<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>Figured I'd start a thread on questions & answers related to NMH. So far they've been scattered in thread throughout the forum, but here's hoping that this will a more central place.</p>
<p>There are a number of NMH alums, students, and parents on CC and I know we could all help answer your questions.</p>
<p>I guess I'll start -- who applied to NMH this year, and what about the school led you to apply?</p>
<p>i really like the size of the student body and the rowing program.</p>
<p>do you have any experience with the science facility/program? is it strong?
do you think of the campus as being ātoo bigā?</p>
<p>How is the drama department at NMH?
What was it about NMH that made it stand out against other schools you may/may not have applied to?
Why did you choose NMH?
How are dorms at NMH (specifically the dorms that would be considered the worst and the best)?</p>
<p>I was really intrigued by that fact that, it seemed as though, they value the arts just as much as they do academics. I also liked the high diversity rate and relatively small student body.</p>
<p>Our son applied.</p>
<p>Can you help me figure out how NMH stacks up academically, since it has been a school that has seen so much change? We are not applying to acronym schools because our son, though very bright, has not been the uber-achiever on grades that those schools look for. Heās getting into gear now, as a bit of a late bloomer, but is just not ready to compete in that sort of arena. So academic fit is important. </p>
<p>We intentionally donāt want āthe most rigorousā - we want him to enjoy high school. A high stress pressure cooker that expects him to sink-or-swim would be all wrong. I canāt figure out NMH - keep hearing there is a lot of freedom. What is meant by that?</p>
<p>Are the kids supportive or competitive? What, if any, structure is in place? Is there any mandated study hall, lights out, or teachers keeping after you on a day to day basis? Or is it āmore like collegeā, as Iāve been hearing? There is no right answer here - I just want to know if it is a fit or not, as he stands now. I donāt want him to struggle and just be buried with work. But motivated students who want to learn is important, too. </p>
<p>What would you say its academic peers are?</p>
<p>Iām applying to NMH this year as a safety school. I was drawn to it for several reasons; including the work program, campus, and good financial aid program.</p>
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ThereĀs a nice balance at NMH between competition and support among students. (The faculty at any school is supportive!) Structure at NMH is typical among ESA schools ([Eight</a> Schools Association - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=āhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight_Schools_Association]Eightā>Eight Schools Association - Wikipedia)) as well. ThereĀs study hall, lights out, etc. There isnĀt hand holding though, so itĀs not a school for a student who isnĀt motivated.</p>
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IĀd say any ESA school. The faculty makeup (advanced degree, avg. teaching experience, etc.) at NMH lines up with any of those schools. The college placement at NMH is very similar to Choate, Loomis, Taft, possibly Hotchkiss.</p>
<p>
If you like NMH for what it is, then why call it a Āsafety school?Ā Not to mention the fact that it isnĀt. Back 4 or 5 years ago it may have been considered one, but now that the campus is consolidated and the class sizes are half the size, the acceptance rate is between 25-30%, which is not safety school level. This is a misconception that should be rid of on CC.</p>
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The theater program at NMH is excellent. I saw several performances in my time there, and all of them really amazed me. If I remember correctly, international troupes also played at the Rhodes Arts Center because of how wonderful the facility is. (Probably the nicest in New England.) The programĀs success is clear when you see the list of NMH alums in the arts, most notably Laura Linney, Uma Thurman, Natalie Cole, etc.</p>
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NMH tows this really interesting line between traditional New England prep school and progressive model for education. It works really well for it and is probably the basis for other schools that try to do the same. First and foremost, what stands out is the academic program and college placement. Second, what stands out is the student body and the regional and economic diversity of NMHers. Third, the beautiful campus and architecture. Fourth, the alumni base that really loves the school and can open doors in life (but I wasnĀt really thinking about that when I was applying.)</p>
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Pretty much the reasons listed above. </p>
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None of the dorms are places I wouldnĀt want to live Ā letĀs just say that. In other words, they are all nice. Shea and MacKinnon may be considered the nicest because they are the newest, but each dorm has a personality that attracts students to it after the first year living in the freshman housing (a nice cottage style system).</p>
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The science facility is not NMHĀs most glorious structure on campus. (It was built in a hurry after the famous Silliman fire ([Football</a> Fire](<a href=āhttp://www.ourdailyoffering.com/footballfire.html]Footballā>Football Fire)) Thankfully, however, there is a lot of interdisciplinary science education, including integration with NMHĀs working farm. Do you have specific questions on the sciences? The course offerings are pretty much identical with other ESA schools. </p>
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Not at all! The core campus is a perfect size. The ~1000 acre number you may have heard is just the schoolĀs total land holdings, but the main campus size is around 300 acres, and itĀs all beautifully located on the banks of the Connecticut River.</p>
<p>I recall a few schools with rolling admissions, is NMH one of them? If so, how likely is a rolling admissions applicant likely to gain acceptance? Thanks! :)</p>
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<p>I donāt believe so, but you may want to ask somebody in the admission office. Obviously an applicant who applies after the deadline has a much lower chance at admission.</p>
<p>Thank you <em>very</em> much for taking the time to help us all out here. If there are others who are familiar with NMH, Iād love to hear from you however youād like to contact me. </p>
<p>Sorry if I sound dense, but the point is important, and I want to make sure I heard you correctly. You are saying that, as an ESA school, the academic environment at NMH is similar to those - that it is, as one acronym school parent says of theirs, āuber intenseā? I also seem to recall someone who went to NMH saying they compared their homework load to friends at Andover & Exeter, and the load was equivalent.</p>
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<p>Well, I donāt think that this is really answerable except by someone who has intimate experience at all ESA schools, but Iād bet that the academics of all of them are comparable. I wouldnāt be surprised if the homework load at Andover and NMH were the same. That said I do not think NMH is uber intense, but I donāt think Andover is either.</p>
<p>How would you describe the people who go there?
How many hours of homework did you have each night?
What was your GPA? How is the grading system? One school Iām looking at has an average of only 81% because they grade really hard.
What other boarding school choices besides NMH did you have?</p>
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I donāt think itās possible to generalize any school population. NMH is no different. There are people interested in all sorts of things.</p>
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It varied of course from year to year and class to class.</p>
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I donāt remember my exact GPA, but on average I donāt think NMH has bad grade inflation or deflation. </p>
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All the usual suspects, including three HADES schools that I applied to.</p>
<p>Thank you for your information, NMHStudent. My son is studying 7th grade in junior boarding in NH. I am choosing some high schools for him. NMH is his choice. Heāll apply in grade 8.</p>
<p>I think 31%* acceptance rate actually is good enough to be considered a safety school if someone has good enough stats. And itās not an insult to call it that; thereās nothing wrong with being a safety school.
*According to boardingschoolreview.com</p>
<p>Mayafairy: Letās put this into perspective. If the majority of the schools that you are applying to have an acceptance rate of 19% or less (Ex. Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, Hotchkiss etc.), then yes, I guess you could consider NMH a āsafetyā. But if the schools you are applying schools to have acceptance rates of 30% or more (most of my schools do), then no, NMH wouldnāt be considered a safety. Most applicants wouldnāt consider a school with a 31% acceptance rate to be a āsafetyā. Honestly, a school with like a 63% acceptance rate would be a safetyā¦</p>
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No, there is no guide for placing a number on it, but the trend of a decline in the admit rate, which is why I said itāll hover between 25-30% in the next few years, indicates that NMH is not a safety school. (FYI Taft is 22%) As the previous poster indicates though, it all has to do with your stats. If youāre good enough, then most schools are āsafety schoolsā for you anyway. Itās a useless term. In any case, best of luck to you.</p>
<p>I know boardingschoolreview says NMH admits 31% of applicants; however my daughterās letter regretfully informing her that she was not admitted says they have over 1600 applicants for approximately 220 places which is about 14% acceptance. While my d. would still have applied to NMH, knowing the correct figure might have affected what other schools she applied to. We aimed for a range of acceptances but inadvertently ended up with 2 out of 4 schools being extremely selective.</p>
<p>Also, we were somewhat taken aback to get an email right around admission deadline stating that their financial aid policy revolves around using their dollars to fill out the student body according to their design, and that they wanted us to have this information when evaluating different schools. But no one ever told us this when it was early enough to actually reconsider our selections of schools to visit and apply to!</p>
<p>Yes, alooknac, itās possible that this year the admit rate will be in the low 20s. Each year since NMH consolidated to one campus the admit rate has been decreasing. Unfortunately, thatās not the best news for applicants. Iām sorry for your daughter.</p>
<p>@alooknac. Take DAās old stat as an example: Applications, 2355; Admitted, 310; Matriculated, 201. They lost 108 admitted students. So For NMH, assuming same yield (maybe less), NMH should admit about 350 students, which makes their admit rate about 23%.</p>