I’ve heard some…negative things about NMH and that it is not strong academically. I’ve heard especially bad things about the STEM program. Academics are a really important part of choosing a school for me, and if anyone has firsthand experience with NMH academics, could you please share your experience?
I’m trying to remember if there are any NMH people…remind us what your other choices are?
In my experience it’s a solid school, but yeah, the kids I’ve known who went there were not the brightest kids I knew.
NMH academics are fine and not subpar in any sense.
Calling @chemmchimney whose daughter attended and has posted informatively on NMH in many threads, including this one regarding academics.
NMH was our son’s other choice. Had I been the student making the decision, I would have chosen NMH over Choate.
@Golfrgr8 posted this article highlighting NMH just recently.
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Hill, Mercersburg, and Tabor, but I think it’s down to NMH and Hill.
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Hi @lilyesh and congrats on your acceptances! My daughter graduated from NMH in 2016. I am happy to report my daughter had wonderful teachers across the board at NMH. There are a few things about academics at NMH that make it different than most other schools. While every school has small discussion based classes, at NMH the blocks are extended so students have generally one fewer subject at a time than at other schools but classes cover a full year of material in a half a year of school so you can fit in just as many courses and in some cases more courses than in a traditional format. This structure is the same as you will find at most colleges. The longer blocks allow the discussions to go much deeper than in your typical high school class and there is no teacher standing at a board for the most part; the kids conversations truly guide their learning. There is also time in these expanded classes to do more substantial projects.
You can also, for example, take two years of a language or two math classes in one year. Because classes last half a year, the pace is brisk and like all of these schools there is a good amount of homework but the work/play balance at NMH is actually very good compared to many schools. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed generally. There may be a wider range of academic abilities represented I think than at some schools, as well as a wider range of colleges that kids attend. This is not because the academics are weaker though. It’s a reflection of the school’s conscious choice to include an expanded range of interests, abilities and backgrounds. NMH was founded to educate the students that could not afford or access the Exeters etc. and they remain true to that mission. And the kids are so friendly! Collaboration is definitely stressed over competition. There aren’t many cliques. If you want to grind and go to Harvard, you can definitely do that at NMH. They send a good chunk of kids to the Ivies every year. My daughter was more focused on arts than STEM but I know NMH is planning for a new science building as their building is older. There are definitely STEM stars at NMH and they can challenge the most gifted students even if the school lab isn’t (yet) as shiny. Here is a link to an article about one current stem star student: https://www.nmhschool.org/news-events/news-stories/post/~board/news-and-events-board/post/sharing-her-love-for-math
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