Neuqua Valley High School

I graduated from Neuqua Valley last year and reflecting back on my experience, I realized how lucky I was to attend such a great school with fantastic teachers, a variety of opportunities to learn, and activities. I had wonderful teachers that truly cared about the success of students and I am aware that I learned a lot from them. After attending college, I realized how well I was prepared and how effective they were. Because of the school size, the courses were rigorous; however, I perceived this as a good thing because I truly learned a lot. Many people say that because the size of the school some students get over looked. I believe there are many opportunities to go get help if it is necessary and the class sizes never restricted me from learning. I believe the students that say their school experience was poor because of the people were hanging out were mingling with the wrong people. Sure the school had its fair share of stuck of individuals, but that can be controlled. ANY high school is going to have the stereotypical fake crowd. I am certain that those students don t realize how good they have it in comparison to other schools.
--Submitted by a student

I am currently a Junior at Neuqua and I love it! The teachers here are super committed and there is a huge variety of supplements available to students, including academic resource rooms for any help one may need in a specific class, and a college and career center for students to access the resources they need regarding their future. Dr. Mcbride is such a down-to-earth principal. He truly takes an interest in student life and interacts one-on-one with all the staff and students. He makes Neuqua a warmer place to be. I will say this, Neuqua is crowded. Despite having a great gold-campus for freshman and a frontier-campus for some seniors, the crowding can be overwhelming. I personally loved having a Gold campus, it truly helped me ease into the high-school atmosphere. It also allowed me to create relationships and bonds with my fellow freshman, without the Gold campus I would have been completley disoriented in the large school. A+++ for Neuqua!
--Submitted by a student

Best school out there, I cannot imagine going to a better High School. The Teachers a fantastics, and extracurriculars are compartative to no other, It's amazing. SOme people say they hate neuqua because it is "fake" but when I hear those people move away they always say they wish they were still there because neuqua was so much better than their school. It really can't be beat
--Submitted by a student

Overall Neuqua is great. BUT not the students. I'm not rich, so I don't have ugg boots or a north face coat. Everyone thinks their better than me because of that. Get over yourselves.
--Submitted by a student

Many people say that NVHS people are all "fake" or "ignorant". Though there are people there are like that, there will ALWAYS be those kind of students in ANY highschool. It will prepare ANYone for success, whether academics or the performing arts. I adore this school. And the comment that says teachers think that a student has all the money in the world to make a project, well I don't believe that. I've never felt this way and if it ever is a problem, the school will provide for you. They really want you to succeed
--Submitted by a student

I ve read many reviews posted on this site and countless other school rating websites and as a parent of a Neuqua grad can speak from experience. There is no doubt that Neuqua Valley is on par with the best schools in the nation when it comes to the staff, curriculum and the facilities. The underlying problems at Neuqua are one of overcrowding and financial bias. The school is just too big and overcrowded to meet the needs of all its student body. Like most new schools in this country, Neuqua is based on the bigger the better formula (school and student body size) leaving many students to play catch up. Parents must be vigilant and participate in the education process. If your child is seen as above average at other schools he/she will be looked at as average at Neuqua and they will struggle. There is no such thing as autopilot education when it comes to your kids get and stay involved with their learning. And above all don t let your wealth blind you into thinking it will buy your kid success. Poor parental supervision of a child will bred an arrogant student.
--Submitted by a parent

This website and parents give this school 10 stars because of the academics. The school is good for learning, but the experience is horrible. The kids who go here are very fake, and spend all there time gossiping,following popular trends, and shopping with their parents money. They look down on non rich students like me,and often find themselves too good to talk to them. The teachers are good at teaching, but often assume you can afford what they want you to buy for projects because the majority here are wealthy, and are too busy to listen you say you're not. For the most part they're not very understanding, rude, and easily annoyed. Despite what teachers and faculty say, this school opresses creativity and self-expression as much as possible. You can hardly express an opinion without being told you're wrong. Neuqua valley is an overall miserable experience.
--Submitted by a student

Good academics/teachers and lots of good opportunities with sports, music, clubs, etc. but it's a huge school and students need to be proactive to take advantage of all the school has to offer.

Neuqua has so many opportunities and I am so appreciative that I am able to attend the best high school in Illinois. I have been a student at Neuqua for three years and I cannot imagine me being anywhere else. I have been blessed to attend such a beautiful, well-kept, motivated staffed and students at Neuqua. The staff at Neuqua is well-educated. They know how to help the students to help them suceed. They try to help every student in Neuqua. There are students who do have materialistic things, but the majority are thankful for them. I know I am. I love Neuqua because it has a variety students (race, gender, financial situation). It does show the variety of Naperville in all situations and it shows the students the real world. Everybody is different. I have been fortunate and blessed to attend Neuqua and could not imagine my family anywhere else.
--Submitted by a student

I was a student at Neuqa and although it was a wonderful school academically, the kids that go to this school are far to obsessed with the material world of Naperville. There is a severe lack of human compassion in the halls of Neuqua and it always seemed to me that the parents were the ones who spurred this belief in their children. There was a competitive edge at the school, which has it's good and bad qualities; this pushed us as students to succeed, but it also seemed to leave some students in the dust with no one to really help them. I couldn't imagine a better high school for academia, but if you are looking to expose your children 'real' people look somewhere else as this will never be found in the tanorexic world of Neuqua Valley.
--Submitted by a student