Hello! I just finished my junior year of high school and am in the midst of my college search and I’m really interested in Middlebury.
However, as I’m sure you all know, most competitive/top-tier LACs have high academic requirements. Due to personal issues in the last year, my GPA dropped to the rather low 3.7 range (unweighted, no weighted GPA at my school). Thank god it didn’t go any lower, but I’m seriously worried that it’s too low for this school.
My ACT is a 34.
I’m still beginning the college search process but I really love the facilities, culture, and general environment the school has. I’ve looked at other similar schools, but Middlebury is definitely one of my favourites… If any of you have any feedback, that’d be excellent!!
Someone I know with significantly higher GPA than you considered Middlebury to be a reach. She had nothing but A’s for her junior year (about equal numbers of A-, A, and A+). Have you run the NPC on it?
Was 3.7 your unweighted GPA for junior year, or is it your overall GPA after three years? If the latter, what was your junior year GPA?
Where are you from? (and why do you spell “favourite” correctly)?
@DadTwoGirls Thanks for your feedback! Did she end up applying/attending? Certainly, you’d need impressive grades and I’d be lucky to even be considered. 3.72 is my cumulative; my junior year gpa was in the 3.5 range (horrendous, I know…).
I come from an international school outside of the States and believe in ‘favourite’ as I do the oxford comma.
EpicuriousG: if Midd is really interesting to you, visit it if you can. Depending on where you are, reach out to one of the Middlebury Schools abroad (17 schools in 38 cities worldwide) and talk to them (you want to speak to the Midd faculty involved, ideally, rather than the host university people), or email admissions and ask to speak with one of the alumni who does candidate interviews (the worst that they can say is “no”).
Getting in isn’t easy for anyone - I know of several really great alumni kids who really wanted it and didn’t get in, so the main advice I can offer you is this:
Visit
Make your specific interests known in advance, and see if you can meet some of the faculty in that area
Be upfront in your enthusiasm ("I'm applying ED1 to Midd because.....")
Apply ED1 (nearly half the class is being accepted from ED)
Don't be discouraged - be enthuisatic at each and every stage
No. One issue however was that the NPC showed us as being full pay, which we couldn’t afford. If you can afford to be full pay that might help a bit. I would however consider Middlebury to be a reach given your GPA. If you really want to go there you should go ahead and apply, but definitely you need to focus on more likely schools.
Your ACT is outstanding & places you in the top 25% of matriculated Middlebury students. GPA is relative to your class rank. If that GPA places you in or near the top 10% of your class, then that should help your chances for admission. But admission to highly selective LACs is based on more than just one’s numbers.
“I’m definitely looking at other LACs, if you have suggestions!!”
We had some difficulty finding affordable small schools (LACs) in the US without going a long way west or south or both. One daughter did get offered decent merit aid at Bennington College and UVM. For us that was it for the state of Vermont. You would be able to get into Saint Michael’s College and/or Champlain College, but I don’t think that I would recommend them since your ACT is so much higher than is average at these two schools.
Places like Bowdoin and Colby in Maine are not going to be any easier than Middlebury in terms of admissions, nor any less expensive. Colby–Sawyer College in New Hampshire might be a possibility (do not confuse it with Colby College, it is a different school). There are also some very good small universities in Eastern Canada (Mount Allison, Acadia, Bishops), but they are not well known in the US.
Your GPA is sufficient for Colby-Sawyer College and for Bishops, and I think that you have a good chance at Bennington and the other Canadian schools that I mentioned as well.
There are a lot of LACs further west and further south, but other people are going to have to suggest some since we didn’t look west much at all.
I have to admit that I have trouble predicting how you will do since your ACT is so strong and pretty much on a different level compared to your junior year GPA. My guess is that if you have a good reason for your junior year grades some schools may be willing to overlook this, but it makes an unpredictable college admissions process even more unpredictable. To me this suggests that you might want to apply to a range of schools.
Well, where do you think Middlebury’s GPA cut-off might fall? U.S. News profiled a nicely multi-lingual student, for example, who gained acceptance with a 3.2 GPA (26 ACT). If there might be a GPA cut-off, then, your 3.7 would seem to be safely removed from it.
@epicuriousgeorge - you’re most welcome. Don’t be discouraged, your scores are fine; what matters more is giving Midd a good reason to admit you. What is it that sets you apart from 10,000 other high achievers? What is it that you’ll give to the community that the 8500 or so who don’t get offers could not?
If you can answer these questions honestly and sensibly, then I’d recommend you apply. And if Midd really is your first choice, do apply ED1.