What does one even mean by “good academics”? Quality of teaching staff? All of these schools draw from similar faculty pools.
Volume of homework? Not sure that correlates with actual learning.
SSAT scores of peers? Ditto.
I know some NMH students who turned down HADES for NMH and it happens every year. My daughter is a 2016 grad who is now at a top 20 Univ with a 4.0 and she finds the work easy compared to NMH. Her bffs are at Duke, Wesleyan, Brown and all the rest. TBH I had the same concerns re rigor when we applied but I absolutely loved my daughter’s teachers and her classes(extended blocks and discussion based) were the best part about the school. That said, the live/work balance is much better than at our top ranked public and at many “top” BSs. The kids are happy. If you follow NMH on instagram, you can see recent games of human hungry hippos (skateboards and laundry baskets), sunk my battleship (canoes in the pool) and so many other great ideas. The kids also have great agency to make meaningful contributions to gay rights, and other issues that matter both on and off campus. The students have a meaningful leadership role on campus - not just your typical key club stuff. IMHO NMH can challenge the brightest kids (number theory, linear algebra, tons of critical writing and thinking, great debate etc) but your child will not be swamped and stressed and will have time to sleep. PM if I can help - huge hogger fan! I’ve read those negative reviews too but honestly don’t put stock in them.
That said, re SSAT scores, I feel NMH just doesn’t pay as much attention to them as other schools. I think it helps them find some great kids. My daughter’s SSATs were hugely uneven. She went up 50 percentage points on her 2nd SSAT which gives you some idea of where she started! NMH also has a good amount of international students and recruited athletes in the mix. These are kids who absolutely can do the work (a dozen basketball players currently playing Ivy league), but not EVERY NMH kid is a genius- some are just really good bright kids with specific talents. I think that’s a good thing. It is a big enough school that there is a place for all kinds.
Not every kid at any boarding school is a genius and many at others have lopsided scores as well. Just wanted to point that out so some don’t wrongly believe such is true at other schools, even the most selective.
I’ll admit to wondering the same thing - when I was in boarding school 20 years ago, NMH was not considered an academic school (although I did have a college friend who was a grad, and was smarter than many of my classmates from my HADES school). Over the last decade, NMH made a conscious decision to trim enrollment and push the school forward in a specific direction, and it is paying off. The reputation is on the rise, and I think we will see the acceptance rates start to fall as the school becomes a more popular choice. It was a very unexpected surprise when we toured, and there was a lot to like (the work job requirement in particular appealed to us). I’d say the only thing my son didn’t love was the old science building, but we understand they’re raising money to build a new science center. I appreciated that the school seemed to understand that kids are kids, and are not perfect. As someone who had a very unbalanced HS experience, I hope my son has the opportunity to go to a school that isn’t just a brutal 4 year grind.
I hear the ice cream is awesome 
Wish our girl had applied…
I asked the NMH grad at Stevens if she missed the food and the answer was a resounding yes!
New science building is in the works and new multi million dollar boat house which looks awesome is under construction. The food is great - they make their own ice cream and syrup. Work job can be sugaring, barn, IT, tutoring, you name it. Campus is very well maintained… okay I’ll stop now. Did I mention I went to Taft? :D/
Too late to apply now. Waaaaah!
Would probably be our top choice if they had just a bit more academic support. It’s one of those schools I’d apply to over the big names even if my kid had a 99% SSAT score. Just fits who we/he are better than the big names.
How close is that science center in real life? Hasn’t it been in the works for many years? I know that NMH is not likely to go on the record if they’re having trouble raising the money, but it seems like a long wait. Fancy new science buildings are all the rage…
@GnarWhail they are starting construction during break
@snapchat For real? That’s excellent. I never believe anyone about any project until I see a mess. If they dig up that ground, well, then I will be hopeful. I’m also not a making too big a deal of baubles during interviews or in other situations. Seems tacky and is not helpful if your kid is an applicant.
@GnarWhail actually, i am the applicant lol. when i went to visit there was nothing there but the instagram has pictures of the land surveyed and construction workers at the site. tbh, the cutler building is a eyesore on the beautiful campus. i actually talked about it during my interview and was looking forward to the advancement of the gilder center. thankfully, my interviewer agreed with my statements and it went overall well. i do hope i get into nmh on m10, it seems like a great place.
Hey, I’m a current student at NMH. Not sure if this is too late but just wanted to give you some insight. My personal opinion is that the academics depend on the classes you take, teachers you get, and if you are good at the subject itself so it really depends. However, from past experience there a lot of teachers who are just inexperienced, i’ve had two one year substitute teachers who just came from first year of teaching. The STEM at NMH is weak, we only have one comp sci teacher, and the science teachers are all not that great. The math teachers I’ve gotten were decent but I’ve heard complaints from other teachers from my peers. The strong suit really is english. I’m a more stem oriented student and my english isn’t that great but the english teachers here are great. They make class creative and fun. Something most students and myself hate is the workjob program. It might seem like not a big deal now but needing to work 4 hours everyweek for them to save on employee costs is pretty tiring depending on the job you get. The worst one is needing to wake up at 7AM to clean white boards. When you’re an upper-classman you can apply for the easier jobs. Oh and also, if you do not play sports it might be hard to fit in. Even though the newest building is the music and art building. This school really focuses on sports, and they spend tons of money wasted on recruiting basketball and few soccer athletes. If you have any other concerns you can let me know.