The Outdoor Academy

I went to OA in the spring of my sophomore year. I would not change my decision to go for the world! The smaller class sizes, more on-one, and hands-on learning experience really helped me excel in my academics and put me on a path that led me to graduate early and with honors. The community aspect of the school really helped me grow and become much more self-aware and aware of my social surroundings. That paired with the incredible leadership skills I gained from my time at OA has helped me succeed in my jobs and other semester programs I have done. Not only is OA something I will cherish forever and an amazing experience that helped me grow in many ways, but it also has and will help me in the future with jobs and applications for other semester programs I plan to apply for as well as any higher education I seek. OA can seem a little scary for parents and students who haven't spent extended periods of time apart/away from home and without a phone but even in all the hard pushes on treks and in the field I felt very safe. OA does a great job at keeping students safe while still letting them live and figure out hard experiences as a group or on their own. OA was such a positively impactful experience that I will hold dearly for the rest of my life and am so grateful for.

Outdoor Academy changed my life! The most amazing community and an incredible experience a high schooler could have. It is an amazing way to gain independence before leaving home for college or jobs. This led me to pursue a career in sustainable finance and study sustainability in college. So incredibly grateful for all the lessons OA taught me and the better person it made me become.

Attending The Outdoor Academy was the best decision I've ever made. There is so much to enjoy on campus, and so much that I've taken away that it's hard to sum it all up into a review. OA houses some of the MOST spectacular teachers I have ever had the pleasure of being a student of. They are so encouraging and patient and they always encourage you to follow your passions and support you along the way. The community was unlike anything I have ever experienced. I made friends that I will have for a lifetime, and would travel across the country for (which I am planning). I came out of the experience with a lifetime of memories, rekindled passions, lots more friends, and life skills I'll use for the rest of my life. If you're considering The Outdoor Academy, it's worth any hoop you have to jump through to get there.

I had an amazing experience at OA that will definitely stick with me for the rest of my life. We built such a strong community and everyone grew as individuals. The time spent away from technology in the outdoors really cleared my head and helped me appreciate my surroundings more. I made such great friends that were so supportive and so much fun to be around. I would definitely recommend OA to anyone who is interested, even if you might be nervous.

The Outdoor Academy is an experience like no other. It gives teens a chance to be away from their phones and most importantly finds themselves. The faculty at OA truly care about each student's wellbeing and success, they are there because they want to inspire you to learn. If you or your child is considering applying to OA my advice is there is no harm in applying, you wont regret it.

I highly recommend the Outdoor Academy to anyone considering it. I have never had a more positive and engaging experience with education and community. You will meet some of your closest friends there and make unforgettable memories. I will never forget eating Twinkies on top of a cold mountain looking back into the distance at where we started that morning. Trust me, it's worth it!

We visited Outdoor Academy for an Open House a year before my eldest attended. We shadowed classes, and a teacher asked her students to tell us their thoughts. This one boy looked at the kids in our group and said, "just do it. Come here. You won`t regret it." It is an extraordinary place that we feel so fortunate to have discovered - we'd never heard of semester schools. Tonight, both of my sons and the youngest's friend, who also went to OA, spent hours telling stories and laughing together. It is a very special place with faculty and staff who are at OA because they believe passionately in experiential education. It's not easy to make the decision to go away for a semester, but the bonds that these kids make with each other and the adults at OA are lifelong. They loved being without the pressures of social media and their phones, and even though they are once again addicted, I can ask them to put their phones away and they never get angry - they just do it! At OA, they experienced being in classes where the teachers asked more questions than they talked. They became adept at chopping wood, making fires, hiking and camping, paddling and rock climbing. They carved spoons, made knives, repaired stairs, helped in the kitchen, kept their cabin warm with only firewood, etc. They met kids from around the country and forged friendships the old-fashioned way ... by looking them in the eye and learning how to really, really talk! It's truly an amazing place!

I can't say enough about the O.A. experience for our daughter, due to the fabulous wilderness program and the compassionate and inspirational staff. This is the semester experience that every teenager needs to help them find a positive path to their lives, coupled with the complete exit from social media for 4 months, from peer pressure, from vaping, alcohol, drugs, cliques, and stress. OA was such a valuable personal development boost for our daughter and as a result for our family.

I will never be able to stress enough how much this school meant to me. Sophomore year was a very transitional one for me, and being able to step away from all of the chaos that was my high school was incredibly gratifying. Through attending The Outdoor Academy, I have gained a greater insight into not only how wonderful it feels to be a part of such an intentional community, but also how I want to set up my communities in the future. Whether that be in college or in my life in general, Outdoor Academy has prepared me in the best way possible to blaze my own unique trail.

The Outdoor Academy changed my life. There was a strong sense of community, lovely faculty and staff, a beautiful campus, and places to hike. Sophomore year was a great time to go (although challenging at the beginning), I left feeling much more mature and independent and true to myself. The outdoor education was a wonderful way to connect deeper with peers and faculty, and the classes were meaningful and intentional. I will never forget this place, it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Outdoor Academy will forever be one of the communities in my life that I hold closest to my heart. There are not the words in written language to describe the depth of gratitude I have for this amazing semester school. The teachers at OA were at the heart of the experience for me. The pure intentionality, commitment, and care that each teacher possesses gave me some of the biggest role models in my life. To this day I still reflect on the lesson I learned during my semester at OA and the values I solidified that have helped me live a life I am very happy with. The classes are engaging and help students explore ideas on a deeper level. The outdoor programming was spectacular and gave me the gifts of my most cherished adventures. Outdoor Academy is a beautiful place, a gift, and something I will always cherish. I encourage anyone and everyone to consider the school!

My son attended OA four years ago and now my daughter is attending. I consider sending my children to OA to be the best parenting decision I have made. It is difficult to let your child go away for a semester but the benefits to them far outweigh any cost to you as the parent. I wanted my children to experience a different type of learning, the kind in which they would be fully engaged, would develop a real relationship with their teachers, and learn about their talents in a way that traditional school simply can't give them. I wanted them to learn independence and self-reliance. I wanted them to understand what it means to be part of a community and to become more reflective about their actions. I wanted them to disengage for a significant period of time from social media and be able to find the quiet within themselves so that they could turn to it again and again throughout their lives. I cannot say enough to convey what a quality experience OA is. It has given my children all that I hoped for and more.

You''ve returned to us a much more mature, patient daughter than we sent you. Katie's experience at The Outdoor Academy was such an IMPORTANT influence on her life. I was tempted to say that it changed her dramatically, but what it actually did was call forth interests and abilities that were always there but deeply hidden -- so that she is more fully herself now as a result of her time with all of you.

Going to The Outdoor Academy was the best (and hardest) decision I ever made up to this point in my life. There was truly no words to describe how much my OA experience meant to me. It's just something that you have to experience for yourself. Over those four months, I became the person I truly want to be. I grew into a stronger, more confident, more resilient, and just overall happier person while I was at OA. Leaving my home life behind was somewhat hard, but it was always worth it. I'm not going to pretend those four months at OA were easy, but with the support of my teachers and my fellow classmates, I was able to grow enormously as a person. The OA experience is about taking a chance of leaving your "comfort zone" behind, meeting amazing people (both teachers and students), learning a lot academically, becoming comfortable in the wilderness, and learning more about yourself and who you want to be.