Middlebury College Top Questions

With regards to academic rigor, this school is not lacking in the slightest.

i really wish that this school had more diversity

Sadly, there are many things I'd change about Middlebury, but I'll start with the broadest: Middlebury tends toward the dull side. I wouldn't call it outright boring, but it just feels a bit too...safe. It feels exactly like what you'd expect when you hear "New England liberal arts college," without much of a unique spin on the concept. There's a general lack of creativity in the way people lead their lives that's depressing to me. Many students seem kind of lulled into a rhythm of J. Crew and Keystone Light and library cubicles. I mean, if there's a theme party, most assume other people will dress up, so it's okay if they're in the minority that doesn't, and then no one has gotten into costume because they all thought the same thing, and then it's just a keg party. Or take environmentalism, supposedly this really vital, unique aspect of the school: actually, it's largely the same people in all the environmental groups. Many students are vaguely conscious about the environment, but it's not something they're concerned with, and if someone throws out a bunch of paper, few students here would move the paper to the recycling bin. The college just plays it all up to attract applicants and donations; the reality is a lot less progressive. No matter its administration's efforts, Middlebury is, in a lot of ways, just like its similarly prestigious competitors in the US News & World Report rankings race. At about 2500 students, Middlebury's size puts it in a weird limbo where there's not really much of a community in the sense of everyone being aware of one another, but you can't escape and live your own, independent life. Still, 2500 is nice because it means there's always someone new to meet, but you recognize a lot of faces. And the Feb program brings in about 90 new kids each February, and these are typically the coolest, most interesting kids on campus. Middlebury, VT is a very small, very quaint town with a low crime rate, lots of great restaurants, and...not much else. There's about five stores on Main Street that sell Vermont-shaped bottles of maple syrup. Exploring the area is rewarding -- hikes, swimming holes, weird antique stores and more abound -- check out the Meat Shack sometime! And, it's beautiful beautiful beautiful here! With the Green Mountains to the east and the Adirondacks to the west, the views are incredible in all four seasons. The campus itself is quite lovely as well -- the matching stone buildings feel very quaint and collegiate, although, unfortunately, for every Chateau there's a Davis Family Library. If pastoral beauty isn't doing it for you, Burlington is just 45 minutes away and is a small metropolis with shopping, food, music, movies, and so on. If you're still not satisfied, Boston and Montreal are popular weekend getaways for the lucky few with cars. When I tell people I go to Middlebury, they usually ask, "Where's that? Is it a good school?" if they don't know it, or if they do, "Oh, that's a great school! What language do you take?" School pride here definitely exists -- many Middlebury students LOVE Middlebury. But it shows up more in their choice of sweatshirts than in the attendance of sports games. Except for Quidditch. Everyone is so proud (!!!) that we invented Muggle Quidditch and that we've never lost a game. This is discussed fairly frequently. The most frequent complaints come from students who are used to warm weather who are enduring January in Vermont.

Middlebury is a great school with excellent academics, athletics, extracurriculars, people, and opportunities. Plain and simple. It has it's pros and cons for each individual, but overall it's a place where you can be happy and where you can succeed. Size: Because Midd is slightly larger than it's fellow liberal arts schools (i.e., 2400 students vs. 1800 or 2000), we have more opportunities and more diversity than our competitors while maintaining the feel of a small college. If you're looking at bigger schools too, consider this: "It's not the size of the boat, it's the motion of the ocean." [Applicable in other contexts as well...] Housing/dorms: about 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of freshman get dorms that are average or below average for a school of Middlebury's caliber. But upperclassmen housing is almost universally. Other buildings; architecture: Sometimes I wish Middlebury was less quaint and more flashy, more often. But the school pulls off the whole "look-at-us-we're-pastoral-and-in-Vermont" thing really well. And Bicentennial Hall, Axinn, and Le Chateau alone are enough to make anyone proud to be a MiddKid. Food: Middlebury meal plan = as much as you want, whenever you want it. And it's really tasty, too. If you have a meal in one of the dining halls here and compare it to that of another college, I can guarantee you'll like Midd's food better.

You'll have to work hard to get in, and work hard when you go; but you'd have to work harder than either not to get a great, rounded and rounding education whilst having a blast doing it. You can see from the pictures that it's physically gorgeous, and the facilities are excellent. If you can at all, do visit it as it is REMOTE. And you need to be okay with that - but the payoffs of the rural location are immediate and immense if you like the outdoors. If you decide to apply, do have an interview- it matters and helps. If you can't get to Midd, the alumni association conducts interviews nationally and internationally - it's only likely to help your application.

I love Middlebury. It was my first choice and I feel so glad/grateful to be here. The size is perfect for someone wanting a close community and lots of interaction with the professors. The town of Middlebury is exactly what you imagine when you think quaint, rural New England. As for the landscape, I believe it is one of the prettiest areas in the country- right now, the trees are gorgeous. It seems to be in vogue to complain about the administration, president, etc, but I have no complaints. I appreciate constructive dissidence, but I think most of it comes from whiny brats.

My school is a little small but people are pretty nice. I think there is too much focus on health (working out) on campus. But I love the way everybody likes to get outside and go hiking or running ect. The amount of homework done is pretty excessive so I think there should be a little more time for life on campus. Then maybe the drinking culture would not be so binge oriented because people would have more time to just hang out. I also wish there was a better dating scene on campus. I love the professors and my friends, however, and I really like going to school at Midd.

I was scared to come to Middlebury because it's so small and so far away from everything. Nobody from my hometown knew where it was or had ever heard of it. But after coming here, the school doesn't feel small in a bad way, and I'm really glad I don't go to a bigger school. There's also so much going on that I don't even have time for, so I'm definitely neer bored.

The school is just a little too small for me, but I still meet people I've never heard of in my class. People do, however, tend to run in the same circles, as everywhere, so I see the same people a lot. People can often be defined by dining hall. that might change next year when Proctor Dining Hall closes for renovation, but here it is anyway. The three dining halls are Proctor(to be moved to Freeman), Ross, and Atwater. Proctor is where all the radio kids hang out in a secluded lounge off the side of the dining hall. vegetarians love proctor for the great salad bar. Proctor also is the only dining hall with panini machines. People who live near proctor eat there, tennis people (close to tennis courts) and everyone great (i am a proctor person). Proctor has a great terrace for warm weather. proctor people tend to be really loyal; last year a girl down the hall sold Save Proctor shirts when they wanted to tear it down. Ross is pretty standard, orange colored food. there's a "mongolian grill" and there's always pizza. people who live in the building eat here and preppy people and people without much personality. atwater is the people who live nearby and the outdoorsy ones and some athletes. by telling someone where you want to eat, you're saying much more. there is also a definite dining culture at middlebury. people take forever to eat. they get a meal, get something else, get dessert, then coffee or tea... When I tell people I go to Middlebury, they say what/ where is that? you'd think being ranked 5th in US ..Report would get some recognition. They only put out the Adirondack chairs when the prospective students come. Students lack much activist spirit. the other day at lunch, i was trying to think of something that would get students to riot and couldn't think of a thing. even if someone got tazered, people would write articles and maybe maybe maybe protest, but no rioting, sadly. I spend most of my time on campus, I'd say between the dining hall, my room, the grille, and the art studio. the tuition is rising tremendously.

I like the size of Middlebury. It's a little small sometimes, but it's nice to walk around and recognize almost everyone you pass. The town is quaint; not bad, but certainly nothing exciting going on. The administration is what really is hurting the campus. As ratings go up, we've adopted more profit-oriented approaches to education that kind of obscures what I came here for. There is a good deal of school pride, mostly because so many kids are varsity athletes. The best thing about Middlebury is the very relaxed, comfortable feel of it. For some reason, I don't know, it just feels right.