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Northfield Mount Hermon School

School rating 4 / 5 by

One Lamplighter Way Mount Hermon MA 01354 United States
Boarding
9th to PG
Day
9th to PG
Gender
Coed

Academic

Northfield Mount Hermon School review by .

The academics at Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) vary in strength, and seem like they are always changing based on the academic year and based on the new faculty that are hired. The humanities and social sciences are pretty good, and there are a breadth of courses that can be taken in pretty much any social science you'd be interested in (even going into philosophy, human rights, and other lesser courses taught at the high school level). The natural sciences and mathematics are also particular strong points---NMH has math courses going pretty high up into collegiate level work with consistent, effective teachers. The science department does the same, going past typical global courses (i.e., AP Physics) and moving (as you go further into the topics) into more specified study for those who are prepared for it (something you'd normally only find in college). Class sizes usually range anywhere from 10-20 (my smallest was about six, my largest around 18). The work load can be heavy depending on the courses you take (i.e., introductory versus and advanced course), and the teachers vary in quality as well; you might get an amazing teacher who will be willing to help you on anything and whose sole purpose is to help you learn, or you might get a teacher who knows going in that he or she is only going to be there for a year and could care less. More often than not, you will end up with the former, but you could end up with the latter--keep an eye out for that when you pick your courses.

College Counseling

I first started discussing college admissions the early part of my junior year. This....

Sample insights on college counseling

  • They have contacts at most of the major universities and feel perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and advocating for a student to get accepted somewhere they feel is a good fit for that student. However, these counselors are certainly not magic bullets. They cannot guarantee that a student will get into an Ivy League university...
  • For those wishing to move on to Oxford or Cambridge, the provision is second-to-none. In the months running up to application and interview, every subject faculty offers classes (often run by former Oxbridge tutors) exploring further areas of their subject as well as offering advice on personal statements, interview technique and more...

Admissions - Getting Accepted

The SSAT should be taken during the fall of the year you are applying to....

Sample insights on admissions

  • For the interview, dress conservatively. Try to be very clean and put together. Also, I was a tour guide for two years and at the end of every tour, we were asked to evaluate the candidate so if you think the tour is not apart of the process, you are very wrong. Ask questions and be interested. Also, tip for the parents: the kids speak on the tour. Do not ask their questions for them...
  • Most younger siblings have an easy time in the admissions process. I can only think of one case of a younger sibling not being admitted. About half of the students who entered with me had come from public schools. The remainder came from private K-6 schools, or had transferred from other New York private schools The Elizabeth Morrow School and St. Bernard were two of the larger feeder schools...

School Life

The dorms at NMH reflect the long history of the school and also the future of it. There are dorms ranging from 8 student to dorms with over 100. You can live in what was essentially an old house converted to a dorm, or a new, modern building with all the facilities you'd ever need. Internet (wired) is all dorms---internet goes off at midnight and you can only download a certain amount per day or you lose your internet service for 24 hours. Dining is good---one teacher told me it was the finest institutional cuisine one....

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