Any thoughts? I did a lot of research for both, but still can’t decide. I know that the biggest difference is whether it is co-ed or not, but this doesn’t matter much for me. Any inside scoop will help! Thanks!
NMH has homegrown, tasty food.
Compared to NMH, Miss Porter’s will seem like it’s in an urban setting.
Porter’s has the best mascot in the history of mascots. No joke.
^ Certainly more “appropriate” than the mascot for the Rhode Island School of Design!
Porter’s gets girls into college, NMH however, is more of a “true high school” feel but with a prep school twist (dont get me wrong, NMH gets people into schools too). Another note, Porter’s is notorious for hazing, competitiveness, bullying and nasty rich girls.
Really? Does Porters really have that reputation?! my daughter is seriously considering this school.
That’s a little harsh re. Miss Porter’s! Miss Porter’s has a rep as more intellectually demanding, comparatively. In many more demanding academic settings there can be an undercurrent of competitiveness - which can seep into the social scene. This exists in any competitive boarder and day school, co-ed and single gender alike: if the school is Type A, it’s there. The thing I didn’t expect is how much it can vary from class to class. I say go to the visit days and take a good look at the admitteds - trust your gut. If it’s a good group, especially in the single gender setting, the experience can be phenomenal.
Source, please.
So not fair. Have a daughter currently attending. Has not at all been her experience–at all. Feel free to PM me, @freshlook.
Thanks for everyone who have replied! I hear a lot that NMH has really good food especially the homemade ice-cream and the maple syrup. But I also hear that the food in Porter’s is very good as well…
About Porter’s, yes, I do see a lot of negative info but I also see a lot of current students and their parents like iphonemom saying that they’re having a totally different experience. So I don’t really trust or care about the rumors 
@annieoakley Thanks! Your comment really helped. I feel that Miss Porter’s is way more academically demanding compared to NMH, but having a little competitiveness can be a plus, rather than being a pressure. I would definitely attend the revisit and see how the people would be like.
But it seems that in NMH, there would be more time to do stuff other than the academics, but I also want to challenge myself in the academics. Is the academics challenging in NMH? How is the extracurriculars, or how much time can you spend on sports and arts in Porter’s? This decision is so tough and I have to make it within two weeks…
NMH’s block schedule is unique.
@stargirl I love the schedule… big + in my book.
@mstars I think you have the right outlook. They both have a decent reputation for their academics - it may be that NMH has a wider variety of skill levels and academic challenge, though this is just a sense, based on the two schools’ college matriculation. When we look at those matriculations, and then consider the reported admit rates (where Miss Porter’s reportedly admits a higher %age - I’m not sure that’s accurate btw), it would seem something else is going on - and that something else may be the quality of instruction and/or the quality of support and/or personal development. I think there’s a wider variety of student types at NMH, and I also think something happens in the all-women setting.
Did you apply to any other all-women? What did you think about Emma Willard (if you checked it out or researched it…).
I personally love both of these schools, but for very different reasons. I don’t think you can go wrong! Keep us posted with your decision-making!
3 links below
Note - the MP and NMH lists are presenting college matriculation in distinctively different ways - MP’s shows where the last two graduating classes have matriculated, with a complete list for each class, and NMH’s shows a list of schools where at least 3 students have matriculated in the past 3 years. Also note, NMH’s list may (likely) include(s) PG students.
http://www.porters.org/Page/Learn/College-Counseling/College-Matriculation-List
http://www.nmhschool.org/academics-college-counseling-4
http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/lowest_acceptance_rates/sort/1
After gathering another two lists of statistics I realized I was mistaken – here’s what I revised the previous post to say // missed the revision time limit, soooo this is what I now think…
@mstars I think you have the right outlook. They both have decent reputations, including the strength in their respective academic programming - it may be that NMH has a wider variety of skill levels and academic challenge, though this is just a sense. They both do well with college matriculation and have similar statistics. My sense is that there’s a wider variety of student types at NMH (and I don’t mean gender :), I mean, a wider variety of abilities/drive/interests/etc.). I also think something happens in the all-women setting, and MP graduates present themselves with poise and confidence - not that NMH’s don’t, they just present differently (equally able)… …It is interesting to me that when we compare the statistics, these two schools appear to attract similar students and prepare them similarly, but our senses (I know I’m not the only one!) tell us that they are distinctly different admitteds-graduates.
Did you apply to any other all-women BS? What did you think about Emma Willard (if you checked it out or researched it…).
I personally love both of these schools, but for very different reasons. I don’t think you can go wrong! Keep us posted with your decision-making!
5 links below
Note - the MP and NMH lists are presenting college matriculation in distinctively different ways - MP’s shows where the last two graduating classes have matriculated, with a complete list for each class, and NMH’s shows a list of schools where at least 3 students have matriculated in the past 3 years. Also note, NMH’s list may (likely) include(s) PG students.
http://www.porters.org/Page/Learn/College-Counseling/College-Matriculation-List - self-reported matriculation MP
http://www.nmhschool.org/academics-college-counseling-4 self-reported matriculation NMH
http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/lowest_acceptance_rates/sort/1 comp/admit rates
http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/55 quick overview of MP’s stats
http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/9 quick overview of NMH’s stats (appear dated)
on the NMH website under academics/college counseling, you will not only find the 3 yr overview matric list, but you will also see a link to archived college list which shows matriculation by class beginning with 2010 up through 2014 class