<p>Hello all! This is my first time using this website. </p>
<p>I have recently been accepted to both Suffield Academy and NMH school as a late applicant because moving to boarding school was a late decision. </p>
<p>I was wondering which would be a better school in term of academics, volleyball/other athletics department, overall reputation & success, dorm life and rooms, social life (eg. social groups, diversity), college matriculation, SAT averages and ANYTHING else that will influence my decision. Thanks! </p>
<p>On a side note, I have made some unofficial plans to try to transfer to another boarding school such as Choate or Exeter as my older sister is enrolling at Deerfield and I want to aim higher next year. Will that influence my school choice? </p>
<p>I don’t think that attending a school and moving into another one is a good choice, if you’re decided to change schools then simply apply tho the ones you want to be at next year.</p>
<p>also, there might be other kids out there with hopes of being taken off the waitlist, if you are going to take the place and then leave it, seems unfair,again, just my opinion.</p>
<p>@Mexstudent2013
will all due respect, that is just a slight consideration of my plans. And I can’t simply just not go to boarding school as this process is a huge step (I live overseas) and the process has consumed time and money. I needed a comprehensive comparison between the two schools. I am doing what I think is best for me. </p>
<p>I looked at both schools when I was doing my search for boarding schools and found I felt more comfortable in the smaller schools in general, but that is just me. Both schools are strong in all of your described areas. Boarding school is really what you make of it. Both offer a number of high level academic courses.</p>
<p>If you are thinking about moving schools after a year, the smaller school may be your best bet, as you might have a better chance to be a big fish in a small pond, but who knows. </p>
<p>I remember from my tour of Suffield that the students and teachers were very happy and seemed to be genuinely excited about being part of the school. It had a really warm feel. Even on the tour, the people at the school made me feel welcomed. </p>
<p>NMH was a different feel. Not bad, but just different. I didn’t get the same warm feeling. My tour guide and interviewer were nice, but at the end of the day it, it was just a little too large for me. </p>
<p>For me, Suffield would be the better choice of the two, because of the small school environment and the friendly students. Academically, I feel like I could have as much challenge as I could handle. My parents actually took the all of the schools I considered college lists and covered the names of the schools. I couldn’t really tell any difference between any off them, so I think that proves more than anything, that if you can do the work and get the grades, then you can get in to most schools. For high school, where you feel most comfortable is important, IMO.</p>
<p>Did you get a chance to visit either school? I can only speak about NMH but what we loved was the friendliness of all the students and teachers. We met the volleyball coach and she was terrific. We also met NMH students who chose NMH over schools like Andover and Exeter for various reasons. “Aiming higher” next year may not be the most constructive way to think about this but I understand your thinking. You are trying to quantify the schools - pretty much everyone does this. Still I would try to pick the school based on what will best help you follow your own interests and the somewhat intangible “feel” of the school since both schools will make you a qualified applicant for top US colleges and have solid academics. This may or may not be the highest ranked; sometimes its easier to shine at a “less competitive” or smaller school.(fyi I’m not sure its totally up to date, but boardingschoolreview.com allows you to rank schools various ways including by SAT scores and low admittance rates)</p>
<p>Regarding next year, the process of transferring may be difficult - you will be asking teachers who have just met you to write your recommendations. You will have to hit the ground running at the new school in order to have a great transcript at the same time that you are adjusting to a new place. If it is possible to stay put and go through the process of applying again when you have the time to more fully explore all of the schools that appeal to you, I would definitely consider it. As a late applicant, it sounds like you may not have had that chance? I’m guessing the “aim higher” schools wouldn’t accept a late application? In any case, congratulations!</p>
<p>Wow! Thanks everyone (@Mexstudent2013@stretch99@chemmchimney) for these great replies. I have taken them in account and you guys have seriously influenced my decision :3</p>
<p>My situtation was complicated. My sister had just applied in January to Deerfield (and made it in, yay! ), but it was initially just her to move over to the US for boarding school. It was only two months later my parents just had to have me over with my sister. By then I had absolutely no chance with any of the HADES and I’m sure all admissions were full and the waitilist would be impossible to get off, especially with my SSATs. The rest was to take a 17 hour flight to the east coast and look for schools who have confirmed spaces for a rolling based admission. Suffield & NMH were my top two choices </p>
<p>Can anyone tell me about the dorm life in NMH & Suffield? From what I remember, the dorms at NMH were disgusting, perhaps due to the roommates, but it was fairly smaller than some other schools. Suffield’s dorms were the biggest i’ve ever seen but its still open to me. And can anyone share their thoughts on NMH’s school time table - in which one period is over an hour, and you only take three subjects per semester? </p>
<p>I visited NMH twice, the dorm I saw the first time was a complete mess, but at the Envision Day we went to the dorms again (Shea) and I saw another bedroom, which was cleaner (A LOT) than the first one, I guess it actually depends on you and your roomate (if you have one)</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptances! I’ll try to answer your questions regarding dorms, but bare in mind that I’m not a current student. (I will be a new freshmen next fall) I visited the freshmen girls dorms, and I’ll be honest, they weren’t… the best. They were dark, messy, and old. It was definitely a turn-off for me, but at the end of the day I chose the school because I connected with the community. </p>
<p>I’ve spent hours debating whether or not the CMAP schedule is the right fit for me. The pros are that you can take more classes than the average public/private school student. The classes are longer so you will be able to go into depth with the course and this is something that definitely drew me in. As a student, I know it may be difficult to receive one-on-one time and the schedule allows you to have even more time with your teachers. (Obviously, every prep school gives you time to meet with your teachers; however I think the extended class time provides you the opportunity to truly understand the dynamics of the lesson, your peers, and your instructor.) The cons of the CMAP schedule is that you might have some trouble recalling what you learned first semester for your AP exams. BUT it’s not that large of a problem because many teachers hold study sessions for their first semester students. CMAP enhances your learning experience and it also prepares you for college because both schedules are very similar. </p>
<p>I probably come off very biased, which I sort of am, but I hope I’ve helped! Either way, choose the school that is right for you. Even if you plan on transferring later on, choose the school that you can see yourself at for the next for years because plans often change. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>I don’t go to NMH, but I did get accepted there, and my current school has the block system. Personally, I hate it. It’s one of the reasons why I decided against NMH. The classes take forever, and just get boring after a while. This may not be the case at NMH with different teachers, but I couldn’t see myself going through another 4 years of the block schedule.</p>
<p>One big advantage to the block system -which you will have in college- is that the teachers have time to cover subjects more deeply, allow for more class discussion, and can take interesting detours. Block classes shouldnt just be longer versions of a regular class. In the US public high school classes can be very superficial - kids tend to learn the basics, but dont retain much post test</p>
<p>Hi everyone! Thanks for all the great replies. I have decided to attend the NMH school aftr a lot of factors were in my favor.
I have also decided that I will not be transferring to another school - I’ve decided that I am happy with NMH and that I should graduate highschool. Plus the whole application was hell - I wouldn’t want to do it again before the real college process! </p>
<p>Thanks everyone, I’m so excited for NMH and I hope everyone has a great new school year. </p>
<p><em>Thread officially closed?</em> Is it possible to delete my account or this thread?</p>
<p>With no disrespect to the original author of this thread, who I’m sure is a good person, but if this is how Suffield and NMH chooses their students than one has to wonder…</p>
<p>You made a fantastic choice. NMH is really among the best. As for the strategy of tranferring later to some “higher ranked” school: no way. The prep schools all have tremendous respect for one another and no way is Exeter going to take an NMH student who so transparently wants to “upgrade.” It would be an insult to NMH and Exeter respects NMH too much to deal in those kinds of shenanigans.</p>
<p>Be happy and fulfull yourself at NMH – a wonderful place in so many respects!</p>
), but it was initially just her to move over to the US for boarding school. It was only two months later my parents just had to have me over with my sister. By then I had absolutely no chance with any of the HADES and I’m sure all admissions were full and the waitilist would be impossible to get off, especially with my SSATs. The rest was to take a 17 hour flight to the east coast and look for schools who have confirmed spaces for a rolling based admission. Suffield & NMH were my top two choices 
Is it possible to delete my account or this thread?</p>