Student body, Phillips Exeter Academy, ca. 1903

The Academy claims a tradition of diversity. During the Civil War, three white students from Kentucky confronted the then-principal Gideon Lane Soule over the presence of an African-American student at Exeter. When they demanded that the black student be expelled on account of his color, Soule replied, "The boy is to stay; you may do as you please." 

1909 advertisement for the school

One of Exeter's unofficial mottoes – "Youth from Every Quarter" – is taken from the Deed of Gift, and is widely quoted and emphasized in the introductory course for freshmen in the fall. This phrase has also guided the Academy's admissions policies. Exeter's longtime Director of Scholarships H. Hamilton "Hammy" Bissell (1929) worked for decades to enable qualified students from all over the U.S. to attend Exeter.

Currently, the Exeter student body includes students from 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and 35 countries. Students of non-European descent comprise 37% of the student body (Asian 20%, Black 9%, Hispanic/Latino 7%, Native American 0.6%). Legacy students account for 13% of the students. Of new students entering in 2012 (a total of 340), 54% attended public school and 46% attended private, parochial, military, home, or foreign schools.

Most Exeter students – 80 percent – live on campus in dormitories or houses. The remaining 19 percent of the student body are day students from the surrounding communities.

The Academy uses a unique designation for its grade levels. Entering first-year students are called Juniors (nicknamed "Preps"), second-year students are Lower Middlers ("Lowers"), third-year students are Upper Middlers ("Uppers"), and fourth-year students are Seniors. Exeter also admits postgraduate students ("PGs").