I applied for 9th grade at NMH this year, and I was wondering if anyone is familiar with the school’s fencing program. I’ve been fencing for about 7 years, and I have a couple of top 8’s and top 16’s from local and regional tournaments. I already reached out to NMH’s fencing coach about this, and based on what he told me, I think I can make a decent contribution to their fencing team.
Does anyone know how important fencing is to the school? How much will my fencing experience help me in the admissions process?
From what I have seen and heard, fencing isn’t a really big thing at NMH. It was recently revived and they’re only now beginning to compete. So, it’s not one of those established interscholastic teams that people normally get recruited for.
I will say that it seems to be on the rise. The school seems interested in maybe expanding the program, so while it most likely will not be a deciding factor, your experience might help. Question though, are you really interested in pursuing fencing? If so I have to ask myself why you would apply to a school with such a weaker fencing program.
Thanks for telling me! I’m not extremely interested in pursuing fencing, it’s more like a hobby that I enjoy. I applied to NMH for a lot of reasons, but mostly because of its campus, workjob program, strong arts, and general vibe I got when I visited for the open house. I learned that they had a fencing program after I decided to apply.
I’m curious about how schools like NMH approach the expansion of new programs- how do they generally view this and what impact does it have on admissions? Is it common for them to prioritize finding students who can contribute to the new program, or do they usually continue on like normal and let the program run its course? TIA!
IME, these schools are looking out for anything that can improve their ranking or PR. In this case, I’m not sure if it’ll make much of a difference. They normally let it run its course, unless there is a student who is interested in spearheading the program. If, say, you had showed them in your interview, essay, or some sort of way that you had experience and interest in a leadership position for fencing and growing the program then it might have a bigger effect on admissions.
I’m not saying this to make you regret anything, just a heads up for any future applicants. Even just by emailing the coach you showed it’s something you’re interested in. No matter what it doesn’t hurt. I hope that provided a bit of context.
Schools add/build programs for different reasons, and these reasons impact how they support those programs.
Maybe students have indicated a waning interest in what used to be a strong program and they want to offer an alternative. (For example, the news about football and head injuries over thhe last decade + has diminished interest overall, and schools may want to offer other options.) These programs may initially care less about ranking and more about providing a good experience for participants, especially those new to the sport. In that case, while a coach could be excited to have you as an experienced player and tell admissions that you’d be a great addition to the program, it’ll probably just be a thumb on the scale.
Maybe the school wants to be more competitive at a sport. This can come from alumni interest and funding (including new facilities), a new coach, losing applicants to other schools with better programs, etc. In that case, a coach’s interest in impact players could advance an applicant to the front of the line.
You may have gotten the flavor in talking with the coach. I know from @SevenDad , one of the fencing gurus here (kids now graduated), that the top fencers all train outside school. If you’re hoping for college recruitment, what’s more important is access to that level coaching, which is more about logistics and accommodation by the school of the schedule to practice and compete. It doesn’t sound like that’s what you’re pursuing.
Thank you for sharing your insights! Based on what the coach has said and what I heard on my tour, I think that NMH’s fencing program is mostly aimed at providing an introduction to fencing for newcomers. However, the coach does seem interested in making it more competitive and expanding it, and it looks like there’s a lot of student interest on campus. Does this mean that my experience in fencing will be weighed slightly heavier than usual in admissions, but it won’t advance me to the front of the line?
Yup, I’m not hoping to get recruited in college. It’s a whole lot of commitment, and I don’t think I’ll be able to get to that level. I do really enjoy fencing though!
Parent of current student. I saw the fencing signup sheet the last time I was on campus. Looks like it is growing sport, and their was a waitlist to join. Happy to answer any other NMH questions you may have. good luck