Five-Day Boarding Program - Student Life - McDonogh School

Five-Day Boarding Program

A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE

Five-day boarding offers the best of both worlds! Upper schoolers enjoy all that our campus has to offer during the school week and then head home for family time over the weekend.

Living on campus makes it more convenient to participate in McDonogh’s many extracurricular activities and gives students opportunities to study, make new friends, and build community with campus residents. In a supportive setting, boarders develop the independence, self-discipline, and personal responsibility needed in college and beyond. Boarding is available for the entire year or one term at a time. Download the application.

To qualify for boarding, a student’s primary residence must be within 90 miles of the McDonogh School campus in Owings Mills, Maryland. Exemptions may be made if the applicant has a relative (by blood or marriage) within the 90-mile radius and that family member agrees to serve as a local host family on weekends and in cases of emergency. Due to the nature of our five-day boarding program, students must return home on weekends, and sometimes more frequently due to holidays, weather events, or illness. To learn more about the exemption application process, please contact the Director of Enrollment Management.

The Benefits of Boarding: An Investment in Personal and Academic Growth

MAXIMIZING OPPORTUNITIES

Boarders truly live where the McDonogh action is. Living on campus makes participating in activities and events easy and convenient. From athletics to the arts to student leadership, students can experience the best of McDonogh right outside their dorm door. 

The Five-Day Advantage

Students experience the best of both worlds—spending five days engaging in all that the McDonogh campus has to offer and two days focusing on family life at home. This dynamic prepares students for college life as they learn to manage their time and freedom as individuals before returning to the comforts of home. 

Living on campus during the week gives me more time to focus on school work and participate in extracurricular activities.

Ava McKennie '24

Academic Support

Students who live on campus benefit tremendously from the many opportunities to study and collaborate with their peers. Daily study hall provides structure in completing their assignments, and face-to-face interaction with residential faculty members enhances their academic experience. 

Special Events

Building Community

Residential students thrive in the special community that living on campus provides. The experience of living, eating, studying, and celebrating with fellow students helps foster lifelong friendships. Boarders also develop personal connections with Campus Parents who provide constant support and make the residential community truly a second home. 

Learn more about our House and Campus Faculty.

Rollins-Luetkemeyer Leaders