Northwest's school mascot is the jaguar and its colors are black, silver and white.

[1][2] Northwest hosts the Ulysses Signature Program, a four-year research-based program in which students develop projects focused on one of four themes: arts and humanities; public policy and public service; and/or math, science and technology.

[4] As of 2024, Northwest is the 20th-ranked highschool in Maryland and the 1059th-ranked school nationwide according to U.S News and World Report.

[5] Students attending Northwest come from parts of Germantown, Boyds, Gaithersburg, and Darnestown, as well as very small portions of Poolesville and Potomac.

[10] To address these concerns, along with overutilization among other nearby schools, the county is conducting a boundary study for the new Crown HS,[12] which has an expected completion date of August 2027.