Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Please see below for answers to some common questions about TMS! If you have a question that isn’t answered below, please send us an email at admissions@mountainschool.org.

  1. Application & Financial Aid

  2. Academics

  3. Student Life

Application & Financial Aid

  • Most of our students attend as juniors, although we also enroll a small number of sophomores in the spring and seniors in the fall. We do not offer summer or gap-year programming.

  • Applications for Spring 2026, Fall 2026, and Spring 2027 are now open on our website. The first step in the process is submitting an for admission and financial aid (see below) are both due on February 15th, 2026.

  • Applicants will need to submit: a short biographical information form, a series of short-form Student Statements, one 500-word Personal Essay (choice of three prompts), two teacher recommendations, and a transcript. The entire application, including recommendation and transcript requests, takes place on lication portal.

  • Yes, TMS offers need-based financial aid in the form of direct grants that do not need to be repaid. Applicants whose families wish to apply for need-based financial aid provide a Parent Financial Statement, including supporting documents, through our ode 3537). This statement is due at the same time as the student’s portion of the application on February 15th, 2026. Our Admissions Team reviews your financial aid application at the same time as your application for admission and provides a financial aid package based on your family’s demonstrated need.

  • In recent years, as many as 40 percent of students have received some amount of need-based financial aid.

  • Supporting students is central to how we run our program. We do this through a model called Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. Student supports range from tailored 1:1 heath, mental health, or academic support to various smaller group settings allowing for deeper support and connecting among faculty and peers. Support needs are monitored by a multidisciplinary faculty team who meet regularly to assess and implement support needs as they come up during the semester. Although we do provide academic support for 504/IEP, health support, and mental health support, it is important to know that our program is designed to build independence and is mainly designed for students who are highly self-motivated and independent by nature.

    In order to apply to TMS, families will be asked to certify that their student meets our Essential Eligibility Criteria, or that they have already discussed the accommodations they need with our team. We have had many students come through our program with IEPs, 504s, complex medical needs, or mobility constraints and be successful. We ask families to be forthright about their student’s talents, needs, and limitations; in turn, we will be comprehensive in our consideration of whether and how we can support that student at TMS.

Academics

  • Yes, we have three required courses: Honors English, Honors Environmental Science, and Honors Food Systems Studies.

  • Students typically take 3-4 additional courses beyond the required classes. You can find our list of available courses here.

  • We encourage you to use your time at TMS to explore courses and subjects that can only be learned here on our campus. That said, we also recognize that sometimes students need to take a course for their graduation requirements that we aren’t able to offer on campus. TMS may be able to arrange an online option for courses we don’t offer on campus. Some students will work with their home schools to arrange an independent study or to pursue their own online, summer, or senior year coursework to meet graduation requirements.

  • If students have already taken Environmental Science, they will still take that class with us. Otherwise, they should choose a different class from among our elective options. 

Student Life

  • We enroll approximately 45 students each semester.

  • TMS is a cell phone-free campus, so you will not have access to your phone while you’re here. Most students bring laptops (or borrow one from us) to use for schoolwork and staying in touch with family/friends. There is wireless internet in the academic building that shuts off after check-in each evening. Each dorm also has a landline phone.

  • All students live on campus in one of our five small dorms (each with five to 14 students). Most rooms are doubles or triples, with a few quads and singles available depending on the dorm. Each dorm has a common room, a bathroom, and a nearby laundry room. All dorms also have an attached apartment/house where dorm faculty live and serve as a resource for students. Some of our dorms are all-gender and some are single-gender. Each student has the chance to opt into whichever type of housing they prefer.

  • Students complete a housing questionnaire after accepting their place at TMS. This questionnaire is used to match them with a roommate who has similar living habits in a room which matches their gender identity. The housing survey also invites students to express a preference for an all-gender or single gender dorm. 

  • You can view a sample schedule on our Week in the Life page. A day will include meals, several classes, commons work or program blocks and free time. There are no classes on the weekends, and most free time is in evenings or on weekends.

  • Many students here are athletes and want to stay conditioned for their sport. We don’t have official athletic teams, but students often organize basketball or frisbee games, utilize the campus gym, or run on our trail network, etc. Our graduates have gone on to play sports in college and professionally.

  • Yes! Definitely bring your instrument. TMS tends to attract lots of musicians. It’s usually possible to find a quiet space on campus to practice, and there are plenty of opportunities to jam with your classmates. We have a piano in the dining hall.

  • Our chefs do an amazing job of providing dishes that meet a wide variety of dietary and allergen guidelines. At every meal there are options without dairy, meat, gluten and eggs. We regularly support students with Celiac disease, nut allergies, and other medical or religious dietary requirements.

  • There are always three affinity groups led by faculty and available to students who self-identify accordingly: BIPOC (Black, Indigenous & People of Color), LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and others), and FLI (First-Gen & Low-Income). Additionally, students may work with faculty to offer other affinity groups according to interest. Past semesters have had affinity groups for Dis/Ability, children of divorced parents, and Jewish students. These groups provide a space for students to connect with each other and with faculty members.