[2] Established in 1868 by the Benedictine monks of Newark Abbey, the school is guided by the sixth century Rule of Saint Benedict.

Meals are taken "family style" in the dining room, as students taking turns being the waiters for their designated group, setting the table, serving the food, and clearing up afterward.

Freshmen meet faculty members and older students, discover Benedict's history and traditions and learn the school songs.

At the end of the week the students will be quizzed verbally on the school's history by current faculty, leaders, and alumni.

The numbers of questions depends solely on who the person is, and passing will result in the students earning their colors (Garnet & Gray).

During the fall-winter phase students have regular school days with classes beginning at 7:50 and daily convocation in the Shanley Gym at 7:50 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

At the end of convocation there is a brief time period during which the entire community takes part in sharing announcements with the rest of the school body.

Students choose projects to work on for four weeks such as community service, U.S. history, gardening, dancing, music production, photography, journalism, finance, acting, physics, intense exercising, karate, and cooking.

The Backpacking Project is a five-day trek over 50 miles (80 km) of the Appalachian Trail in the mountains of western New Jersey.

Each group, named after successful Benedict's alumnus, meets daily, competes in events, academics, attendance, and plays an active role in running the school.

The Benedict News student newspaper has won the Columbia Scholastic Press Association gold medal three times, in 2005, 2006, and again in 2008.

The goal of the corporation is to cost-effectively support the maintenance needs of the school while enhancing the environment and providing students with the opportunity to develop skills and earn a competitive income.

The history of the school is related in Thomas A. McCabe's Miracle on High Street (New York: Fordham University Press, 2010).

[26] In June 2021, an article in The New York Timess documented students participating in a half-century-old school tradition in which freshmen are required to complete a 50-mile (80 km) hike along the Delaware Water Gap section of the Appalachian Trail.

[27] The critically acclaimed documentary about Newark Abbey and Saint Benedict's Prep, The Rule (2014), by Emmy-nominated, Newark-based filmmakers Marylou and Jerome Bongiorno, was released theatrically,[28] broadcast nationally on PBS,[29][30] and was screened by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans at the U.S. Department of Education.