I have been accepted as a boarding student to The Madeira School and to Northfield Mount Hermon School. I can’t decide on where to go. NMH has more AP classes, sports, clubs. But Madeira seems like a warmer community. It’s also near Washington, D.C., and someone told me that it is a good location for a school as I have an opportunity to meet new people who can later help with college admissions. Can you suggest me which one to choose?
Madeira being all girls is a big difference … Madeira has a lot of internships and such in DC for the students. Not sure about the personal help with college admissions, but having some practical experience on your resume for college apps will probably be good. Madeira sports are not good if you are an athlete – but as for AP classes, for college you will just be evaluated on whether you challenged yourself based on what the school offers, so actually Madeira might be set up for you to succeed more than if you tried to take all the AP classes at NMH. I am not sure that the number of clubs matters that much - you can only participate in a limited number, so perhaps look at the specific types of clubs they have at each school …
Thank you!
In my opinion, the original Elle Woods would have chosen Madeira! 
Two very different schools. If you can, attend the revisit days for both schools & your decision should become clear.
Madeira is smaller and close to half the students are day students. If it was my child considering the school, I’d look closely at how that impacts the school for a boarder. What weekend activities are there? Is the campus dead on the weekend?
Keep in mind that NMH is in the middle of nowhere. My school is pretty rural, and it’s nice and calm, but it can get old.
@stargirl3 While technically true, there’s rural (where you are) and the sticks (where NMH is) 
@cameo43 Hahaha))
@stargirl3 I thought about the location, but I love fresh air)
We LOVED Madeira, until we saw the looooong line of cars at pick up time whisking the day students away.
Hard decision…but they are very different schools and more of everything is not necessarily better. I have heard that Madeira’s sports are getting better. Also, apparently, the weekend activities at Madeira are amazing and it seems to be true: https://www.madeira.org/student-life/weekends-at-madeira/. Madeira is like having the best of both worlds. The campus is HUGE and has a lot of hiking trails, but just 25 mins from DC.
Maybe because I grew up in VT not far from NMH but I’m not quite sure why it is considered the middle of nowhere when Deerfield which is 20 minutes away and in a similar location minus the pretty mountain top views is not considered the middle of nowhere? If you are on any campus that isn’t walking distance to something you are equally disadvantaged. NMH is less than a half hour from Brattleboro VT which is pretty charming and the kids at NMH have the same vans to the mall and uber rides to dinner out that every rural school offers. Kids can get pizza delivered. Students are not left to snowshoe to CVS.
That Madiera weekend schedule looks like a lot of shopping shuttles. My kids would not have been thrilled with that. Just saying.
Deerfield is totally the middle of nowhere.
My understanding is that a lot of local kids hang around Madeira until the evening and on the weekends. Also, Madeira has rooms they can stay in. So one cannot assume that all the day kids don’t fully participate in the school activities, even on weekends and evenings.
I believe Madeira day students can stay for dinner and study hall. Hadn’t heard about rooms. There is so much to do in DC (we live in Northern VA) and it’s true that the internship opportunities are great. As a PP said, Elle Woods definitely would have chosen Madeira!
My daughter graduated from Madeira 2 years ago and loved the whole experience. The community is definitely warm and welcoming- across all grade levels, across activities, boarding and day students, etc. The DC internships (working on Cap Hill! Shadowing a physician! So valuable to be able to have those experiences and know how to function in a workplace, interview, etc). Helped her get college internships as well. My daughter boarded and had plenty to do on weekends. Besides interning in DC, she loved the variety of weekend activities - dinners in Georgetown; hanging out on the National Mall and popping into museums; sporting events, festivals, cultural celebrations, concerts- you name it, they go. The teachers know the students really well, in and out of the classroom (many teachers live on campus with their families). Every student receives one on one academic planning to personalize her schedule. The college admissions process is also personalized one on one, and the track record of college admissions and 4 year graduation rates is impressive. You will find plenty of clubs, sports, activities, and AP classes at Madeira- every one of them led by a girl. Madeira has great leadership development, and the students graduate as confident speakers, strong writers, and well prepared for college and beyond. Strong alum network as well. Madeira was a great choice for our family.
@doschicos: Actually, there is a lot more than just shopping runs on the Madeira weekend activity list. My daughter is hoping to participate in the community service activity. The options include a spring mixer, restaurant runs, National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade, a rowing race in Georgetown, Escape Room, Skate N Fun etc. Like I said, Madeira offers the best of both worlds and this is rare for boarding schools. My daughter loves the fact that she has many opportunities to explore city life with her friends, but she can also enjoy a big, beautiful and peaceful campus when she needs to.