Nobles is a prestigious school. With an acceptance rate of around 16% and an average class size of 120 students, around 750 students apply to Nobles annually. These staggeringly large numbers beg the question, “What makes Nobles such a desirable place?” The Nobleman decided to investigate the key factors that distinguish Nobles from other private schools and what aspects of the school’s reputation are enticing to prospective students. To do so, we talked to members of Class IV and the Middle School.
Although the reasons for choosig Nobles differ for each individual, a few key attractions stand out to students. Whether it is academics, arts, or athletics, students all emphasized the wide range of opportunities Nobles offers. The breadth of Nobles’ success helps draw in students with various interests. “I feel like a lot of what makes Nobles unique is its range of academics, athletics, music, theater, and having so many opportunities for students to pursue whatever they’re interested in[…]I also feel that there’s such an opportunity to improve here,” Gaby Guzman (Class IV) said. Programs such as Achieve and Excel are unique to Nobles, and provide experiences unlike any other.
“I feel like a lot of what makes Nobles unique is its range of academics, athletics, music, theater,
and having so many opportunities for
students to pursue whatever they’re
interested in.”
Additionally, many students who chose Nobles have a social connection to the school. From parents to cousins to friends, positive word-of-mouth tends to draw in a lot of prospective students. “My older brother is a junior at Nobles, so I had heard really good things about Nobles,” Guzman said. King Gross (Class IV) also echoed this sentiment as he described the influence that his graduate family and friends had on his decision to come to Nobles. “I knew a couple of older people who went here. They said it was a good school” Gross said.
Some students have also experienced other similar private institutions and saw Nobles as a place that sets itself apart. Rowan Calhoun (Class IV) left the Winsor School to attend Nobles. “I think Winsor has a reputation of being very, very academically rigorous to the point where it’s quite toxic. I feel like Nobles has an academic reputation, but Winsor was a lot more academically stressful. I feel like here, everyone just wants to help, and everyone wants to support each other,” Calhoun said.
Nobles’ reputation for academic rigor is something that many students highlighted as a priority in their school search. “I definitely heard Nobles was a very academically rigorous school. And I think it does live up to that, but in a good way. There’s always challenges, but where you need them,” Guzman said. Upper-classmen immortalize the big sophomore-year history paper as a right of passage and a chance to find joy in learning, paving your own unique track through history. Similarly, classes such as the Bio-Chem research class entice students with ideas of a student-led classroom environment.
“I definitely heard Nobles was a very academically rigorous school. And I think it does live up to that,
but in a good way. There’s always challenges,
but where you need them.”
However, it is the culture of Nobles that really keeps students interested. “What drew me to Nobles was just the camaraderie I saw. I visited the campus, and it was great; the people looked like fun,” Gross said. Fun at Nobles comes from spontaneous and carefree moments: assembly performances, team dinners, spike ball on the beach, and so much more. Yet, the coveted Nobles community is something that extends far beyond the academic day at Nobles. Afternoon programs provide a grounding subcommunity for each Nobles student. Although not every student is always enthused by the three-season requirement, it is this requirement that pushes students out of their comfort zones, leading them to make new connections and develop the rich environment that is Nobles. The role of athletics and the afternoon program was not lost on Clara Trautz (Class V). “I came to Nobles because, on my revisit day, I loved the community and the academic and athletic opportunities that Nobles offered,” Trautz said.
Ultimately, the appeal of Nobles cannot be credited to one specific factor. Instead, it’s an ineffable feeling of community and belonging that draws students to Nobles. It’s the comfort in knowing that Nobles truly is a place where you can make mistakes and be your authentic self.
