Why Our Graduates Are Prepared

We believe all of our graduates are well prepared for college, and that most are capable of success at even the most demanding liberal arts and sciences institutions.

Graduation

Academic Life

Asheville is a rigorous school. The academic environment has several noteworthy features:

  • A Core Curriculum: The curriculum follows a traditional sequence and spans the disciplines of math, humanities (with courses in both English and history), science, foreign language and the arts. Throughout the curriculum, we emphasize fundamental thinking and communication skills: sound reasoning, persuasive writing and speaking, synthetic and creative problem-solving, and good study habits.
  • Opportunities for Advanced Study: We offer 17 AP classes each year. All seniors must complete a Senior Demonstration in order to graduate. The "Demo" is the school's capstone academic experience, requiring students to produce multiple research papers and to defend their work orally before a panel of faculty.
  • Small Classes: Typically, 10-12 students are in one class. In the Humanities, we use a Harkness model, often requiring students not only to participate in but to lead class discussion.
  • High Test Scores: Each year, roughly 25 percent of the class -- usually comprising the bulk of AP and Honors students -- scores over 1400 combined on the SAT I. By this measure, the academic milieu in our top classes is consistent with that at the most selective colleges and universities in the country. Another example: of the 200 Asheville School students since 1972 who have written the AP Calculus (AB) exam (all students in an AP section write the exam), more than 96 percent have earned scores of "3" or better.

Community Life

Students here are used to participating in a dynamic, diverse, primarily residential academic community. And they are afforded substantial leadership roles in the management of the school.

  • Approximately 75 percent are boarding students
  • The school has students from 20 states and 13 countries. Roughly one-third of our students receive need-based financial aid, with the average aid award approaching $29,000 for boarding students and $14,000 for day students. The school has about the same number of males and females. Twenty-five percent of our students are multicultural.
  • A formal Honor Code, adopted by majority vote of the student body, has been in place since 1999. Student members fill six of the nine seats on the Honor Council, a group which provides education to violators but also makes recommendations to the Headmaster for disciplinary consequences. Students are elected by their peers to the Honor Council on an open ballot.
  • Another important avenue for student leadership is the Prefect/Proctor system, which calls on students to help manage dormitories, study halls, technology resources and lab space.
  • Student representatives sit on almost every major school committee.