As a college preparatory school, we devote extensive resources to guiding our Upper School students individually through the college preparation, selection, and application process. Our head of Upper School, Dr. Tom Banks, and our director of college counseling, Giulia Hollister, work one-on-one with students and their families on course selection prior to entering the Upper School and during their four-year experience.
In addition the director of college counseling meets with students to provide instruction on essay writing and finding the appropriate college fit. Consequently, our college placement rate is 100%, with more than two-thirds of students typically attending very competitive, highly competitive, and most competitive colleges and universities. Our students’ scores on standardized tests far exceed state and local averages; for more than 10 years, our juniors’ average SAT score has been near 1300.
But there’s more to educating students than preparing them for college. At Harrisburg Academy we provide the environment that allows students to explore and discover their own innate talents and abilities. We do that in a culture that values thinking for oneself, learning from others, and, above all, respect for individual differences. We believe everyone can become a star. Our students excel in academics, the creative arts, and athletics. All Upper School students participate in the service learning component of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB), entitled “Creativity, Action, and Service (CAS).” They seek out exciting internship opportunities in their senior year – and, what’s even more impressive, they become caring and committed human beings, supportive of one another, inclusive and accepting of their peers.
Small classes and a varied and individually oriented curriculum allow students to be actively involved in their own education. Along with traditional college preparatory courses in English, mathematics, science, history, and world languages, we offer architectural processes, photo-video, music theory and composition, comedy in literature, conscience and conflict, economics, and probability and statistics. In grades nine and 10, students take challenging coursework at the pre-IB level and then complete their Upper School experience with the opportunity to participate in the IB program as a full IB Diploma candidate or certificate student.
Students graduate from Harrisburg Academy prepared to enter and graduate from college. They are confident of themselves and ready to contribute their talents to the global society in which we all live.
