Shady Side Academy

Shady Side Academy, established in 1883, boasts a rich history of over 140 years. Located in the Fox Chapel suburb of Pittsburgh, it is a co-educational school enrolling students from kindergarten to grade 12. The school is approximately a 15-20 minute drive from the city center and university areas, with beautiful surroundings near Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.

School Advantages:
1. Robotics is excellent: Students at every grade level have the opportunity to join the school's robotics team to further explore robotics technology and participate in local, regional, and state competitions.
2. Outstanding sports: Since 1993, the school has won 63 WPIAL championships in 18 different sports.
3. Farm Program: The farm includes garden plots across all four SSA campuses, partially planted, sown, and harvested by students. Produce is sold at the school's farmers' market and used in the school's dining halls.
4. Global Learning: There are numerous activities and opportunities to understand world cultures and become global citizens. These include student clubs, international programs, the Parkin Global Service Scholarship, and the Hillman Center for Performing Arts.
5. Excellent graduate placements: Graduates attend prestigious universities such as Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, University of Pittsburgh, and more.
6. Chinese student graduate placements: University of California, Los Angeles, Carnegie Mellon University, etc.

The school recently constructed and opened the new Rockwell Middle School.
This brand new middle school building, spanning approximately 49,300 square feet (about 4,575 square meters), is located at the school's main Fox Chapel campus (423 Fox Chapel Road). As a core project of the "Our Next Move" campus master plan, construction began in 2024, completed by the end of 2025, and officially opened in January 2026 for students in grades 6-8.
The building features a modern design, equipped with natural lighting, solar panels, energy-saving systems, collaborative learning spaces, a dedicated library, and dining facilities, all aimed at fostering interdisciplinary teaching and student community interaction. Concurrently, this project unifies the campus for grades 6-12, with the former middle school campus now being repurposed.

Additionally, the plan also includes partial renovations of Bayard and Croft Houses, and the construction of the Rockwell Student Commons in the coming years.

As a new tenth grader, my experience at SSA has been fantastic. It's a place where you can choose challenging courses while also being supported in your learning, where there's pressure to achieve but also resources to help you reach your goals. The teachers are wonderful; they are willing to help students understand almost any challenging topic. My classmates are all super, super nice.
The campus here is incredibly beautiful, and the scenery I see walking to and from school every day is delightful.

The school environment is beautiful, surrounded by a golf course. There aren't too many buildings on campus; the greenery is excellent, and there's a forest nearby. The tennis courts, ice hockey rink, rugby field, and baseball field are all very nice. Both the sports atmosphere and the study atmosphere are good. I feel that the teachers and students at the school are very nice, and the dormitory atmosphere is very friendly and actively helpful. Accommodation, classrooms, and the cafeteria are all very close and convenient. The school is about a 15-20 minute drive from the city center and the university area. The surroundings of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh are very beautiful, with many university students in the libraries and the Cathedral of Learning, creating a strong academic atmosphere. It feels like an ancient yet vibrant city.

The school is very good, people are very friendly, and the academic atmosphere is quite inclusive.

Data for Shady Side Academy: student enrollment 1185, student-teacher ratio 1:8, international student percentage 5%, boarding percentage 15%, faculty with advanced degrees 71%, average class size 15, students of color 34%. Shady Side Academy is a nationally respected private school located in Pittsburgh, co-educational, offering programs from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12. High school students have the option of a 5-day boarding life. There are three campuses in total, catering to different grade levels. The school is rich in resources, teachers actively mentor students, the curriculum is forward-looking, the community is diverse and inclusive, and the achievements of its alumni inspire all students to excel in arts and athletics and lead meaningful lives. The school focuses on fostering a balanced development of academic, physical, and emotional well-being.

To add:

The school renovated/established STEAM lab centers in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Specific details are as follows:

1. MCILROY CENTER FOR SCIENCE: Opened in 2018, it features special project rooms, 10 flexible classroom/laboratory spaces (equipped with university-level lab equipment), an outdoor amphitheater, etc. It is also a Gold LEED certified green building with sustainable features, reducing environmental impact while creating educational opportunities, such as rooftop solar arrays and monitoring systems.

2. INNOVATION&GLIMCHER TECH & DESIGN HUB: Opened in 2019, this 12,000 sq ft space offers advanced equipment such as Tormach CNC mills, Forest Scientific CNC routers, Epilog laser cutters, Roland vinyl cutters, Roland VersaPrint apparel printers, SawStop table saws, and four 3D printers, as well as two computer labs.

Shady Side Academy has four campuses, with the high school spanning 130 acres in the Fox Chapel suburb of Pittsburgh. The school fosters learning through conducting research, writing persuasive arguments, critical thinking, honing study habits, and managing one's free time. This year, Liumei.com had students admitted to the school.

School Features:

1. Signature Programs: Includes Writing & Speech, Math & Problem Solving, Science, Athletics, and Social Service programs.

2. Global Learning: Offers numerous activities and opportunities to understand world cultures and become global citizens. Examples include the Spring Musical, the Cydra Vaux Art Celebration, GlobalFest, student clubs, international courses, the Perkin Global Service Scholarship, and the Hillman Center for Performing Arts.

3. Robotics: Students from every grade have the opportunity to join the school's robotics team to further explore robotics technology and participate in local, regional, and state competitions.

4. Athletics Achievements: Since 1993, the school has won 63 WPIAL championships in 18 different sports, four WIHLMA championships, and 15 PIAA championships. The school's most prominent programs are Girls Field Hockey and Girls Ice Hockey, with the Girls Ice Hockey team winning WIHLMA championships in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019.

SSA is located in Fox Chapel, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It has 4 campuses set up for different grade levels, from Pre-K to 12th grade, covering a total area of 130 acres. The campus environment is beautiful, feeling more like a university campus. It features a farm that produces fruits and vegetables for the school's cafeteria. Additionally, farm activities are integrated into the teaching of economics and science-related subjects. The campus facilities are advanced, with six teaching buildings alone, including the Meilrog Science Innovation Center built in 2018 and the Glimcher Science Design Station opened in 2019. The high school department has 427 students, with 21% of them boarding. The curriculum is challenging, and activities are abundant. Special courses include the 11th-grade Independent Research class and the 12th-grade Capstone Project, where students have the opportunity to conduct independent research based on their interests with the guidance of teachers. The school has three full-time college counseling advisors. The average SAT score for the class of 2019 was as high as 1345, with 52% of students matriculating into top 50 comprehensive universities and liberal arts colleges.