Life on Campus

Mercersburg Academy is a true boarding school—about 85 percent of our students live on campus, and all of our day students are affiliated with a campus dorm. The residential experience educates the whole student, both in and out of the classroom.

At Mercersburg, we build a strong community through evening and weekend activities, such as club meetings, study groups, off-campus trips, spiritual offerings, and much more. We care about our environmental impact, and we make the health and wellness of each student our top priority.

Adviser System

Living away from home can be a real challenge for teenagers—and for parents! So Mercersburg’s adviser system supports students in every area of daily life.

Each student is assigned a faculty adviser to whom they can turn for help with personal and academic issues. Each faculty adviser has a group of five to eight advisees who are all affiliated with the same dormitory, and advisers get to know the students well. This system ensures that each student has at least one adult who is watching out primarily for that student.

Several times each year, all Mercersburg students meet with their advisory group to discuss specific topics of relevance both in the school community and to the broader world. In the past, we've covered topics ranging from technology and sleep to identity/diversity and character/leadership. Advisory topics are also accompanied by school speakers, initiatives, or residential discussions to deepen our understanding.

Residences

Much of your residential experience at Mercersburg will occur in one of seven modern dormitories. Boys are housed in Main Hall, Keil Hall, or Tippetts Hall. Girls reside in Culbertson House, South Cottage, Swank Hall, or Fowle Hall.

New students are assigned roommates and housing for their first year, and all day students are connected to a dorm. Returning students and their chosen roommates enter a housing lottery each spring to determine their dorms for the next year. Housed on every floor are dorm faculty as well as prefects—student leaders who assist the dorm dean and dorm faculty in managing the dorm.

Dining Hall

Mercersburg Academy and SAGE Dining Services are pleased to present an exciting dining program. Our community enjoys locally sourced food, cooked from scratch. SAGE’s seasonal menus are custom designed for us, reflecting the students’ preferences as well as the fresh products available in the local market. SAGE’s registered dietitians review and approve each menu to ensure that it offers a wide variety of nutritious choices with options available to accommodate dietary restrictions.

The dining hall is located in the center of campus in Ford Hall and serves three meals daily. A tradition at Mercersburg is the family-style meal every weekday at lunch and during dinner on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. To ensure a healthy learning environment, these meals are required for both boarding and day students, and students sit at assigned tables with a faculty member.

For more information about dining options at Mercersburg, email Jeff Gray, SAGE director of dining services. Learn more about SAGE.