academic rigor at Midd

<p>is there an extremely heavy workload at Middlebury?</p>

<p>yes. 10 char.</p>

<p>i don't know if it's as tough as, say, swat, but i'm guessing it's pretty heavy.</p>

<p>brother please - what they rated by USNWR again? - like 6, right? </p>

<p>if the number 6 liberal arts school in the country doesn't have a EXTREMEEEELLYYY difficult course load then the US-of-A should just pack it up and be like "ya know, china, you guys just deserve the power/influence/respect more!" </p>

<p>I sound like a jerk in this post, I apologize. I don't mean to, I just like talking harsh : )</p>

<p>Just to clarify. Middlebury is alone at number 5 in USNWR - and they're underrated. (not that there's much difference between #1 and #10).</p>

<p>Maybe a different question to ask would be about the kind of work Midd students get. Is it typically just volumes of busy work, or do you always feel like you're learning something? Is it possible to be involved in other things on campus and still feel comfortable/prepared in class? </p>

<p>No one's disputing that Midd is an extremely rigorous, intense school with a lot going for it. :)</p>

<p>LaMariposaAzul - </p>

<p>Our son (Class of 2012) seems to have a lot of work. According to him, he does a LOT of writing. A lot of papers seem to be due on Monday.</p>

<p>According to him, the language classes in particular are very accelerated.</p>

<p>I'd guess that it would be a challenge for anyone who's not prepared academically. But then I'd think Middlebury wouldn't accept kids who aren't prepared.</p>

<p>The amount of work at Middlebury is heavy, and you will be kept busy if you decide to come here. With that said, you can certainly find time to participate in sports and extra-curricular activities. Your workload will also vary significantly according to what classes you take; the amount of work you receive in organic chemistry is going to be quite different from that of your friends in intro. to education in America. You can make life at Midd. as hard or as easy as you want to. Personally, I like to be busy, and I've made my schedule accordingly.</p>

<p>My daughter is a sophomore and is taking organic chemistry, physics, spanish and an advanced math class. She also volunteers as an EMT on the local ambulance service, does work with Spanish speaking migrant workers and is on the club water polo team. She works hard, and is getting good grades. I think all of her suite mates do extra things whether it is theater, volunteering at a preschool, or tutoring kids. School is challenging but you can have fun as well.</p>

<p>To Tzar:
Please - by all accounts, Reed College has a vastly more demanding workload than Middlebury, but it sits at 50th or so on the USNWR rankings. I'd hardly use that as a scale, especially if you are going to be snide about it.</p>

<p>My uncle teaches at Middlebury, and I have many connections there, and from what I gather, it's hardly an exceptional amount of work for a liberal arts school. Middle of the pack, perhaps, but a bit of grade inflation seems to make it so a smart student can get A's and B's without too much effort.</p>

<p>i know Reed's deal. the only reason they're so low on the USNWR list is that they refused to give the peeps their info (they don't believe in whole listing thing) and so USNWR 'punished' them</p>

<p>the list is generally a PRETTY good scale..</p>

<p>
[quote]
Please - by all accounts, Reed College has a vastly more demanding workload than Middlebury, but it sits at 50th or so on the USNWR rankings.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>By whose accounts? Yours? How many years have you been a student at Reed? How many courses have you taken at Middlebury?</p>

<p>
[quote]
My uncle teaches at Middlebury, and I have many connections there, and from what I gather, it's hardly an exceptional amount of work for a liberal arts school. Middle of the pack, perhaps, but a bit of grade inflation seems to make it so a smart student can get A's and B's without too much effort.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Again, we're relying on "what you gather." What does your uncle teach at Middlebury? How long has he been teaching there? It's very easy to hide behind anonymity on an Internet chat board. I might place more stock in what you have to say if you had more of a history posting here. Middlebury students work hard. Believe me. They've been on the "students never stop studying" PR list for years.</p>

<p>Recently I've been hearing a lot about grade inflation at Middlebury. When did this happen? When I was applying to grad school a friend of mine was working in admissions at a top ten Law School. He told me that the average Midd student has a "significantly" lower GPA than the average student at most other schools. That suggests a dearth of grade inflation. So I'm not sure where this reputation for grade inflation came from. Perhaps I wasn't a "smart student", but I can guarantee you that I wasn't getting A's or B's with little effort.</p>

<p>"By whose accounts? Yours? How many years have you been a student at Reed?"</p>

<p>After a few years of reading here, one sees enough postings by people in various positions (students, professors, parents, counselors) to develop a feel which is not mathematically proved. Such accounts seem to support that Reed, Swarthmore and U Chicago (alphabetically) are the most demanding. Certainly not everyone believes this.</p>

<p>I'm not disputing that Middlebury students work hard; nor am I disputing it's a fantastic school or claiming that I've been a student at all the top schools in the country. That's ridiculous. </p>

<p>What I am saying, is that as a long-term Vermont resident with an uncle as a tenured Prof. of Political Science and Environmental studies, contact with other faculty members, and numerous friends and relations at the school, it seems Middlebury may not push all its students to their full extent, and as said above, for smart kids, A's and B's come without undue stress. I believe these sentiments are echoed in at least one recent edition of the Princeton Review, and I don't think I'm the only one to have picked up on them. And as noted in the post above me, anyone deeply involved in the college search tends to notice which schools stand out for certain things: among the top schools, University of Chicago, Swarthmore, MIT, and Reed have reputations for pummeling workloads. For Middlebury, that's not the first thing that comes to mind.</p>

<p>Obviously, at any top school, there's going to be a lot of work, and I think most people feel like they are working more than they ever have in college, no matter where they go. However, Middlebury attracts some of the nation's smartest kids, and I think taking into account their students considerable intelligence and natural ability, it's not an EXCEPTIONALLY rigorous place. Does that mean no one works hard? Of course not. College is generally what you make it, and I'm sure plenty of Midd kids are among the hardest workers in the country. Institution wide, however, I don't think that it's necessary.</p>

<p>for the record, that same edition of Princeton Review listed midd among top ten schools in the country where students never stop studying...</p>

<p>Thanks vermontkid. I was beginning to think I was one of the stupid kids at Middlebury (who knows, I may still have been), but this makes me feel better. </p>

<p>I can add this. I know it's very difficult to compare undergrads to grad schools, but I attended Middlebury, a large Ivy League University, and a large Pac-10 University. Of my three degrees, the most demanding (and the most rewarding) was from Middlebury.</p>

<p>Judging a school based on its raw workload is like judging a soup based on how much salt it has: it just doesn't make much sense. Why wouldn't you talk about the quality of the education instead, especially at a liberal arts school? Plowing through reams of books with no time to reflect on anything doesn't seem like it would be especially conducive to learning. And, for those who are alums of whatever school: am I the only one who thinks that many of my most valuable times of learning were outside the classroom? </p>

<p>That said, Midd more than prepared me for the workload here in medical school.</p>

<p>the workload is definitely a lot in middlebury. sometimes you feel like it doesn't contribute to your learning a lot, but sometimes it's integral. that said, as many people mentioned, many liberal arts colleges, as well ivy league schools have a lot of workload. it's also not that easy to get good grades.</p>

<p>"*Judging a school based on its raw workload ... *"</p>

<p>Who is judging the school? Workload is a feature, a reason someone might want nor not want to attend, but it's not a judging factor.</p>