<p>I visited Middlebury a couple weeks ago, and I have a few questions. Any responses would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>1) As of now, I want to distance myself as far from foreign languages as possible. Is it possible to do this at Midd, and is the school significantly worse than its overall ranking academically if one only takes non-foreign language classes?</p>
<p>2) I don't remember the town at all around Midd (I assume I know why). Is there anything at all to do there, or near there? Good restaurants, attractions, festivals, movie theaters? That type of thing...</p>
<p>3) I sort of like the idea of a January term, but I picked up during my info session that it is a lot more academically focused than at other schools. How is it? What are the breaks like before and after it?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>1) I wouldn’t say it’s the defining feature of the college, or a major reason not to go to Midd, but I can definitely confirm that your concern is valid. Not so much academically–there are many other areas Middlebury is very strong in. And unlike many schools, you can actually avoid a language requirement entirely if you choose.</p>
<p>However, it will definitely make study abroad harder for you. Because Midd runs their own schools abroad, they make it very difficult to study on other programs. It really limits your options. </p>
<p>Also, because so many people go to Midd specifically for languages and take them very, very seriously, they definitely have a hard time understanding that they aren’t everyone’s thing. Some people definitely acted like they were actually morally superior to me because they were “striving to know and understand another culture.” For real.</p>
<p>2) It’s cute, but tiny. It has some very good restaurants, but you will probably never go there for entertainment. They have a movie theater, but it plays about 2 movies per term. </p>
<p>3) J-term is pretty much what you want it to be. It’s true that it tends to be a lot more serious than at other school with 4-1-4 schedules, but there are always a few joke classes. Some people choose it as a time to throw themselves completely into a very challenging class.
I will warn you that J-term is so cold, the thought of going outside will probably make you want to cry. I was astounded that ANYONE took advantage of the time for winter sports, because it took every fiber of my being to force myself out of bed and to class in the 1 degree weather.</p>
<p>xks4892: as to the issue of languages at Middlebury, see the “Midd — It’s just not about languages” post I made before seeing you. Also: Middlebury has no foreign language requirement. Surprisingly, one can go through four years and never take a language there. The distribution requirements are for students to fulfill 7 of 8 areas, and one of those is languages, so some students choose to do the other 7.</p>
<p>Lionwinter: your info seems very dated.</p>
<p>40-45% of Midd students study at non-Midd programs abroad. It is not difficult to do so. In fact, Midd students attend more than 60 programs abroad that are not Middlebury’s own programs.</p>
<p>Also: the theater in town is now 2 theaters in town, and changes its first-run movies every 2 weeks, so there are 50-60 different movies offered per year.</p>
<p>I think it’s worth mentioning 51 Main, the college-owned music/coffee place in town (and liquor, I guess.) There are quite a few restaurants as well, but there is so much going on on campus that you won’t feel deprived. Check out the Middblog which currently has reviews of a several theater performances. My impression is that students LOVE J-term. Even if you are taking something pretty seriously academic, lots of people take the shuttle bus up to the snow bowl several times a week for skiing. Then you get a week break at the end of January, so by the time spring semester starts you only have 5 weeks or so left of serious winter.</p>
<p>NorthCountryCat:</p>
<p>You’re right, I wasn’t very exact with my facts. I wouldn’t say it’s an issue of being “date” so much as unspecific–I was Midd 2012 until I decided to transfer.</p>
<p>If you say there were two theaters in town, I believe you, but I was only aware of one, and it seemed to change its movies very seldom. I didn’t spend that much time in town, though, so I apologize if I was incorrect.</p>
<p>I am aware that many students study abroad in non-Middlebury programs, but I would still argue that the school makes it difficult–that was a part of why I left. For example, I would have loved to study abroad in France, and there are many programs other schools offer that allow students with no language experience to go to Paris. But because Middlebury runs their own programs, they don’t allow students to go on those. They were also very selective about which programs were academically challenging enough. I know some kids who got no academic credit for their study abraod for this reason.</p>
<p>Lioninwinter: I can appreciate what you’re describing about study abroad, especially if the goal needs to be fluency before travel. I can also appreciate a nod toward rigor when it comes to studying abroad, especially as someone who will be paying for said tuition as well as the travel. As an aside: Do you mind if we ask to where you transferred?</p>
<p>On a broader note: I was going to plug 51Main as well, but will also reiterate that beyond this - at least for the under-21 set - the options for a nightlife in town are limited. But it doesn’t seem to be a big deal as there are always things going on. In addition to a full slate of all kinds of performances and live theater, the athletic events seem to garner good support as well. i think it is important to make note that the town/gown relations seem pretty positive overall and if not a hot nightspot, going down to the quintessential New England main street on a weekend/afternoon has a lot to offer for those who care to look. And they seem to take advantage of what the college offers as well. Most important to a good social life, of course, is the friends you make. And I have to say, there seem to be a lot of really great kids at Midd. I have talked to other Midd Parents as well and we are all amazed at how interesting and personable the kids seem to be. Extremely likable. Certainly there is a bell-curve when it comes to personalities, but the widest point is filled with people you’ll enjoy being friends with. A very good thing.</p>
<p>Lioninwinter I appreciate that you’re simply offering YOUR opinion, but let’s start with the fact that it’s painfully cold. Perhaps you’re from Hawaii or equitorial Africa, but it’s not nearly as cold as that (of course, I live in upstate NY) and the weather adds to the experience and the appeal. Not to mention the fact that it’s hard to get snow for skiing unless it’s below freezing.
I have no idea where you got the impression that students acted superior to me because they were studying languages. Because Middlebury is so focused on the Liberal Arts I often had no idea what many of my friends even majored in. Some of my best friends today are people I attended Midd with. I honestly couldn’t tell you what they majored in. Also, based purely on space devoted to fields of study, you’d have no idea that Midd is fantastic at languages. More likely you’d think it was a science school, or an art school first. As pointed out above, languages are not even the most popular majors. Finally, j-term is one of the best aspects of attending Midd. It offers an opportunity to study some fascinating topics that you wouldn’t have considered studying for an entire semester (or that a prof wouldn’t consider teaching for a whole semester). It was great for me because a class I took for my last J-term was in a field I went on to get a Masters in.</p>