[11] An Anglophile, Henry Coit endeavored to make St. Paul's an American equivalent of an English public school, importing Anglicisms such as "forms," "removes," "evensong," and "matins.

"[18] Founded in 1823, Round Hill was one of Harvard College's top feeder schools, and "offered an excellent but very expensive education" with "an elegant lifestyle," including "servants, stables, and tours of the estates of prominent Bostonians.

"[18] Although it shut down in 1834, it left a strong impression on Shattuck, who believed that in the isolation of a boarding school, attentive teachers could better foster "physical and moral culture" in their students.

[8]: 166, 170–73  Universities were attracted to the kind of well-schooled, upper-class young men that schools like St. Paul's produced in large quantities.

[30] In addition, in 1940 (shortly after Drury's death), 77 students applied to Harvard from the "St. Grottlesex" schools (of which St. Paul's was the largest member), and only one was rejected.

"[8]: 311  It was an ill-timed concession, as colleges were receiving the same flood of applications as boarding schools and took the opportunity to tighten their own standards for admission.

[37] Warren's last major achievement was coeducation: in May 1970, shortly before he stepped down, the board of trustees agreed to begin admitting girls in 1971.

In 1968, students wrote an acerbic manifesto describing the school administration as an oppressive regime, and issued demands for change.

According to Alex Shoumatoff '64, Oates applied "the prevailing educational and developmental thinking of the day, that schools should not be repressive and that adolescents should be free to experiment and try out different identities.

[39]: 172–73  In 1992, the board appointed David Hicks (r. 1992-96) as rector and ordered him to improve the school's academic reputation, as "[n]obody had gone to Harvard in five years, except for legacies.

According to sociologist Shamus Khan (an alumnus), the school's unparalleled financial resources allow it to cultivate "an intentional diversity that few communities share or can afford.

[52] Under her administration, St. Paul's bills itself as "one of the nation's only 100% boarding high schools"; nearly all of its competitors enroll some day students.

[49][60] Overlooking the Lower School Pond, the Ohrstrom Library was remodeled in 2016 and is now home to 75,000 print books and almost half a million e-books in its digital archive.

The school states that U.S.-based families with annual household incomes of $150,000 or below "generally qualify for full tuition support."

[51] Although most financial aid at St. Paul's is administered strictly on the basis of financial need, the school offers a limited number of regional scholarships for students from Alabama, California, New Jersey, New Mexico, Montana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming, as well as Mexico.

In 1978, Time magazine reported that St. Paul's had an endowment per student of $92,555 ($440,524 in February 2024 dollars), nearly two-thirds more than second-placed Groton.

[73] George Shattuck supported outdoors education, and St. Paul's was "perhaps the first school in which the deed of gift accented physical development.

[96] St. Paul's is a member of the Lakes Region League, an athletic conference of prep schools in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Privilege in meritocracy is acquired through talent, hard work, and a wide variety of cultural and social experiences.

[106] In the spring term, St. Paul's holds a school-wide public speaking contest called the Hugh Camp Cup.

The finalists' speeches are delivered before the entire school, and the student body votes on a winner, whose name is engraved on the prize.

In addition to the course load, students choose a daily extracurricular activity or sport to participate in four afternoons per week.

[115][116] In 2019, the school removed the names of two rectors from campus buildings, explaining that they had mishandled abuse claims during their respective tenures.

[122] Rector Craig B. Anderson (r. 1997-2005) retired under pressure in May 2005 after a campaign by parents and alumni that criticized his management of school finances and investments.

[46] As alleged, Anderson had severely cut back on school expenses while simultaneously being quite liberal with his own compensation and perks.

[123] The state attorney general investigated the issue, resulting in a settlement agreement and an Internal Revenue Service audit.

[144] Later that year, Prout published her memoir of the incident, titled I Have the Right To: A High School Survivor's Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope.

[146] In 2018, the state AG reached a settlement agreement,[147] which allowed the school to avoid criminal prosecution and required it to pay for an external compliance monitor.

[150] A replacement monitor released a report in 2021, noting that the school had hired an on-campus advocate to provide support for sexual assault survivors on a confidential basis.

[151][152] RAINN issued a report and recommendations in September 2022, noting that "St. Paul's leadership has made a number of process improvements in recent years.