Apply to the Mountain School!
While we've passed our priority deadline, if you are still interested in applying to our semester program, we encourage you to start an Application!
We have limited financial aid available so please email admissions@mountainschool.org to confirm availability if this is a consideration for you.
You can access recorded webinars here.
A Letter from our Director of Admissions
If you are reading this, welcome!
I am so glad that you have found TMS.
Whether you are searching for something new to challenge and inspire your high school experience, following your passions for the environment, or longing to connect deeply with other students from around the world, you have found your way to a special place.
I invite you to imagine yourself here. Set on a farm in central Vermont, the Mountain School is a place of intellectual energy, stunning beauty, spontaneous play, and deep reflection. If you are looking for an authentic education among friends who truly want to learn, this program is for you.
What makes us different from other schools is the strength of the relationships built here. Relationships with the land, where you will explore its history, cultivate its potential, and drink in the inspiration of its beauty. Relationships with peers, where you will form lifelong friendships across lines of difference. And relationships with yourself, where you can fully express the incredible person you have always been.
We can’t wait to meet you. We hope you’ll join us.
Lucretia Witte Director of Admissions
This is me with a group of Spring ‘23 students taking a rest at Greenleaf Hut on our hike of Franconia Ridge. One of the reasons I love my job is getting to know students through these types of experiences!
Admissions Timeline
School visits & online info sessions — see our schedule
Fall 2023
Applications are due
February 15, 2024
Decisions for Fall ‘24 and Spring ‘25 are released
March 2024
Waitlist offers made
April 2024
Course Requests Due in Blackbaud
May 2024
Watch a video of recent graduate Lucy Norton Baker speak about her experience at the Mountain School!
To express interest in Fall ‘24 or Spring ‘25, please complete our inquiry form. Our application will be live on October 1, 2023.
If your question is not answered on our website, you can reach us by emailing admissions@mountainschool.org.
We will be offering a number of virtual info sessions and in-person school visits for the Fall ‘24 and Spring ‘25 admissions season, starting in October 2023. You can view the schedule here.
In the meantime, you can watch one of our recorded student panels here.
An application to the Mountain School includes:
Student statements (short & long essay)
Two teacher recommendations
A transcript from your current school
An interview with a member of the admissions team
If applying for Need-Based scholarship, A Parent Financial Statement in SSS
All students attending the Mountain School should review the Essential Eligibility Criteria (EEC) and reach out if you do not meet one. The EEC exists to help us ensure your safety while you are here.
TMS’s mission is, in part, to “learn to know a place and take care of it.” We challenge students to spend time in the woods, on the farm, and in the barns and other buildings engaging in physical work, intellectual endeavors, and independent exploration. To achieve this mission, we rely on students who are self-aware, able to self-govern, capable of being trusted, responsible for managing time and space, and able to work both alone and in groups.
Mountain School's 2024-25 Tuition is $38,000 per semester plus an activities fee of $500.
Students who wish to apply for need-based scholarships provide a Parent Financial Statement, including supporting documents, through the SSS portal: https://sssandtadsfa.my.site.com/familyportal, using school code 3537. This statement is due at the same time as the student’s portion of the application, February 15, 2024.
In the 2023-24 admissions season, 40% of our students were offered a need-based scholarship.
We do not offer merit-based scholarships, since all students who come to the Mountain School are academically motivated.
Do you have questions about the admissions process, student life, or our school in general? Review our Frequently Asked Questions.
If you don’t find answers there, please reach out to admissions@mountainschool.org.