Thursday, March 29, 2007 Older Editions

Phillips accepts 451 new students

By Sally J. Holm
Phillips Academy

Acceptance letters have gone out to 451 of the 2,300 students who applied to Phillips Academy this year. The Admission Office reported the largest volume of applications ever received, with applicants from 48 states and 49 countries. Just under 20 percent of all applicants were accepted, one of the lowest admission rates of any secondary school in the country.

A total of 159 students from Massachusetts were selected, including 76 from the Merrimack Valley.

According to Jane Fried, dean of admission, the quality of this year's applicant pool was exceptionally high.

"We are accustomed to reading applications from very talented students, and yet, this year's class can be characterized as having an extraordinary ability 'to see beyond themselves and to go beyond the familiar,' " Fried said, quoting a phrase from Andover's Statement of Purpose. "They already have made a difference in their families, schools, teams, and communities and now are eager to step into our community that brings the world to Andover."

Most of the admitted students rank in the top five percent of their classes, and the group as a whole has a median SSAT total score of 94 percent.

The students also represent a wide and diverse range of interests. Forty-nine percent of the accepted group has participated in community service, an interest that Andover, with a school motto of non sibi (not for self), takes very seriously. Several students have been involved in post-tsunami rebuilding efforts in Thailand. Another student organized a literacy program using middle-school peers to teach underprivileged children in a city near her home.

The group also includes 50 accomplished young musicians from around the world, among them a self-taught composer of electronic jazz, and a tennis player with a passion for voice and stringed instruments. Also in the group are an aspiring professional chef, an entrepreneur from Alaska with her own business, a London student passionate about Native American art who weaves Navajo rugs, as well as artists, athletes, budding mathematicians and scientists, performers, and writers.

When evaluating potential candidates, Fried notes that admission counselors look at more than just a student's grades. They also closely evaluate character. "We do not send our students home at the end of the day and thus we admit students whom we not only want to teach, coach, and direct but with whom we also want to live," says Fried. "It all stems from the Academy's mission to teach knowledge and goodness, recognizing that one quality without the other will not allow our students to make a difference in their own lives or the lives of others."

This year's group also reflects the highest number of students accepted with financial aid scholarships in recent history - 173 of the admitted students. Overall, Andover will provide more than $12.8 million in grant money next year. Of that total, $4.1 million has been offered to newly admitted students. The record amount of financial aid to be offered next year is in keeping with the Academy's Strategic Plan, which calls on the school to work toward a "need-blind" admission process, a challenge school officials take to heart.

Since the adoption of the 2004 Strategic Plan, the board of trustees has initiated an historic commitment to increase the resources allocated to financial aid. In fact, over the past several fiscal years the board has increased the financial aid budget by nearly $1 million annually. As a result, in the current 2006-07 school year, Phillips Academy supports 41 percent of the student body with some level of financial aid. While Andover has always been a leader in the distribution of support offered to low-, middle-, and upper-middle income families, school officials are particularly proud of the effort to support 10 percent of the student body on full scholarship.

In January, the board took several additional steps to increase the affordability of an Andover education, including the institution of a program to provide laptop computers to all full-scholarship students admitted for September 2007.

Also, Phillips Academy will no longer offer student loans as part of the financial aid award. The estimated financial need of families will be met fully with financial aid scholarship grants. These grants are supported by $160 million in endowed scholarship funds.

In working toward its commitment to provide educational opportunity to "youth from every quarter," Andover has admitted students with high academic standing from diverse cultural, racial, geographic, and socioeconomic groups.

Thirty-four percent identify themselves as students of color, and 20 different countries - including Zimbabwe, Argentina, the People's Republic of China, Japan, Germany, France, South Africa, and Mexico - are represented.

A geographically diverse student body represents another key goal of Andover, which is to nourish within its students a deep awareness of the global community, an understanding of world affairs, and a commitment to public service. Nine different world languages are offered in the Andover curriculum.

Accepted students are invited for spring visits beginning March 30 and have until April 10 to indicate whether they will enroll.