Is anyone else planning on enrolling at NMH for this upcoming year? If so, what grade will you be in?
I’ll be a repeat Junior 
I’m thinking about going to NMH as well next year if I get the FA. I’ll be a junior too!
@Lohasing Awesome! I got my FA award in the mail with my acceptance package. I hope to see you there!
Congrats guys! I’m an NMH parent (class of 2016) and it’s a great school. Fingers crossed that the FA for @Lohasing arrives.
@chemmchimney Thank you! I can’t wait to get there. Its such a beautiful place.
@chemmchimney Can you please share good and bad on NMH? We have an offer and seriously considering it.
Best: the kids! Very supportive, happy feel. Kids work very hard as they do at the other schools but there is a lot of fun and joy. The teachers love to teach and the school has a laid back feel while still being very structured. Trying new things, taking risks is very supported. Kids are overall collaborative and not competitive with each other. I remember at our revisit day the captain of the LAX team was on the panel, and I kinda expected to hear the same story again about a perfect kid and their perfect achievements (insert eye roll here), but when someone asked him what he liked best about the school, he said he had taken a Samba class and it had been outside of his comfort zone but he loved it and it became a highlight of his year. He loved that he always felt comfortable going outside of his box at NMH.
Character driven: the school really does practice what it preaches: the “head, heart,hand” motto is taken, well, to heart. Love the head of school. Students are empowered to follow their own interests and make meaningful contributions, not just resume building or community service to wrack up X number of hours. I felt school’s values were aligned with ours, emphasis on being an ethical person and being open and accepting more than on “winning” per se. The Northfield school was originally founded as a school for underprivledged.
Discussion based classes with extended blocks: kids learn on a deeper level and have the opportunity to make personal connections to their work as well as connections between subjects. On average, I would guess 80% of class time is discussion and it is really interesting to sit in on a class and here the kids very varied life experiences. That said, the school leans towards a more liberal, progressive pov.
The Food! Most admit NMH has the best food, some of it is raised and grown right on campus.
High percentage of International students: very diverse community and the larger school size was a plus for us as kids have many overlapping friend groups. It is not a cliquey place.
The campus - That hill can be chilly in the winter but the campus is beautifully maintained and the view can’t be beat. The older science/math building is being replaced and a multi-million dollar boat house is being built. Great views. Love that kids tend to stay in the same dorms for several years (after freshman year) and there is a lot of friendly dorm competitions. For example, kids take canoes into the pool and play a dorm vs dorm version of “Who Sunk My Battleship”
Wonderful arts program for both performing and visual arts and gorgeous newer arts center.
Work Job ends up being many students favorite thing at NMH and it builds community and a sense of responsibility for taking care of the school and each other.
No extra charge for academic support should you need it is a big bonus for some families,
Not my favorites:
Far from airports
They charge a set laundry fee even if you are doing your own (free machines in dorms) but on the plus side , they don’t have many extra fees in general
90 minute back to back classes are not everyone’s cup of tea but the 2 semester schedule has some big advantages - the disadvantage is that subject tests and AP tests might not be available until a few months after a class ends if you take the corresponding course in the fall, but most kids seem to work this out just fine. Also kids are learning a years worth of material in half a years time so the pace is brisk. On the plus side, there also seems to be a good amount of downtime/free blocks during the day for many kids and you don’t have homework in every subject every night as classes meet 2-3x a week (I think) and no Saturday classes.
I love NMH! I’m definitely going to revisit day, although I’m kinda leaning towards Choate and Middlesex… I haven’t actually visited any schools yet, so I’ll see how it feels when I visit all of my schools a current student’s family is holding an NMH event on Tuesday a couple of minutes away from my house, so I’m definitely going to that 
@Nico.campbell Go to NMH! There’s not enough love for it on CC. It genuinely is very different from the rest of the ESL and a very special place. Stepping on campus totally sealed the deal for me.
And there is the basketball team! All 7 seniors going to Div 1 schools this year
http://www.zagsblog.com/2017/03/10/four-ivy-league-tournament-teams-feature-players-one-high-school-northfield-mount-hermon/
I am a current parent of two NMH students. My older is a junior and younger is a freshman. Both are having a wonderful experience and are very happy at NMH. We have found the school to be accepting, friendly and warm. After a week of being at school, my freshman could not get over how nice everyone was to each other. My children are very different and both have found their place at NMH along with numerous options to pursue their individual interests. I agree with everything that the other parent wrote earlier. I would add that, while the work can be challenging (you are at a college prep school), everyone at NMH wants you to succeed!! Should you need it or just want to get ahead, their are help sessions each night during study hall for all the major courses of study (science, math, writing, etc). The teachers are very open to meeting with students individually to offer help. And, the food really is the best!!