 100 on the TOEFL iBT, 7.5 on the IELTS, or 135 on the Duolingo English Test. Andover publishes school codes for score reporting, so register with those in hand. We provide SSAT preparation and ISEE preparation that build reasoning rather than test reflexes.
Interview Formats
Applicants choose exactly one of three interview options. Each rewards different preparation.
| Format | What It Involves | Best For |
| On-campus interview | A scheduled visit to Andover, usually paired with a tour | Students who read the room well and benefit from seeing the campus |
| Virtual interview | A live conversation with an interviewer by video | Families who cannot travel but want a real exchange |
| Interview recording | A recorded response submitted through the Andover portal | Students in distant time zones or those who present better with preparation time |
Appointments are added on a rolling basis, and interviews are conducted through January. Our interview preparation is built around the format your child selects rather than a generic script.
Essay and Recorded Video Response
Andover asks for a written essay response through Gateway and a short recorded video response through its own portal. The video is a required element. Together they let admissions officers hear how a student thinks aloud as well as on paper, which is a meaningful shift from an application read purely on the page. Our personal statement support focuses on helping students find a true subject rather than an impressive one.
Graded Writing Sample
A graded writing sample from a current course is submitted through Gateway. Readers look at the argument, the evidence, and the teacher’s comments in the margins. A polished piece with no visible thinking is weaker than a messier one that clearly grapples with something. Our writing sample preparation addresses the classroom work itself.
Recommendations
Andover requires four recommendations, and the distinction between the required types matters.
| Recommendation | Who Writes It | Required? |
| Principal or counselor | School principal, head, or counselor | Required |
| English teacher | The student’s current English teacher | Required |
| Math teacher | The student’s current math teacher | Required |
| Personal recommendation | Someone who knows the student well, including a former teacher | Required |
| Special interest | A mentor in a specific pursuit | Optional |
| Arts or athletics supplement | A coach, director, or instructor | Optional |
Andover specifies that the English and math recommendations come from teachers who currently teach the student, not former ones. Recommenders who do not speak English may write in their own language, and an official translation is helpful but not required. Our guide on how to request teacher recommendations covers timing and phrasing.
Transcripts and Grade Reports
Andover requires grade reports from the first term of the current academic year and from the prior two academic years. Applicants to grade 12 and the postgraduate program submit a complete high school transcript. Students who have attended more than two schools in three years can submit additional grade reports through an optional form.
Parent or Guardian Statement
Parents complete their own statement through Gateway. The strongest ones describe a child honestly, including the parts still under construction. Our parent statement guidance helps families avoid the promotional register that admissions officers read past.
Where does your child actually stand?
We will give you a candid assessment of your child’s position and what a competitive Andover application would need to demonstrate.
Questions About Andover’s Application Materials
Is the interview optional at Andover?
Applicants supplement the application with one of three interview options, so in practice every applicant completes one. Treating it as skippable is a mistake.
How long should the video response be?
Andover describes it as a short video response and provides instructions in the application portal. Follow the portal’s stated guidance rather than any length circulating on third-party sites.
Can a former teacher write a recommendation?
Not for the English and math slots, which must come from current teachers. A former teacher who knows the student well is a good candidate for the personal recommendation instead.
What if my child attends a school that does not issue term grades?
Submit what the school produces and use the optional additional grades form where more context is needed. Andover contacts applicants about missing required reports.
Student Life at Phillips Academy Andover
Academics
Andover runs on a trimester calendar and offers more than 300 courses, including over 150 electives, across eleven departments. The residential cluster system divides the school into five smaller communities of roughly 230 students each, which is how a school of nearly 1,200 manages to feel navigable. Faculty describe a shared philosophy of learning by doing rather than a single prescribed method. Students who need help building the study systems this kind of workload demands often benefit from academic coaching before they arrive rather than after.
Activities
The Student Activities Office supports more than 100 student clubs and organizations. The Phillipian, first printed in 1857, is the school’s entirely student-run and uncensored weekly newspaper and one of the oldest in the country. The Office of Community and Multicultural Development sponsors cultural and affinity organizations including Asian Society, AfLatAm, Alianza, Andover Korean Society, Andover Japanese Connection, the Chinese-Taiwanese Student Association, IndoPak, the Hindu Student Union, the Muslim Student Union, the Jewish Student Union, Catholic Student Fellowship, and the International Club. The Brace Center for Gender Studies, which is unusual at secondary level, funds student and faculty research and runs its own lecture and forum programming.
Athletics
Andover fields 67 interscholastic teams across 23 sports and competes in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council as Big Blue. Offerings include baseball, basketball, crew, cross country, cycling, field hockey, football, golf, hockey, indoor track, lacrosse, nordic skiing, soccer, softball, squash, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling, alongside intramural options such as yoga, fencing, and dance. Every student participates in an athletic activity of some kind. The annual competition against Phillips Exeter Academy is among the oldest interscholastic rivalries in the United States. Recruited athletes should read our overview of competitive sports in private school admissions.
Arts
Two accredited museums sit on campus. The Addison Gallery of American Art holds a significant collection of American work and is free and open to the public, and the Peabody Institute of Archaeology houses substantial Native American holdings. Facilities include two dance studios, an electronic music studio, a darkroom, and a makerspace. The arts here are not an enrichment add-on; they are departments with their own faculty and their own standards.
Summer Programs
Andover Summer Session brings students to campus for an intensive academic term open to applicants beyond the enrolled student body. Attending summer session does not confer any admissions advantage, and families should treat it as an academic experience rather than a strategy. Andover also runs off-campus study programs in the United States and abroad during the academic year.
Famous Phillips Academy Andover Alumni
Andover’s alumni list is long enough that it functions as an argument for the school. A partial selection:
- George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States
- George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States
- Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., physician, poet, and essayist
- Joseph Hardy Neesima, Japanese educator and founder of Doshisha University, and Andover’s first documented Asian student
- Humphrey Bogart, film and stage actor of the classical Hollywood era
- Jack Lemmon, Academy Award-winning actor
- Benjamin Spock, pediatrician and author
- John F. Kennedy, Jr., lawyer, journalist, and magazine publisher
- Bill Belichick, professional football coach
- Olivia Wilde, actress, producer, and director
- Ming Tsai, chef, restaurateur, and television personality
- Lincoln Chafee, former Governor and United States Senator from Rhode Island
- Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, King of Bhutan
We were not sure how to go about the Phillips Andover admissions process, but Cardinal Education helped us to stay calm and focused. Our admissions consultant gave my child the tools and resources he needed to succeed, and he was always there to answer our questions and give encouragement.
— Andover Applicant Parent
A Final Word
Non Sibi is not marketing copy at Andover. It is the standard the school measures its graduates against, and it is the quality the admissions office is actually trying to detect in a fourteen-year-old. The families who do well here understand that early, and spend their time helping a child become someone worth admitting rather than assembling someone who looks admissible.
Related Articles:
Andover vs. Exeter: How to Choose Between the Two Phillips Schools
The Complete Boarding School Application Deadline Guide for Families Applying to Exeter and Andover
Famous Phillips Academy Andover Alumni and What Their Paths Reveal
Families also find our overview of what top boarding schools look for in an application profile and our list of boarding schools with the strongest STEM programs useful alongside this guide.
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Phillips Andover Admissions FAQ
We were not sure how to go about the Phillips Andover admissions process, but Cardinal Education helped us to stay calm and focused. Our admissions consultant gave my child the tools and resources he needed to succeed, and he was always there to answer our questions and give encouragement.
— Andover Applicant Parent