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 no more than eight advisees, 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, Fowle Hall, South Cottage, or Swank 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.