Boarding Schools  The Hill School

The Hill School www.thehill.org

Founded in 1851 as The Family Boarding School, The Hill may be distinguished from other college preparatory schools by its commitment to sustaining an ideal “family” learning environment. Indeed, The Hill was the first school in the country to have students live with faculty in their campus “home away from home.”

Set in a Pennsylvania borough that values hard work and genuineness of character, The Hill School prepares young men and women for college, careers, and life. In a vigorous, diverse, yet structured residential community, it challenges young people through a traditional liberal arts curriculum to live, learn, and lead; to fulfill themselves; and to serve the common good. Thus, the school seeks excellence in its own unique way, exhorting students to strive always for “Whatsoever things are true.”

 Academics

The academic program of The Hill School embodies the quest for “Whatsoever things are true,” our School motto, by providing an excellent liberal arts education rooted in basic skills and knowledge. The Hill School offers an educational experience that emphasizes intellectual discovery while helping students develop a moral framework by which to live their lives. A Hill education ultimately hopes to create a lifetime of learning inspired by intellectual curiosity, moral virtue, and esteem for human excellence.

 Special Highlights

The Humphrey Family Writing Center. Students who bring their class papers or their college essays to the Writing Center are put through a process that involves discussion, revision, more discussion, and more revision. This helps students home in on what they’re trying to say, and then it helps them say it with clarity and force. Ideally, the process begins with a conversation about the outline of the work and ends with a conversation about the finer points of the writing.

Strawberry Festival. Held annually on the final Wednesday of the school year, Strawberry Festival is an outdoor gathering that includes games, music, food, student sales, yearbook distribution, and the J-Ball final, all with a great atmosphere. It is eagerly anticipated by sixth formers as one of their last great opportunities to hang out together.

 Top colleges attended by students

Cornell University, United States Naval Academy, Georgetown University, Amherst College, Colgate University, Middlebury College, U of Penn, Villanova University, Trinity College, University of St. Andrews

 What the school looks for in students…

“Students are encouraged to develop leadership skills and expected to show personal responsibility and courtesy for others.”