Mercersburg Academy (Mercersburg, PA)

“We try to make sure they aren’t idle very long.”
Frank Betkowski, Associate Director of College Counseling

It’s hard to believe when you arrive at Mercersburg Academy that you are actually at a high school and not a small university campus. Though the school is non-denominational, the beautiful Chapel is a true focal point when you enter the rural 300-acre campus. A large campus green space divides the many academic buildings and residence halls. Had it been warmer I imagine the lawn would be littered with many of the school’s 450 students on blankets and tossing frisbees.

Though familiar with Mercersburg before my visit, I did a bit of a pre-arrival survey amongst my consultant colleagues to find out what type of student the school produced. Two names immediately sprung to the tips of their tongues: Benecio Del Toro ‘85 and Jimmy Stewart ‘28. Both actors proudly wore blue and white before becoming stars of the silver screen (and both winning Academy Awards). In fact, Stewart was not only a member of the school’s football team and glee club (an early day Finn Hudson, perhaps?), he also acted in his first stage production while at Mercersburg. However, the school doesn’t just produce wonderful talent in the arts…anyone who’s basted a Thanksgiving turkey will recognize the name Jim Perdue ’69, CEO of Perdue Farms.

I was fortunate to have two tour guides, Ian and Katherine, who had completely opposite personalities. As a class leader, Katherine was extremely enthusiastic about student involvement in the community at the school, while Ian was a very dedicated student-athlete raving about the renovations taking place in the athletic center on campus.

Both had a laundry list of activities in which they were involved and mentioned that students really don’t have much down time. Ian and Katherine both felt that a student who is simply looking for a place to go to school wouldn’t last very long at Mercersburg as the students are definitely active outside of the classroom.

Walking through Rutledge Hall, visitors will get a sense of what lies ahead for Mercersburg grads (besides poultry or the silver screen!). Tiffany stained glass windows emblazoned with the names of many prestigious universities adorn the walls of the Harry Potter-esque hall. My guides said that when the hall was being built the school offered those universities who contributed towards the completion of the building their very own window adorned with their institution name. This meant that Mercersburg students would see those school names daily and would thus be more apt to select one of those institutions upon graduation.

Does this still ring true? These institutions have enrolled the most Mercersburg grads in recent years: the U.S. Naval Academy, Boston University, Dickinson, University of Rochester, and Bucknell. Do these schools have a stained glass window in Rutledge? You’ll have to visit to see for yourself!