Shortridge Academy

Our admission process is designed to make the admitting a student to Shortridge simple and painless.

Student Profile

Shortridge Academy students are bright and engaging young people who can thrive in a coed college preparatory boarding school environment. They have typically gained insight and resiliency in a therapeutic wilderness program or residential treatment center prior to enrolling at Shortridge. Our students and families are well-suited to a personalized approach that dovetails therapeutic and academic plans.

Students may be receiving help from educational and mental health professionals to address personal and family issues. Shortridge Academy will work with these resources to help determine if our school will be the appropriate placement for your child.

Most often, our students have attended a short-term program that recommended longer-term care. We work closely with many other programs to ease student anxiety about their move to Shortridge and are also happy to speak with current therapists.

Although our students may have previously experienced success, they may have more recent struggles with issues such as:

• ADHD
• Executive function issues
• Mild learning differences
• Recent academic struggles
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Low self-esteem
• Identity issues
• Poor decision making
• Gravitation towards a negative peer group
• Adoption-related issues
• Grief and loss
• Post-acute trauma
• Family conflict and opposition
• Excessive computer use
• Self-isolation

Shortridge Academy typically is not able to serve students with:

• Recent self-harm
• Suicidal behavior
• Personality disorders (Axis II traits)
• Active eating disorders
• Significant opposition outside of the home
• Conduct disorder
• Bullying
• Violence
• Acute medical conditions
• Substance use disorder

Online Application

In order to formally apply to Shortridge Academy please follow the link below to our Parent Portal. In the Parent Portal you can create an account and then complete our online application. Please email the following additional information:

• Any Psychological or Educational testing your student may have
• Your student’s most current academic transcript
• The contact information for your student’s current therapist or counselor

Campus Visit

The purpose of a personal visit to Shortridge Academy is to provide you with a first hand view and assessment of whether the Shortridge program and experience would be a good fit for your son or daughter. The most important aspects of the visit are meeting members of our leadership team and staff, meeting some of our students, and touring our facilities, including dorms, classrooms, common areas, and grounds.

We coordinate and schedule visits to Shortridge Academy through our Admissions Office. Depending on the timing and school schedules, the structure of a campus visit typically follows the following chronology:

• Mid-morning arrival
• Meet and greet Admissions Director or other admissions office representatives
• Tour of campus and facilities, including classrooms, dorms, dining hall
• Meet with selected members of the leadership team (or other key staff depending on scheduling): Academic Director, Clinical Director, Medical Director, and Founder
• Wrap-up with Head of School

We encourage families to join us for lunch, which is a valuable opportunity to get a greater feel for our community, as you consider whether you see an overall fit for your child. And, of course, it helps answer the age-old question “How is the food?”

The entire campus visit and tour can take from 1.5 to 3 hours.

Our convenient location allows for morning visits and tours on weekdays starting between 9 and noon. We are about 90 minutes from the Manchester, NH airport (MHT) and 2 hours from Boston’s Logan Airport (BOS).

Please do not hesitate to contact the school with specific questions to make the campus visit meet your needs.