Tilton Welcomes 90 New Students for the 2025-26 School Year
When classes began last Wednesday, officially kicking off the 2025-26 school year, 90 new students started their journey here on the Hill. Representing 14 states and 13 countries around the world, this group of incoming Rams is the largest to start school since 2019-20. Compared to Opening Day a year ago, new student enrollment has increased 25% and Tilton is welcoming students from countries such as Estonia and the Netherlands for the first time in recent history.
“It was a tremendous cycle for the Admissions Team and Tilton School as a whole,” says Dean of Enrollment Management JD Rogers. Now entering his second year in this role, Rogers helped reestablish Tilton’s presence in the market over the last 12 months with a focus on relationships and travel. “We’ve shared stories about Tilton and our students with prospective students, families, and consultants all over the globe. Last year we traveled to 12 states outside of New Hampshire and 10 countries internationally.”
In addition to traditional school fairs and events, Rogers and the Admissions Team also met with more than 120 placement personnel, hosting them on campus, meeting at industry events, or even traveling to meet at families’ homes. The engagement has had an immediate impact.
“Not only has our application activity been up over 20%, activity from educational consultants and placement directors at junior boarding and independent day schools have surged by 300% and 150%, respectively,” says Rogers. These relationships are critical in establishing Tilton School as a top choice for students and families who may already be considering boarding school.
The increased activity also manifested in Tilton yielding a higher percentage of its accepted students for the 2024-25 cycle. This year’s 39% figure is a 12 percent increase from the previous 12 months. Rogers is also part of a team focused on student retention that helped decrease attrition by 27% last school year.
Working for 2026-27
These processes, combined with the anticipated completion of West Knowles Hall by the start of 2026, set the stage for an exciting period of growth at Tilton School. Travel and recruitment events for the 2026-27 Admissions cycle are underway.
“It is incredibly exciting to already be working with many applicants and their families for the 2026-2027 year,” says Rogers. The Admissions Team, he continued, will also continue their work on welcoming students for the current year via late-entry and mid-year enrollments.
“Our Admissions team now has the strong opportunity to leverage the foundational work done over the past 14 months to be even more strategic and intentional in our positioning and engagement with placement personnel, schools, marketing, local and regional connections, and events. It is an exciting time as West Knowles reopens and enrollment continues to grow. Roll Rams!”
Meet the Admissions Team!