Why Conserve

Enrollment Update: November 4, 2019

This year marks Conserve School's 10th year as a semester school.  Conserve School’s Board of Directors has launched a process to:

  • Review Conserve School's performance as a semester school,
  • Identify ways to improve the school’s fit with its founder's wishes,
  • Identify ways to increase the impact of the school, and
  • Improve the long-term financial sustainability of the school.

This process may lead to changes being implemented for future semesters beginning with fall 2020. The Board wants all applying students & families to be aware of those changes when they begin the admissions process. For that reason, the admissions process is on hold until November. 

Check back in late November for details on how to apply for future semesters or fill out a request information form to be notified when admissions opens up. 

Click here to request information. 

Is Conserve School for me?

Conserve School is looking for students who want to spend one semester of their high school career at our Northwoods campus, and who can demonstrate the following:
  • Prior success with college-preparatory academic material.
  • An interest in understanding the science of natural resource conservation.
  • A commitment to protecting the environment.
  • A willingness to learn about careers that help preserve the natural world.
  • The fitness level necessary to engage in outdoor activities such as canoeing, backpacking, camping, biking, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing.
  • The desire to learn new skills. (Students need not have prior experience with outdoor activities.)
  • Readiness to live responsibly in a trusting community (in consideration of this, applicants and accepted students are asked to sign an ethics pledge).

If this sounds like you, then we encourage you to apply. We accept applications from high school freshmen or sophomores for the fall or spring semester of their sophomore or junior year. Click here to begin your application.

Why should I apply?

Much like a “semester abroad” during college, a semester school gives high school students a chance to step out of their regular school and into an exceptional educational setting, while still continuing their required academic studies. Semester schools are a growing and increasingly popular phenomenon.
  • Attending a semester school can:
  • Intensify a student’s interest in and motivation for learning.
  • Allow a student to pursue an area of interest in-depth.
  • Broaden a student’s range of skills and interests, and increase their maturity level.
  • Boost a student’s chances in the increasingly competitive college admissions process by:
  • Providing them with a unique and eye-catching experience that sets them apart from other applicants.
  • Giving them a unique and meaningful experience to highlight in college application essays and interviews.
  • Introduce students to a diverse group of highly motivated peers with similar interests and goals.
  • Give students a head start on developing the independence, good judgment, and life skills necessary for living away from home -- before they go away to college.

Nondiscrimination Policy

 

Conserve School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, immigration status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, creed, or religion to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at Conserve School. Conserve School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national and ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.