Search

nicheWelcome!

I'm frequently asked why I chose MCDS. There are easy things to cite: our IB program and academics, our participatory and fun athletics, our outstanding fine and performing arts, our college counseling program, and our beautiful campus, are only but a few of the features that make MCDS distinct. We are indeed very lucky to have them all, but those are plainly visible to any visitor to our school. Perhaps less obvious to a visitor—and ultimately the thing I love about MCDS the most—is the way we make community at our school.

In a world of increasing anonymity and distance, the high school at MCDS brings people close and makes them feel known. Here, an outstanding group of faculty joyfully engage in the time-intensive work of encouraging students to take risks, refine their thinking and critiques, and demonstrate good character. We are a school that promotes intellectual humility through the questioning of our assumptions and ideals. It is a thinking place and a school of many achievements, but it is also a place for the intellectually curious to belong. 

I invite you to learn more and come see what makes our school special.

Peter Locke
Head of High School

 

 

 

 

Because of my MCDS experience, I can speak up during seminars and raise my hand in busy lecture halls at Yale. My heart always races, but I have the confidence to engage with my classmates and professors because I did that all through high school.

Fabi Fernandez ’11

WHAT SETS OUR HIGH SCHOOL

APART

6:1

STUDENT TO
FACULTY RATIO

30+

STUDENT
ORGANIZATIONS

30.3

AVERAGE
ACT SCORE

300+

BEST MATCH COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES

Image
curr

Curriculum

Our high school program is designed to provide a comprehensive college preparatory experience for every student. The graduation requirements reflect our mission’s steadfast commitment to educating students in the liberal arts and sciences. By the time students graduate from MCDS, they will have engaged in a rigorous course of study across the curriculum, while having the opportunity to develop and further pursue specific areas of interest.

Classes offered at Madison Country Day School are IB courses. The IB Program offers academic breadth and depth, fosters critical thinking, creates independent learners who feel prepared, provides global perspective, gives opportunity to earn significant university credit, teaches outstanding time management, integrates learning across subjects, assesses original thought, not examination techniques, meets the needs of a changing world with the IB Learner Profile qualities.
 

VIEW COURSE GUIDE

Student Life

The naturally wide-open, expansive prairie of the MCDS campus is the ideal setting for a wide variety of extracurricular activities and experiences that expand students’ horizons and help them develop all the different sides of themselves. Many of our extracurricular activities are student-driven, sparked by a particular student’s passion or interest in trying something new.

MCDS High School offers 14 varsity teams and a variety of club sports. Student-athletes benefit from our collegiate-level track and gymnasium, as well as our dedicated coaches and supportive school spirit.

Leadership is deeply ingrained into everything that happens at MCDS, and opportunities abound for students to create their own initiatives. For example, Abby ’22 started the literary magazine, The Prairie Magazine; Rafay ’22 started the Prairie Hawk Investment Club; Hunter ’22 started the Students of Color Affinity Group; and Sturgeon ’23 started the Social Awareness and Activism club.
 

ATHLETICS

CLUBS & ACTIVITIES

High School Socials & Dances

Image
st
Image
college advising

College Advising & College Acceptances

Every MCDS High School student receives four years of 1:1 individualized college advising with our dedicated, experienced college advisor. Students receive expert guidance every step of the way, covering IB course planning, college essays and applications, financial aid and scholarship procurement, college entrance examinations, and much more.
 

SEE WHERE OUR STUDENTS GO

COLLEGE ADVISING