Students with initiative and the capacity for self-discipline are likely to be successful at The Meeting School even if they have experienced difficulty in traditional educational settings. The School is not remedial or tutorial, and is not a therapeutic environment.  Students must be ready to take a high level of responsibility for themselves and their education.  Some students who have struggled with learning in traditional environments may find the small classrooms, close relationships, and the experiential nature of the education allow them to succeed in a new way.

The Meeting School attracts young people who share the community's commitments to honesty, integrity, equality, simplicity, nonviolence, and care for the Earth. Many Meeting School students have done well academically and are looking for a school in which a deeper community life can be experienced. Many students are bright, persuasive, possess leadership potential, prize personal independence, and yet have come to be bored or otherwise unsatisfied with their past educational placement. Prospective students are often passionate about music, art, environmental concerns, and animals, and yet may have worked hard only on courses they consider relevant. The Meeting School is well suited for these students because it offers personal attention in small classes that combine experiential education with traditional academics.

Meeting School students have a wide variety of backgrounds and personal histories. Most are from New England or the Middle Atlantic States. Over the past ten years, about 25 percent have had some Quaker background, 10 percent have been international students, and 15 percent have been of Native American, Hispanic, or African-American descent. About 25 percent have had some degree of home schooling, 30 percent have spent some years in other alternative schools, and many have a parent who has worked professionally in education.