<p>Can anyone give me some comments regarding Mercersburg ? I learnt from its website that it is competitive in most of the sports especially in swimming, is it true ? How about its academic performances ? Is it easy to get in or difficult ? I would be glad if someone can tell me more about this.</p>
<p>Mercersburg is well known for their dominance in swimming, producing a fair number of olympians. They don't require sports participation which many other schools do.</p>
<p>Admission to Mercersburg is competitive - the website says there are over 800 applications for 150 spots. (They don't list the admit rate, which could well be double that, or approximately high 30%.) Academics are first rate with lots of advanced classes offered and a low student/faculty ratio.</p>
<p>The school seems to have a real seriousness about the arts, as shown by their facilities.</p>
<p>Sounds good huh !</p>
<p>Quite good. :)</p>
<p>I have visited the campus. It is very pretty, but very remote. Some of the other MAPL schools won't travel there to compete in certain sports because it is just too far. That said, the academics are excellent and the sports are great. We have a regular poster here who is a grad- tokyorevelation, I think is his name.</p>
<p>I want to apply to Mercersburg, but my parents told me last night that I can't apply to any boarding schools :(</p>
<p>i want to go to boarding school so badly, but my parents keep saying no. it's mostly money stuff, even though i told them that there are school with merit scholarships, and then obviously there's financial aid.</p>
<p>on some site i saw that mercersburg has merit scholarships? i don't know if that's true though.
but i know someone who goes there who loves it</p>
<p>Any chances to get in if my S just got 77% in SSAT but he's a pretty good swimmer ?</p>
<p>If the 77% is the regular SSAT score vs. other SSAT test takers and not the nationally normed score, then that certainly is within the accepted student range at Mercersburg and should keep him in the running. Be sure to talk to the swimming coach when he interviews.</p>
<p>This is his first trial in SSAT and he targets at the one by the end of this year for the application in the fall of 09. Actually my S aims at Phillips Exeter which is his most favourite school. I know it's really competitive to get in !!</p>
<p>As an old timer, class of 58 from Mercersburg and having sent a son and a daughter to Mercersburg,Class of 70 and 71, I can sincerely say that it has always been a very good school academically and in sports. Having visited the campus for my 50th reunion I was pleasently surprised how the school has evolved from a “good” school into an “excellent” school. The campus is beautiful (better than most colleges), education is top notch, sports are great specially swimming.(many olympians from the swim program). A huge endowment allowing to give a lot of financial aid. Look into Mercersburg. it is A#1.</p>
<p>My daughter is a sophomore at Mercersburg. It has been a great fit for her. She is not a swimmer, but plays on other teams. She also does the winter outdoor endeavor program. Academically, I would say Mercersburg is a great school. She is taking an AP world history, Latin 3 honors, honors English, regular math, chemistry and sculpure. Her grades are in the upper 80’s overall. She was a straight A student before coming to M’burg. I think she was surprised at just how challenging the workload is for her. But her teachers are always available and she feels very comfortable about asking for help.
She has played on the soccer team, field hockey team and lacrosse team. At the varsity level, they play all the MAPL schools. Yes, some are a trek, but that is what Saturdays are for when it comes to travel games. If you ask her, she loves the far away games because the bus rides are so much fun (boys and girls teams often travel together). She also went to Costa Rica last year, free,as one of about 12 kids chosen to do a bio field study program. They worked with injured monkeys, sea turtles on the beach laying eggs, tree planting, and engaging with young kids at a local library. They also surfed, rode a zipline through the trees, and enjoyed the local color.
My daughter chose M’burg because she wanted diversity. There are about 38 nations represented there which was a far cry from our small town.
M’burg does offer merit scholarships. It is based on the overall application, but I was told that those who have been offered the scholarship have always had ssat scores above the 90th percentile. It isn’t a requirement by any means, just a reflection of what has occurred in the past.
And yes, it is remote. No question that the campus is far from the beaten path. As a result, I think the kids tend to be perhaps more cohesive as a student body. I have nothing to base that on except for the fact that going home for weekends or to local cities just isn’t much of an option for many. They tend to stick around campus and hang out together.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have, either here or by pm.
zp</p>
<p>My daughter is also looking at this school. She is a swimmer but not the Olympic material. She worried that she may not make into the swim team. Can anyone comment on their requirement for the team? Also, how does M’burg rank academically comparing with other BS?</p>
<p>tokyorevelation9 was one of the all-time All*Star posters of this forum, if you ask me. Alas, I see he hasn’t posted since 2008. He was always happy to give his frank – and generally very positive – assessment of Mercersburg. Maybe a PM will get his attention?</p>
<p>I also miss hazmat, but he was an Exie…so I digress.</p>
<p>many rich kids, much comparison of clothes, lots of drugs, poor “watching over” the kids</p>
<p>Visited and was impressed. Coming from the south and given that Mercersburg colors are blue and uses the Big Blue M - we could not help but compare it to McCallie - which also has a fantastic swim program. Our take away was that it was a fabulous school and like a co-ed McCallie without the religion. They have a chapel that is gorgeous but told us that they barely use it. … New arts center was impressive. Location is nice. Campus very attractive. Students neat and very friendly. Great outdoors program. One of the two boys with us that toured the school applied and was offered a nice aid package (initial accept with FA WL), but had already chosen a different school by the time aid was available. </p>
<p>Two negatives to me that come quickly to mind were 1) lack of use of the chapel, if even for gatherings and 2) student rooms having playstations and xbox… I knew that was not the boarding environment for an easily distracted boy :)</p>
<p>PS- great to get these lesser known schools back in the spotlight!</p>
<p>Certainly Mercersburg hasn’t cornered the market on clothes, drugs and freedom. My daughter has had a great experience so far at Mercersburg. She is working harder than ever, playing on teams, trying new things and generally pushing herself further than shte would have thought possible.
As far as drugs go, kids everywhere will do stupid things. Hopefully my daughter has the tools necessary to make the right decisions. If you get caught drinking or using drugs, you are out.
You’re partly right about clothes, PD. My daughter’s wardrobe has expanded exponentially because she and the girls on her hall have an open closet policy. You know the rule–first one up is the best dressed.</p>
<p>I sent my daughter to Mercersburg because she desperately wanted to spread her wings. I expect the faculty there to walk beside her at times and at other times to let her lead. I was not looking for them to hold her hand. Had I wanted that, I would have kept her home.</p>
<p>And, at the risk of having potential applicants cross off m’burg from their lists, I don’t know any kids with xboxes in their room. My guess is that that priviledge is reserved for prefects.</p>
<p>Finally, the chapel is used all the time. Every school meeting (one or two a week, at least) is held in the chapel. It is gorgeous.</p>
<p>zp</p>
<p>BUMP IT UP! I’m interested in Mercersburg academy (: It seems like a fine place!</p>
<p>I know this is an old thread, but would anyone like to talk to me about the performing arts programs at Mercersburg? I am applying and want to know everything about this great school!!!</p>