The Ten Schools: Tuition, Financial Aid, Testing and Fall 2027 Deadlines at the Ten TSAO Boarding Schools
By Rona Aydin
What are the Ten Schools?
The Ten Schools Admission Organization describes itself as “a group of top ten New England college preparatory” schools that was “Founded in 1952” (Ten Schools Admission Organization). Its membership is “limited to our founding member schools”: Andover, Choate, Deerfield, Exeter, Hill, Hotchkiss, Lawrenceville, Loomis Chaffee, St. Paul’s School (SPS) and Taft (TSAO About). Eight members are in New England; Lawrenceville is in New Jersey and Hill is in Pennsylvania. TSAO coordinates outreach and information for families; it is not a common application, and each school admits students separately. A different group, the Eight Schools Association, includes seven of the ten (Andover, Choate, Deerfield, Exeter, Hotchkiss, Lawrenceville and St. Paul’s) plus Northfield Mount Hermon (Eight Schools Association). This guide compares the ten TSAO schools on what each publishes; it does not rank them.
How do the Ten Schools compare on cost, aid and testing?
| School | Boarding tuition 2026-27 | Day tuition 2026-27 | Share receiving aid | SAT, SSAT or similar for fall 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exeter | $71,797 | $56,077 | 49% of students | Required |
| Choate | $74,530 (includes $1,000 technology fee) | $57,610 | 36% of students | Optional |
| St. Paul’s | $75,400 tuition, room and board, plus $1,480 fees | None; all students board | 37% of students | Required |
| Loomis Chaffee | $77,340, plus technology and health fees | $59,460 | 33% of students | Optional |
| Andover | $79,800 | $63,840 | 47% of students | Required |
| Deerfield | $79,940 | $57,850 | 38% of families | Required |
| Hotchkiss | $80,800 (includes technology and health fees) | $68,700 | 33% of students | Required |
| Hill | $81,040 | $54,980 | 39% of students | Required |
| Taft | $81,400 (“do not charge any additional fees”) | $60,050 | 36% of students | Required |
| Lawrenceville | $82,710 (“Comprehensive Tuition”) | $68,060 | More than 30% of families | Required |
None of the ten publishes a current acceptance rate on its website. The most recent figures we found on school sites are older: Andover reported “an admit rate of 14 percent” in an April 2015 news release (Andover news, April 2015), and an Exeter fact sheet dated September 2021 lists 11.0% admitted (Exeter at a Glance 2021). Taft lists 1,650 new student applications and 189 new students enrolled, without a year, which does not give an acceptance rate (Taft by the Numbers). Tuition figures are for 2026-27; most schools do not date their aid share, and Taft gives 36% on its Affording Taft page and 35% on Taft by the Numbers. Deerfield says that from fall 2027 it will be “a fully-boarding school” with “a single tuition rate” (Deerfield admission); its 2027-28 rate was not posted when we checked.
Which Ten Schools publish an income level for free tuition?
- Exeter. “Families making less than $150,000 pay no tuition” (Exeter financial aid).
- Deerfield. Under its Financial Aid Initiative for 2026-27, “Domestic families making up to $150,000 will pay” $0, and domestic families above $150,000 pay no more than 10% of total income for tuition and fees per student, subject to conditions such as living and working in the United States (Deerfield financial aid).
- St. Paul’s. “Families of admitted U.S.-based students with an annual household income up to $150,000” “generally qualify for full tuition support” (St. Paul’s tuition and financial aid).
The other seven publish no income threshold. Andover says it admits students regardless of financial need and meets full demonstrated need with grants (Andover tuition and aid); Lawrenceville, Choate and Taft publish tables by family income instead (Choate’s shows the average family contribution, and Taft’s 2026-27 table shows median grants and median tuition paid) (Lawrenceville tuition and aid; Choate tuition and aid; Taft financial aid FAQs). Several schools say aid can affect admission when the aid budget is exhausted; Deerfield, for example, answers “Possibly” to whether applying for aid affects admission, because its budget “is limited.”
What are the Ten Schools application deadlines for fall 2027?
| School | Application deadline | Financial aid deadline | Decisions | Reply by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andover | February 1, 2027 | February 1, 2027 | March 10 | Not published |
| Exeter | January 15 | January 15 | March 10 | Not published |
| Lawrenceville | January 15 | January 15 | March 10 | April 10 |
| Choate | January 15 for full consideration | January 15 | March 10 (if materials arrive by February 1) | Not published |
| Deerfield | January 15 (priority) | January 15 | March 10 | April 10 |
| Hotchkiss | January 15, 2027 | January 15, 2027 | March 10, 2027 | April 10, 2027 |
| Hill | January 31, 2027 | January 15, 2027 | March 10, 2027 | April 10, 2027 |
| Loomis Chaffee | January 15, 2027 | January 31, 2027 | March 10, 2027 | April 10, 2027 |
| St. Paul’s | January 15 | January 15 | March 10 | Not published |
| Taft | January 15 | February 1 | March 10 | April 10 |
Most of the ten name the Gateway to Prep Schools application as their application; Hill, Loomis Chaffee and Taft also accept the Standard Application Online (SAO). Choate and Loomis Chaffee are test optional for fall 2027 (Loomis asks every applicant to complete a Test Optional Form); the other eight require a score, usually the SSAT or ISEE for younger applicants and the PSAT, SAT or ACT for older ones.
Where do Ten Schools graduates go to college?
The schools report matriculation in different formats, so they cannot be compared in one table. Andover’s 2026-27 profile groups colleges by the number of matriculants over three years and marks Class of 2026 colleges with five or more and ten or more students; Exeter groups colleges by 10 or more and fewer than 10 students across 2024 to 2026; Lawrenceville gives five-year counts for colleges with five or more matriculants, such as 42 at Cornell (Lawrenceville college counseling); other schools use their own formats and year ranges. Our guide to the best feeder schools for the Ivy League gathers the published lists, with their years.
How should families build a Ten Schools application list?
The view of Oriel Admissions is that families should compare the ten on what each school actually publishes: cost after aid, the testing rule, the deadline and the fit of the residential program, rather than on unofficial acceptance rates. In our view, a family that needs aid should look closely at the three schools with a published $150,000 threshold and at each school’s statement on whether aid affects admission. All ten give March 10 as their decision date, and in our experience many families apply to several of the ten; our guides to Andover, Exeter and Lawrenceville cover individual schools.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Ten Schools
They are the members of the Ten Schools Admission Organization, founded in 1952: Andover, Choate, Deerfield, Exeter, Hill, Hotchkiss, Lawrenceville, Loomis Chaffee, SPS (in Concord, New Hampshire) and Taft. TSAO says its membership is limited to these founding schools.
None of the ten publishes a current acceptance rate. The most recent figures we found on school sites are an Andover admit rate of 14 percent from 2015 and an Exeter rate of 11.0% from 2021. Taft lists undated application and enrollment counts but no admit count.
Boarding tuition ranges from $71,797 at Exeter to $82,710 at Lawrenceville. Several schools add technology, health or other fees, and SPS lists $75,400 for tuition, room and board plus $1,480 in fees.
Exeter says families making less than $150,000 pay no tuition, Deerfield says domestic families making up to $150,000 pay $0 under its Financial Aid Initiative, and SPS says U.S.-based families up to $150,000 generally qualify for full tuition support. The other seven publish no income threshold.
Most are due January 15, 2027. Andover is due February 1, 2027 and Hill January 31, 2027. All ten give March 10 as their decision date, and many ask families to reply by April 10.
Eight of the ten require a test score for fall 2027, usually the SSAT or ISEE for younger applicants and the PSAT, SAT or ACT for older applicants. Choate and Loomis Chaffee are test optional.
No. TSAO coordinates outreach and information for families, and each school admits students separately. Most of the ten use the Gateway to Prep Schools application, and Hill, Loomis Chaffee and Taft also accept the Standard Application Online.
Oriel Admissions suggests comparing cost after aid, testing rules, deadlines and residential fit, using the figures each school publishes. In our experience, many families apply to more than one of the ten; all ten give March 10 as their decision date.
Sources: Ten Schools Admission Organization, TSAO About, Eight Schools Association, Andover tuition and financial aid, Applying to Andover, Andover Admission FAQs, Andover financial aid requirements, Andover news release, April 29, 2015, Exeter tuition and costs, Exeter financial aid, Exeter How to Apply, Exeter at a Glance, September 2021, Lawrenceville tuition and aid, Lawrenceville application process, Lawrenceville college counseling, Choate tuition and financial aid, Choate admission FAQ, Choate home page, Deerfield financial aid, Deerfield how to apply, Deerfield admission, Hotchkiss tuition and financial aid, Hotchkiss how to apply, Hill tuition and financial aid, Hill how to apply, Loomis Chaffee tuition and financial aid, Loomis Chaffee application process, Loomis Chaffee testing policy, St. Paul’s tuition and financial aid, St. Paul’s application FAQs, St. Paul’s admissions, St. Paul’s applying, Taft tuition and fees, Affording Taft, Apply to Taft, Taft by the Numbers. All read October 27, 2026.
About Oriel Admissions
Oriel Admissions is a college admissions consulting firm advising families nationwide on elite university admissions strategy, with offices in Princeton, New Jersey and New York. Our team pairs deep admissions expertise with a distinctive 360 approach spanning academic planning, extracurricular strategy, essays and application execution. To discuss your strategy, schedule a consultation.
