I really like NMH but i read some reviews about their teachers and academics being not-so-great. i’ve also seen many other wonderful reviews about it though. Can anyone tell me what NMH is really like?
Part 1: Would you believe reviews telling you that the academics and teachers at Exeter were not so good? Groton? Choate? Hotchkiss? Would this bother you the way it bothers you about NMH?
Part the second: If you look at NMH’s history, its present, and the group of self-selected peer schools including some of the most prestigious, you might get a sense of what the boarding school pocket universe thinks about NMH. Eight Schools got its start in the early-mid 70s, just when these august institutions were moulting into what we see today. Five Schools, now Six, is from 2015.
The handful of most famous schools breed both bloviating sycophants and oh-so-brave-and-edgy iconoclasts because that’s their nature. None of it is necessarily true. Look around for yourself. See what you see.
@revellodream: I am also curious about this.
Where are you reading reviews?
According to Boarding School Review, the average SSAT score at NMH is 73% and the acceptance rate is 30% and 70% of teachers have advanced degrees.
With an average SSAT score of 73%, the range of accepted SSAT scores probably drops to about the mid-50s at the 25% level.
I have read that NMH accommodates students with mild learning disabilities.
@GnarWhail
Actually, yes it would bother me. For example, Andover is a “top tier” school but some of the students/alumni said certain things that were a complete turn-off for me. It’s now at the bottom of my preference list after I visited the school. (I had already submitted my application and paid the fees when I visited it so I didn’t withdraw it)
I’d still choose NMH over schools like Deerfield, Hotchkiss and Exeter because NMH seems a lot more down to earth. I dont doubt that all the “top tier” schools are amazing, but they just arent exactly what im looking for. I’m just curious if the academics at NMH are really as bad the reviews say they are, because when I visited the school, it seemed a lot better than the way the people described it in the reviews.
You have really good points though, thank you for your insight! 
again, where are these reviews sourced from?
@doschicos sorry im trying to post the links but i think they’re still getting approved because they arent showing up on the thread. the website is called niche (the one where i read the bad reviews). there’s another one called boarding school review (the one with really good reviews)
Thanks. I didn’t know niche did high schools now as I haven’t visited the site in a few years. So, I just popped in and did a quick skim of the most negative reviews. First, realize that people are more likely to take the time to complain than give accolades. The same is true for any product - restaurant, hotel, school, whatever. The first thing I noticed was many of the complaints seemed to stem from how liberal the school is which seems like a fit issue. It is liberal. If you aren’t, than it might not be the best fit. If you are inclined that way, it’s not an issue. I don’t think NMH pretends to be anything other than what it is so, like any school, one should do their due diligence, kick the tires, do their research. I’d talk to current students if you get accepted and go to an accepted students day. The other thing I noticed was that many of the lowest reviews were posted on the same days. I just think it is odd that of all the days in the year, 3 separate students would independently jump on niche on the same day to post their review. Sounds like someone has an axe to grind instead of lots of students being unhappy. One has to look at reviews on sites where anyone can post with a critical eye.
I do want to add that if it raises a red flag for you, definitely ask more questions. Try to find students currently there to talk to. You could always ask admissions to put you in contact with some students. I’m also tagging @fullofbs and @payn4ward here as they have connections to NMH and will hopefully chime in.
@doschicos
Once i saw a book called “Satisfied Customers Tell 3 Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000”. I guess it really depends on the individual person and what they make out of their experience there.
I find it a little odd that there are no negative reviews at all on Boarding School Review for any of the schools though. Do you think the website filters them out or something?
Thanks so much for helping me get a clearer perspective. I’m probably gonna go over all the reviews again for all the schools that I’m applying to.
Hoping for the best on M10!
BSR tends to be stacked with reviews from interested parties.
BSR barely gets reviews anyway. SPS only has 2 and one is from 2009.
We decided NOT to apply to a school after reading Glassdoor reviews in which several faculty members and staff complained about the administration…
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
The posts were not approved because the links are not allowed.
NMH is a top tier school. For me, it’s the school that got away. I never, ever read reviews. Why? I would never change my opinion based on what someone else wrote or thought. What I saw, what I experienced touched me in the right way.
NMH really clicks for some people, and they tend to love it in ways they don’t schools like the more famous few. The NMH of today is also oodles better than the two-campus NMH of yesteryear. The school could have blown that bigtime, but the end result was praised by almost every doubter and better than most anyone had expected.
Just this past weekend we were with S19 (public school kid) at Stevens and the tour guide was a super engaging NMH senior girl (who immediately noticed hubby’s shirt from a BS just south of NMH) who already has a job at J.P. Morgan on Wall Street. She pointed out that college felt like a breeze compared to NMH fwiw. My D20’s school lost an applicant to NMH because the girl needed additional support so I do believe they have a good system in place and there’s nothing bad about that at all!
I agree with @MAandMEmom I know a couple of very successful people who went to NMH many moons ago and we know a few now and they are all no different than most of the kids we know at every other school. There are kids at PA, PEA, SPS, Choate and Groton for example that are at those schools for reasons other than their academic prowess–Im sure there are kids at Berkshire, NMH, Holderness, KUA, that were strictly academic applicants and maybe didnt get into HYP —I mean PA, PEA and SPS—(LOL), and thus attended NMH etc. NMH is a very very good school. If you couldnt go to HYP would you turn down Vanderbilt because it wasnt as good?