Can anyone share recent personal experience as a student or parent of a student at these schools?
Yes! I am a current student at Berkshire School and I absolutely love it. I was accepted to NMH but I felt that the program was to big and it felt s but impersonal. Part of the reason that I loved Berkshire so much was the fact the it felt like such a tight knight community. Everybody is so nice and people you don’t know (including upperclassman) want to talk to you. For example, the other day, a senior who I have only had maybe one small interaction with came up to me and gave me a hug and asked how I was. The advisory system is also amazing. Last week I was sick and my advisor baked me cookies and brought them to my dorm for me along with a get well note…everybody here is so kind! I can’t express that enough. Berkshires academics are great. We also have some unique programs. One program that no other school in the country has is something called Pro Vita. For a whole week students can take a course of 2 on things that they want to learn about such as making maple syrup, improv, curling,learning to rollerblade. Athletics are great as well! The girls field hockey team is amazing as well as ice hockey, volleyball and boys varsity soccer. Boys varsity soccer is the best program in prep school right now. Berkshires campus is in the base of a mountain, which is gorgeous. People can go hiking when they please and it is a beautiful environment. All in all, Berkshire is an amazing choice. If you are looking for a diverse student body with a tight knit community and great academics and athletics, Berkshire is definitly somewhere that you want to apply. It has changed my life.