In the mountain city of Asheville, North Carolina, lies the Asheville School, a private coeducational boarding school founded in 1900 for students in grades 9–12. Students here learn to challenge themselves academically and personally. The natural setting of the area invites mountaineering: all first-year student go on a three-day wilderness camping trip complete with a high-ropes course. They also take a series of seminars designed to orient them to Asheville School.

Academics mirror the rigor of the outdoor adventure through the four-year sequence of the Integrated Humanities program. Seniors must also complete a Senior Demonstration that requires them to write a series of papers on a chosen topic and defend the topic to a faculty panel. Seniors also give “Chapel Talks” in which they make oral presentations on personal and significant ideas or experiences in front of the entire campus community.

The community service requirement—one that is common among boarding schools—differs at Asheville in that students complete 40 hours of service for one organization and submit an essay about that experience to the headmaster.

In addition to Ivies, students attend Bates, Boston College, Davidson, Furman, University of Richmond, and West Point.

•Percentage of students who board: 80%

•Tuition, room, and board: $47,375

•Percentage of students who receive some form of financial aid: 30%

•Notable alumni: Dr. D. Ralph Millard (plastic surgery pioneer), Edward Gaylord (media mogul), Pete Dye, Jr. (world-renowned golf course designer), Jennifer Phar-Davis (fastest hiker through the Appalachian Trail)