<p>how are these schools??</p>
<p>My daughter is at Brooks currently, she loves it. It is a beautiful school, currently building a magnificent science center. Very challenging classes, dedicated faculty. Great school, especially for female athletes.</p>
<p>really? ive heard great things about brooks, but when i visited campus it was different than what i had expected, maybe even anticipated. it seemed a bit run down and smaller than the other schools as far as the campus goes. my dad really likes brooks though, he thinks its the friendliest and warmest environment compared to the other schools ive applied to. </p>
<p>what do you think the chances are of being accepted as an 11th grader?</p>
<p>I've never visited Brooks or Berkshire, so I can't compare, but I can say that NMH had the warmest, friendliest environment compared to the other schools my son visited (Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, St. Pauls, Choate, Groton, Avon). He immediately fell in love and attended for four years. He says he hopes his own children attend one day. My younger son is now a freshman their and loves it as well. The campus is gorgeous, the faculty and staff are supportive and caring, the facilities are top notch, the coursework is rigorous, etc. etc. Very happy with that school.</p>
<p>i do love NMH, but it was actually the other school that i was slightly disappointed with in one aspect. the campus was definitely gorgeous, but i felt like the buildings themselves weren't so great on the inside. the athletic building, the classrooms.. they were in worse condition than my current public school now. but i mean, i can't just judge a school by that.</p>
<p>so he definitely loved the school though? how is the curriculum/academics there? i'm trying to expand my horizons, so i'm looking for "more". challenging, different, unique.. do you think NMH met those standards?</p>
<p>Like many bs, NMH has lots of older buildings. Some are newly redone, others are not. You are right that the gym is one of the "older" buildings and I know it is on the list of up and coming "to do's". The school consolidated onto one campus in 2005 and they have been busy renovating and putting up new buildings. They have two new dorms and the multi-million dollar arts center is due to be ready for use in the Spring. They have also put in two beautiful new soccer fields and are looking at doing a turf field as well. They are breaking ground for a new admissions building in the Spring.
The curriculum and academics are as challenging as the tier 1 preps....and I say that from my son's comparisons to his two close friends from middle school; one was at Exeter and one at Andover while he was at NMH. My son was a similar student to his friends and they all struggled mightily in their respective bs. My son ended up with only a 3.1 gpa....and it wasn't for lack of trying....but was still admitted to some top of the line LAC's (Lehigh, Villanova), so the school profile is definitely respected. My younger son was definitely looking to expand his horizons, and he was thrilled as on his first day at the school he met people from Nepal, Brazil, Thailand, France, and, of course, Korea.</p>
<p>Brooks is a quaint campus. There is definately nothing run down about the amazing library/ art gallery, the beautiful athletic complex/ rink, or the amazing dining hall. The dorms, my daughters included are older, but the pluses definately outweigh the minuses. You could not find a more picturesque view, than the Brooks campus during an autumn afternoon, or after a fresh snowfall, it is like a Norman Rockwell painting, very New England. My daughter has great teachers, amazing coaches and likes the size of the school, very manageable, and not overwhelming. Everyone we have met, from faculty to other families are incredibly welcoming.</p>
<p>We looked at Brooks for S seven years ago. We loved it, he couldn't wait to get off the campus. Brooks is an old line Episcopal which like many of them always believed in "doing more with less". I understand they have substantially upgraded the facilities recently. Brooks is kind of a sleeper school in the ISL, but a very good one.</p>
<p>Looked at NMH for D recently, and none of us loved it. Campus seemed a little run down, but again, I understand they are rebuilding, especially after the campus consolidation. NMH has a very large int'l pop. and has to be considered one of the more progressive (not good or bad) schools in NE.
The school sign on the main road needs to be a little bigger ;O).</p>
<p>D is very happy at Berkshire, which has a truly spectacular campus and setting, and will soon feature a new athletic center and rebuilt academic building. Kids seems happy and she has made many new friends. The new head and his wife are quite dynamic and are bringing in some great new faculty.
Keep an eye on this school.</p>
<p>"Looked at NMH for D recently, and none of us loved it. Campus seemed a little run down"</p>
<p>Really? I have never felt that...I think it's absolutely gorgeous. Many of the buildings have beautiful old architecture. I particularly like "cottage row" and the dining hall is beautiful. The view over the Ct. River Valley is unforgettable and all of the playing fields are oriented in that direction.
I think most of the older preps have their share of older buildings. I don't really see evidence of buildings being neglected or run down though.</p>
<p>We recently visited NMH and really loved it. Nothing seemed run down at all to us. We spent almost 4 hours there talking to admissions, kids and coaches. We were very impressed with the school and the block scheduling as well as the warmth of the people.</p>
<p>Sorry keylyme, just my impression, especially of the athletic facilities.
Did Hobey Baker play in that rink?</p>
<p>But you have to agree about that sign!</p>
<p>Baker was St. Paul's....and is that a dig? Because, yes the NMH hockey rink is not comparable to some of the other preps...at least not the exterior. They do have state of the art ice making, though, and the rink is another part of the campus that is going to be redone.</p>
<p>As far as the sign....well, we wouldn't want to accidentally drive by the entrance, would we???</p>
<p>I'm a big fan of the Brooks campus and community. I really enjoyed my tour and visiting day there and nearly decided to attend Brooks over Andover. In the end, I decided that the opportunities and depth of courses at Andover were too much to pass up.</p>
<p>My son went to NMH, played hockey at NMH --loved the school, loved the campus, loved the ice and found the people wonderful. He's now in law school and was ready for college when it was time to go. </p>
<p>The Hobey Baker dig was a little unnecessary.</p>
<p>ragtag -- sorry if I offended you. Don't you think NMH hockey would benefit from a new facility? This year's team, no offense, is barely competitive.</p>
<p>keylyme - Jeez, just a little joke (see, Baker played a long time ago, and the rink is old...). </p>
<p>My childhood friend and college roommate's father wrote "The Legend of Hobey Baker" so I'm pretty sure I knew he played for SPS, Princeton and St. Nick's. Great book if you can find it.</p>
<p>Fun is Fun - Yes, I think the NMH kids would benefit by having a new rink, but we can't blame the ice for a less than stellar season while developing for the future under a new coach. I realize a new hockey rink may draw more hockey players, but things are what they are right now. It's still a great school. I'm sorry you didn't care for it. It's all about fit for your child. You seemed to have found that at Berkshire...and that's great.</p>
<p>I felt you were giving thoughts to young readers and parents looking for a good fit at school and was perplexed reading what seemed to be words meant to run down NMH, a school that's got alot to offer. </p>
<p>I didn't want to sound offensive, so I didn't say this in my response before, but when my two sons played hockey (at two different schools) I was least impressed with Berkshire as a visitor during away games there. However, I know who the head of school is and I know the school is probably better than it was. He was a good coach and it isn't surprising that immediately on the list is getting a new hockey rink. It's good they're matching that with fixing up their main academic building. Otherwise, it would've seemed outside of wise priorities with the educational side of the school. AND boasting a new rink at Berkshire doesn't make the rest of the schools poor choices for kids looking for a great education where there happens to be an old-school type rink. My son loved the academic life at NMH, liked his teachers and as I said before is now in law school having excelled academically from his time at this school.</p>
<p>About the sign -- The whole school is a smile, so we have the sign, we have our hogger mascot and we have our pig-pen (otherwise affectionately known as our ice rink).</p>
<p>In retrospect I was too dismissive of NMH, it wasn't for us, but it is a very good school and there are many on this board who love it and speak highly of it. And if you want to speak of impressions, I went to Salisbury!</p>
<p>Yah, the new Berkshire head is a "puckhead", but he has much larger priorities than hockey or sports in general.</p>
<p>Pretty sure the new athletic facility at Berkshire results from a large ear-marked gift.</p>
<p>I think Salisbury is a great school -- Mr. Corkery coached my son's team at HNIB (a few years back!) and was great with the boys. He left me with such a good impression of him and the school. Did you like Salisbury? </p>
<p>As for your head of school at Berkshire -- he's a great person, puckhead and all! He came to our home ice (several states away from MA) and I had the pleasure of working with him briefly during a camp. What struck me most was his focused dedication to what I sensed is his calling...serving young people through developing future leaders using both education and sports. He's a good man. I was left with a good impression. And was glad to see the main education building is being updated as well as the rink. Playing hockey doesn't last a lifetime, yet education is something no one can ever take away from our children -- it's an investment in our kids that will be with them for a lifetime. That's why I felt disappointed at first when I heard about the new rink being built so soon after Mike Maher arrived at the school. It seemed out of priority. I found myself questioning his intentions based on what I knew of him and was disappointed -- if it was a large ear-marked gift it just goes to show we don't always have the facts and its easy to make unfair assumptions. </p>
<p>My final thought is that all prep schools are there to serve our children's future and each school fits certain kids and there is a school to fit most kids searching to go. Our children are blessed to have this opportunity to learn in each unique school environment. </p>
<p>Thank you for taking the time to answer my chatter about NMH.</p>
<p>Thanks for your thoughtful reply.</p>
<p>Well, I liked it well enough to send our only son. Matt Corkery, who's been a friend for over 30 years ended up being his advisor, go figure. Matt, like Mike Maher at Berkshire have their priorities in the right place. They love hockey and sports in general, but are really focused on producing good people who will lead productive lives.</p>
<p>Welcome to the board.</p>