Why Sem?

Buffalo Seminary has a unique combination of qualities that set it apart from many other girls' schools in the United States.

Sem is a day school with a small, family-style boarding program.

• You can't get lost here. With fewer than 200 students, every student makes friends, knows her teachers well, and is encouraged to do her best.

• Our residential program provides a home-like setting where four to eight girls live with house directors. Boarding students spend weekends with Sem day students and their families throughout the year, and they invite day students to the dorm.

• Students from other cities and countries have attended Sem for many years, yet our residential program has only recently expanded to include houses for small groups of students and house directors.

We have a city campus near bookstores, coffee shops, and boutiques, yet we are located in a beautiful, safe, park-like setting.

• Buffalo is a dynamic international community with more than six outstanding colleges and universities. The city ranks in the top ten with scores of international students studying at the university level.

• Known as the 20-minute city, Buffalo provides easy access to these universities and to museums, musical events, theaters, and shopping, all just beyond Sem's front doors.

• Niagara Falls and Toronto, Canada, are a short drive from Buffalo and offer natural beauty and a truly cosmopolitan experience for our students.

• Professional sports teams in football and hockey, a first-rate symphony orchestra led by a dynamic female conductor, and a fine arts community with year-round offerings add great variety to weekend activities for both day and boarding students.

Sem has a long history of offering a traditional college prep program and now has an innovative one-to-one tablet computer program.

• Our science and math departments are outstanding. Our strongest students take AP courses in Calculus, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, or Statistics and consistently achieve top scores.

• Our strong writing program prepares every student to do well when she reaches college.

• Technology is integrated into every course because every young woman will need to know how to thrive in the digital age.

We are prepared for the twenty-first century yet grounded in an honor code that has stood the test of time.

• Respect for others is the foundation of a strong community, and at Sem, we value our differences and celebrate our community.

• Everyone signs the honor code, and everyone expects to be trusted and to trust others.

There really is no place like Sem, and we hope that you will come visit to see if our school is the right match for you.

Click here to see a video that our students created to welcome the class of 2013.