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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 .

Northfield Mount Hermon boasts strong and rigorous academics, and the curriculum is fairly intense if the student allows. I always wanted to be challenged, and so I took all the honors classes that I could. NMH's honors and upper level classes are challenging in most subjects, and allow a lot of creativity and free discussion in the humanities classes. With these classes, there weren't many weaknesses. I'd say that in class, the general atmosphere of the student body was collegial, but could occasionally become competitive when it came to grades. NMH's teaching philosophy is "the head, the heart, and the hand" and it was definitely focused on discussions with both my peers and my teachers. This was an incredibly positive learning experience, as it allowed me to open my mind, listen to others, express myself, and think critically about the subject. Additionally, teachers, though the authoritative figures in the room, treated us as equals, which allowed us to feel comfortable questioning ideas and expressing our opinions. The humanities and writing programs definitely prepared me for university. Starting freshman year, I wrote eight-page-plus papers throughout the year and each year the length of the papers would get longer. These programs taught me to manage my time, write in large quantities, and write strong critical analyses.

College Counseling

The most positive parts of the college counseling program were at the....

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

NMH requires that students fill out an application, take the SSAT, have....

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

I would give the quality of student life a B. The housing, in general, is pretty nice, but in recent years the school admitted too many students, and in my senior year, a few of my friends had to live with the headmaster in the guest rooms in his house. Additionally, my freshman year, the dorms provided rooms for day students, where we could keep our things throughout the day/week/year. After my freshman year, though, the school took away day student rooms, which was a disappointment. The dining hall provides a decent variety of....

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