Thoughts/Experience with Mercersburg Academy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yikes Episcopal. 9th grade? I know I'm old and outdated, but I don't want that for my 14 year old. St. Andrew's sounding better by the minute!

I know kids will find there own sexuality as they become adults. But I'd be happy if that were delayed to the older years of high school. Or college.

I don't know how much truth there is to it, but someone posted a couple of pages of an older thread about it when I asked for more details re. The accusation. I'm hoping they might have been overreacting.

[Anonymous]

My son is a senior at Mercersburg- happy to talk about our experience. He chose it over several NE schools (he didn’t apply to St. Andrew’s as it felt too small and Episcopal was too close).

It’s been a transformative experience for him and being able to visit 1-2 times a month to catch his games or take him and friends for dinner has been wonderful. The town of Mercersburg is small and cozy with just enough to keep the kids entertained with a sense of independence.

He’s a strong student and has certainly been challenged academically, taking Calc BC in 11th, AS Latin etc. College acceptances have been strong- not Andover or Exeter caliber but kids are going to the right fit schools. He’s had some great teachers and some so-so. The advisory program is excellent/ I feel like there are eyes on him even when he doesn’t realize it.

Sports teams are up and down- strongest are squash, swimming, soccer and baseball. The others not so much.

What sets Mercersburg apart is its community. The day students represent the small towns near Hagerstown and Mercersburg. The boarders are from most states and many countries. My son has friends from around the world and it’s been a pleasure to get to know them.

Finally, we’ve made lifelong friendships with parents from the DMV. From carpools to sharing info to running items up to each other’s kids, our village has been a lifeline.

I encourage you and anyone thinking about boarding school to take a drive up and visit. The campus is stunning, especially in the fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is a senior at Mercersburg- happy to talk about our experience. He chose it over several NE schools (he didn’t apply to St. Andrew’s as it felt too small and Episcopal was too close).

It’s been a transformative experience for him and being able to visit 1-2 times a month to catch his games or take him and friends for dinner has been wonderful. The town of Mercersburg is small and cozy with just enough to keep the kids entertained with a sense of independence.

He’s a strong student and has certainly been challenged academically, taking Calc BC in 11th, AS Latin etc. College acceptances have been strong- not Andover or Exeter caliber but kids are going to the right fit schools. He’s had some great teachers and some so-so. The advisory program is excellent/ I feel like there are eyes on him even when he doesn’t realize it.

Sports teams are up and down- strongest are squash, swimming, soccer and baseball. The others not so much.

What sets Mercersburg apart is its community. The day students represent the small towns near Hagerstown and Mercersburg. The boarders are from most states and many countries. My son has friends from around the world and it’s been a pleasure to get to know them.

Finally, we’ve made lifelong friendships with parents from the DMV. From carpools to sharing info to running items up to each other’s kids, our village has been a lifeline.

I encourage you and anyone thinking about boarding school to take a drive up and visit. The campus is stunning, especially in the fall.

Thanks for sharing your experience. We will definitely visit. Can you please share a bit more about the advisories?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is a senior at Mercersburg- happy to talk about our experience. He chose it over several NE schools (he didn’t apply to St. Andrew’s as it felt too small and Episcopal was too close).

It’s been a transformative experience for him and being able to visit 1-2 times a month to catch his games or take him and friends for dinner has been wonderful. The town of Mercersburg is small and cozy with just enough to keep the kids entertained with a sense of independence.

He’s a strong student and has certainly been challenged academically, taking Calc BC in 11th, AS Latin etc. College acceptances have been strong- not Andover or Exeter caliber but kids are going to the right fit schools. He’s had some great teachers and some so-so. The advisory program is excellent/ I feel like there are eyes on him even when he doesn’t realize it.

Sports teams are up and down- strongest are squash, swimming, soccer and baseball. The others not so much.

What sets Mercersburg apart is its community. The day students represent the small towns near Hagerstown and Mercersburg. The boarders are from most states and many countries. My son has friends from around the world and it’s been a pleasure to get to know them.

Finally, we’ve made lifelong friendships with parents from the DMV. From carpools to sharing info to running items up to each other’s kids, our village has been a lifeline.

I encourage you and anyone thinking about boarding school to take a drive up and visit. The campus is stunning, especially in the fall.

Thanks for sharing your experience. We will definitely visit. Can you please share a bit more about the advisories?

MB Advisories- you are assigned an advisor group your freshman year (a faculty member and a small group of students in your grade) and this teacher/faculty member serves as a point of contact for both the student and their parents for four years. My son’s advisor is amazing- she has decorated his room for his birthday and bought cupcakes for him, delivered soup when he’s sick, helped navigate a scheduling conflict. She has hosted the students at her on campus house for dinner, they have Monday lunches together as an advisory unit. She’s the first person I’ll reach out to if I need something (for example, when our dog at home was very sick I texted her to give her a heads up because I knew my son would have a tough few days),

[Anonymous]

From our experience talking to our kid’s friends and parents, St. Andrew’s has a very high number of HOS kids and faculty kids from the top NE schools attending. That said a lot to us about how boarding school experts view the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From our experience talking to our kid’s friends and parents, St. Andrew’s has a very high number of HOS kids and faculty kids from the top NE schools attending. That said a lot to us about how boarding school experts view the school.

That does speak volumes. Thanks for sharing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is a senior at Mercersburg- happy to talk about our experience. He chose it over several NE schools (he didn’t apply to St. Andrew’s as it felt too small and Episcopal was too close).

It’s been a transformative experience for him and being able to visit 1-2 times a month to catch his games or take him and friends for dinner has been wonderful. The town of Mercersburg is small and cozy with just enough to keep the kids entertained with a sense of independence.

He’s a strong student and has certainly been challenged academically, taking Calc BC in 11th, AS Latin etc. College acceptances have been strong- not Andover or Exeter caliber but kids are going to the right fit schools. He’s had some great teachers and some so-so. The advisory program is excellent/ I feel like there are eyes on him even when he doesn’t realize it.

Sports teams are up and down- strongest are squash, swimming, soccer and baseball. The others not so much.

What sets Mercersburg apart is its community. The day students represent the small towns near Hagerstown and Mercersburg. The boarders are from most states and many countries. My son has friends from around the world and it’s been a pleasure to get to know them.

Finally, we’ve made lifelong friendships with parents from the DMV. From carpools to sharing info to running items up to each other’s kids, our village has been a lifeline.

I encourage you and anyone thinking about boarding school to take a drive up and visit. The campus is stunning, especially in the fall.

Thanks for sharing your experience. We will definitely visit. Can you please share a bit more about the advisories?

MB Advisories- you are assigned an advisor group your freshman year (a faculty member and a small group of students in your grade) and this teacher/faculty member serves as a point of contact for both the student and their parents for four years. My son’s advisor is amazing- she has decorated his room for his birthday and bought cupcakes for him, delivered soup when he’s sick, helped navigate a scheduling conflict. She has hosted the students at her on campus house for dinner, they have Monday lunches together as an advisory unit. She’s the first person I’ll reach out to if I need something (for example, when our dog at home was very sick I texted her to give her a heads up because I knew my son would have a tough few days),

Thanks got providing this insight. I first heard of the advisory system during the Episcopal open house. What you explained sounds similar, with the exception that you stay with the same advisory group for your four years at the school. It sounds like your son had am amazing advisor.