Marmion Academy in Aurora, Illinois, was founded in 1933. Associated with the Roman Catholic Marmion Abbey, this military school is administered by Benedictine monks and layperson staff. This small, college preparatory school for males strives to uphold its founding principles of academic excellence, leadership development and spiritual formation.

Academic Excellence

The Marmion Academy joins challenging courses with attentive instruction to provide ample opportunity to its students to excel and thrive.

Graduation requirements are not overly difficult, but each student must apply himself to earn the appropriate number and blend of credits. In addition to the standard mathematics, English and science courses, every student must take and pass a theology course during each year of attendance. Honors courses escalate the difficulty and knowledge beyond standard course criteria. Students can enroll in Honors classes each year, unlike some schools that delay enrollment to the last two years.

Beyond the Honors courses, Advanced Placement programs enable graduates to situate themselves more closely with college-level and -paced studies in select subjects. High marks in AP courses may grant the student accelerated credit in introductory courses after actual college enrollment.

The last elevated academic tier is the Senior Honors thesis. This program requires special enrollment and completion of a college-like thesis on a topic preference and requires the same standard of information, documentation, research and presentation as many colleges require. Those who successfully submit an accepted thesis graduate the Marmion Academy with Honors.

Tuition Assistance: JROTC

Not every student must enroll in Marmion’s Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). Those who do are not obligated to join the military after graduation or to join ROTC if they enroll in a college of their choice.

The JROTC program promotes mental and physical discipline and provides additional financial benefits which help defray the cost of tuition.

Athletics

While much emphasis is placed on learning, physical energy can be channeled into team or individual athletics. Known fondly in competition as the Cadets, the sports program includes football, basketball, baseball, cross country, swimming and diving, wrestling, lacrosse, golf, soccer and track and field.

Applicants who are interested in participating in organized sports must include an authorization form for emergency treatment and other documentation in addition to the admissions application.

Admission Requirements

Applications for the next school year must be completed after September 1 of the current year. Applicants must pay a $50 application fee and complete an essay exam, have a recommendation by one’s current school authority and submit current grades and scores from standardized tests. Once the paperwork is received, prospective transfer students will interview with the Director of Admissions.

Marmion allows either online application submissions or a download of all three required forms for mailing.