Amherst vs. Middlebury

[middsmith]

<p>I did a little research for you and found this, which also traces back to CC.</p>

<p>[Middlebury</a> Versus Williams : EphBlog](<a href=“http://www.ephblog.com/2009/04/01/middlebury-versus-williams/#comments]Middlebury”>http://www.ephblog.com/2009/04/01/middlebury-versus-williams/#comments)</p>

<p>

1. 90% of the students admitted to Williams and Middlebury choose Williams
2. shady SAT reporting practice
3. The sense that I get is that even among the “people who matter” (grad school adcoms, potential employers, etc), Middlebury’s reputation is much less consistently stellar.
4. Also, I went into Admissions to get a current catalog and basically got into a tug of war with a Middlebury Admissions Officer who wanted to make sure that the expensive catalog wasn’t being wasted on some stupid jerk. I asked for a catalog, and he started to hand it to me while keeping a firm grip on it. “You do realize, of course, that Middlebury is quite selective.” “Yes, I do, which is why I’m interested in applying,” I said as I started to take the catalog and then realized that he’s wasn’t letting go. “Umm, yes, but it’s REALLY selective. Are you sure you want one?” he said with an insincere smile. Of course, I’m thinking, “Not if it’s full of jerks like you,” but I did the sweet smile thing back and gave a hell of a tug, which meant he almost fell over because he was still trying to hold on to it. I won, and did a parting, “Thanks a lot” as I breezed through the door and he stumbled to regain his footing.
5. Midd might just be a safety school for all the current overlap schools for many applicants

</p>

<p>arcadia, your patriotic duty is calling.</p>

[NorthCountryCat]

<p>Ahhh, but middsmith, read further in the string! Arcadia has a partner-in-crime in setting the record straight, it seems. Read further in that EphBlog post! More good information, especially about Middlebury’s rise in the LAC pecking order. More important is how the college differs…</p>

[Modadunn]

<p>I found the comment on cheating on the SAT score reporting to be pretty inflammatory considering they had nothing but nothing to back it up. Of course later it’s corrected and it seems some of the opinions are definitely based on dated information. In the end, it’s all opinion for the most part.</p>

<p>Although… I do feel Middlebury is being much more forthcoming about their budget cuts than either Amherst or Williams due to the economics. However, it has been pointed out that Midd sits in a different plane regardless because it never had as much money as the others did.</p>

<p>We’re going to visit next Weds (and then will also drive four flippin hours to see Colgate and it better not be too much more than four hours) so we’ll see about spring beauty vs stark winter… although there’s snow on the ground here so i doubt any school can dish it out like home sweet home.</p>

[arcadia]

<p>Your cherry picking of replies is just what I’ve come to expect from you, Middsmith.</p>

<p>

Interesting string. As someone who looks routinely at the data Kevin cites (the accepted student questionnaire — ASQ), the so-called win rate for Middlebury vs Williams has increased, but it is still less than 40%. It has increased from around the 10% that Kevin sites above (in 1992) to what was a high of about 41% for one year, but is now more typically in the 30s%. The data do not include 100% of a class, but ranges from about 68-82% response rate in any given year.</p>

<p>Two interesting things about the data in those ASQs: Middlebury’s overlap group has shifted signficantly in the past 15 years, and especially in the past 5 years. Its largest overlap school is Dartmouth. The other 9 schools include Williams (#2 or #3 the past 5 years), Amherst, 5 Ivies and two other NESCAC schools. 15 years ago, schools including Bates, St Lawrence, Skidmore, Hamilton, and Trinity were on the list; none are among the top overlaps now.
Now Midd might just be a safety school for all the current overlap schools for many applicants, but the percentage who do choose Middlebury over Williams, Amherst, and the Ivies has increased over the past decade, and is much greater if the students are intersted in international studies, environmental studies, or foreign languages.</p>

<p>I think Middlebury’s data are no longer cooked or manipulated. The current president (or dean of admissions) went the route of including all SAT scores two or three years ago, rather than what it used to do and what Bowdoin, and other schools that make SATs optional among other test scores do, which is to submit only a portion of the scores(and their reported average scores dropped at least 40-50 points — on the tables in US News), they have also been among the most open, it seems, about posting information publicly about their financial situation and the cuts they are making.</p>

<p>Middlebury has a different slant now, too, than 15 years ago, and that, I beleive, more than anything, has attracted students who formerly saw little reason to choose a Middlebury over the more highly regarded schools. It has 31 sites abroad (and 60% of its juniors study abroad), the now 10 intensive foreign language schools in the summer, the Bread Loaf School of English, and a huge push for international and environmental education. I think it is very different place than what some Ephs on this string experienced when looking at colleges a few decades back.</p>

<p>It takes a long time for colleges to move up the pecking order (of prestige), but even with honest SAT scores reported for the past 2-3 years, Middlebury has made the largest jumps in the last 5 years, going from 11 to 5,which probably means nothing, or should mean nothing…though it does reflect some kind of collective “perception.”

</p>

<p>

I did hear one faculty member complain that Paresky was built because the College was freaking out about a handful of students choosing Middlebury over Williams and citing facilities as a reason.

</p>

[middsmith]

<p>For you, I’ll cherry pick a thousand times over. =)</p>

[vermontkid]

<p>“This thread is slowly, but surely, turning me towards Amherst.”</p>

<p>That’s what happens when you post middlebury vs. amherst on the Amherst board. Start the same thread on the midd board to hear the other side</p>

[Curiosisity]

<p>They’re both great schools, so it’ll be hard to go wrong. I found visiting was very important in my decisions, so I recommend it. </p>

<p>Also, you should consider little things if you are having a hard time making a decision, like which college is more convenient for transportation to and from? Which one offers better living arrangements if you have specific wishes (single sex floor, substance free, etc). What does each location offer, and how does that match up with your interests? For example, I know Middlebury does a lot of work with local farmers to do agriculture and science work, since it is more isolated.</p>