Just got back from a Fall Open House at Mercersburg. This is the third school we visited (after Blair and Peddie). We were absolutely blown away. They rolled out the red carpet. The arts program is incredible and so much more robust (especially in dance) compared to the other schools we visited. Their endowment is sky high and the campus is stunning–we liked it far more than both Blair and Peddie. My question is–why is Mercersburg so (seemingly) unknown? The number of families there at the open house was a fraction of the other schools. To be honest, although I have some familiarity with boarding schools (I attended a k-12 day school on the east coast so had many classmates apply to and leave for various boarding schools but mostly in New England), I had NEVER heard of Mercersburg until we started looking for my daughter. Am I missing something? I know its an old school–did it recently gain more prominence?
One thing I noted was the lack of transparency over college exmissions. They only list the schools students were admitted to, not those they attended on their website like most of the other schools we’ve looked at. It made me wonder if the college results were perhaps a major differentiation compared to the more elite schools.
Any thoughts or further contextual information about Mercersburg would be helpful.
Mercersburg may have been unknown to you, but it is very well known by those considering boarding schools. Plus, Mercersburg has received substantial publicity on education websites over the past several years. However, many view Mercersburg as a solid back-up rather than a top 5 destination.
Thanks. I believe it’s well known in the boarding school world, but that wasn’t reflected in the attendance at the open house which as I mentioned was sparsely attended compared to the other seemingly better known schools. I’ve also heard it referred to as a hidden gem so I know it’s not just me who wasn’t familiar with it!
Can you maybe elaborate more on why its a back up school – that would be helpful!
Depends upon why your family is considering boarding school.
For example: If seeking a highly competitive swimming team, then Mercersburg floats to the top, but for those who desire other things, then the focus may shift to other schools. Similar to those whose focus is on another sport, such as wrestling. If a highly talented and competitive wrestler, then Wyoming Seminary and Blair Academy become one’s focus.
If seeking connection to the best minds and highest ranked colleges and universities, then applicants typically look at a well known group of academically elite boarding schools.
I think it depends on where in the country you are. Many families prefer to have their kid at BS no more than 2-3 hours from home so the parents can visit, attend games, etc and so getting home for a weekend, illness, special occasion is less cumbersome. Mercersberg has long been popular with families in Pittsburgh and DC. Less so traditionally for families from NYC and New England who have many closer options. Mercersberg’s large gift allowed them to be more generous with aid (and do a lot of other things), and that has helped them with their reach and publicity.
As for college acceptances, my favorite way to see them is as acceptances with those being attended in bold. Yes, if you have one stellar kid who gets accepted to all HYPS, the school shows all 4 acceptances which can seem “puffy’“. But you are also getting a chance to see that the school prepares strong students for acceptance at those schools. (The stellar student who gets into Williams ED doesn’t contribute to the puffery as they have to withdraw all other applications, so the whole process is moderated a bit by that.)
Within the BS world, it has always had a very good reputation and is known for having a kind culture and being nurturing to a wide range of learners.
We’re from the Pittsburgh area and I can confirm it has an excellent reputation here. In fact I recently started a thread about looking for curriculums similar to Mercersburg because my 8th grade daughter is looking for more schools like that to at least investigate. But we knew about Mercersburg as it is one of the most popular boarding destinations for kids at her private K-8.
And I agree proximity is a potentially big issue. Indeed, we are struggling a bit (as a family) with whether we actually want to look farther from us than Mercersburg. No decision on that yet, and indeed other popular destinations in our school include St Andrews and St Paul’s. But I do think Mercersburg might be considered too far often the beaten trail for a variety of families with either a lot of also great but closer options, or at least options in more familiar locations.
Then finally there is also the same general sort of feedback loop as applies to private colleges, where to some people, harder to get admitted means more prestigious which means more valued which means more applications which means harder to get admitted . . . . We don’t personally think like that, but some people do.
OK, so I am not surprised Mercersburg is seen as “hidden” in a lot of other metros. I don’t think there is some hidden lack of virtue, though, outside of its location. I think its location is enough to explain the first cut to its application volumes and such, and then that feedback loop adds a bit more.
But it still ended up with a 22% acceptance rate last cycle. So not THAT hidden, and indeed that is part of why we are not going to be putting all our daughter’s eggs in their basket even if it emerges as her favorite.
Location, Location, Location. I loved Mercersberg on paper as I love a good “hidden gem”. But, having at least 20 other compatible schools within a 2 1/2 hour drive from us bumped Mercersberg off the list.
Just a couple of small data points from me. Two kids from two different families in my area (middle of nowhere small town within a reasonable half-day drive of Mercersburg…being vague in purpose) went there. I personally know both of them, as they had both been neighborhood friends of my daughter when they were all small. Both of these kids were quite gifted and local options weren’t adequate.One had bussed to our local high school when he was in 7th grade because he was already ready for pre-calc. He was the sort of boy who seemed to excel at everything from a young age…creative writing, math, athletics and social life. The other had attended a gifted magnate day school one county over (an hour’s drive) for most of elementary and middle school. They both thrived at Mercersburg, according to their parents. The first ended up at Duke, and is now in a STEM PhD program somewhere else. The second went to Emory for undergrad and I’m not sure what she is doing now.
I think the “hidden” reputation comes mainly from location - it primarily draws from PA and the DC metro area. I went there myself and loved it, I have a recent grad now at an Ivy and a child still there. My child at the Ivy feels extremely well prepared, as I did when I went to a different Ivy after graduation. They have had stellar college results - check out the instagram pages from the last few grad classes! Happy to answer questions by DM.Plenty of kids take the train from NYC to Harrisburg and the school provides transportation to/from the Amtrak station.
This rings true for us. The school ticked so many boxes (size, FA, culture, student:teacher ratio, etc…) Location wasn’t limiting to us as we were going to be flying to any of these schools, but it did not offer the sport that my son loves. So we moved on. That was the case at a few otherwise amazing places.
While we had not heard of it before beginning to look in earnest, it did come up in several searches rather quickly once we began filtering for our criteria.
I haven’t looked at their college placement, but I do think that some of the super elite schools attract people who are very brand conscious and very hooked. So their continuing on to equally “elite” colleges via said hook is not a surprise. Nor is it an indicator of how well said school will prepare your student for the admissions game and beyond. In fact, your student might benefit from having fewer of those students in their fellow applicant pool senior year?
It sounds like you have a fantastic “match” with Mercersburg. Enjoy it. I wouldn’t think too hard on this until March 10. If offered a place, that is a good time to get granular about college placement. Asking for too much detail prior to acceptance might give the impression you are looking more for reputation/prestige than fit. That will not enhance your daughter’s likelihood for an acceptance at any selective school. 22% is a very competitive landscape.