Ask a Sophomore: Questions about Midd

<p>hey guys!
well, it's the time of the year in which you're excited to go to midd if you're accepted and are part of the class of 2012. i'm a sophomore (class of 2011) and am ready to answer any questions you might have about anything. i'm sure there's a facebook group about this as well, but not all of you might be using facebook, so i'm sure that this might help.
also, if you're planning to apply for the class of 2013, feel free to ask anything you have in mind (other than the chances thing, please)
cheers!</p>

<p>I was just wondering when you register for classes? I don't remember exactly what the packet said...I'm pretty sure it's done when the freshmen arrive, but I could've totally made that up and will subsequently end up taking no classes my first semester.</p>

<p>I also haven't heard what Commons I'm in. I checked Bannerweb but it says they're still evaluating. I know a lot of kids have found out already...</p>

<p>last year we registered for our first year seminar first and just listed three other courses online, which wasn't official by any means (except for your first year seminar). you do your actual registration when you come for orientation. it's held in kenyon arena, and there are tables for each department to which you go and register for the course you want. you receive a number which gives you your "ranking" among the freshmen.
as for commons, i don't remember when i found out last year, other than the fact that it was pretty late. you can always email someone about it. did you find out which seminar you got-because the two are related?</p>

<p>your commons should be on your bannerweb; you can also deduce which commons you're in based on your FYS (and other ppl on fb)</p>

<p>Your commons is listed on Bannerweb. Instructions: go to bannerweb, students records and registration, registration, check registration status, select Fall 2008, and scroll to the bottom and look next to CAMPUS for your commons.</p>

<p>hey, as an international student planning to apply to Midd (class of 2013), I was wondering what you can tell me about the international student body. I've heard that there are all sorts of events organised by an international students organization, but also that the kids tend to isolate themselves. Generally, is there a lot of interaction with the internationals? Thanks!</p>

<p>hey nicholas,
as an international student, i think i can help you with this :) there are many international students, especially many asians (not that many europeans or africans). in general, no international kid isolates himself--although it's not uncommon to pass through long tables in the dining halls where you can hear chinese/korean/japanese spoken, without any americans there. i had more american friends then international friends, but there have been times that i just wanted to hang out with someone from my own ethnicity so that i could speak my mother tongue or talk about something that was going on in my country. so--there are kids who tend to isolate themselves, but it's because they want to do so, not because international students are not welcomed by the american middkids or anything else.
the international student organization is really active too. although i haven't been involved with it this much this year, there are many events organized by them like friday night dance parties (at least one a month), and the cultural show which takes place every semester.</p>

<p>Hey there. I've been placed in Brainerd Commons, so I'm pretty sure I'll be living in Stewart. What can you tell me about the rooms/social atmosphere/etc. of Stewart Hall? Thanks.</p>

<p>yey stew! i lived there last year, and it was amazing. the room sizes are reasonable. they're all doubles, and there are 22 rooms on floors 2-3-4, 11 rooms on floors 1-5 (half of floor 1 is underground so there're no rooms but laundry and lounges, half of floor 5 is the roof so there're lounges). it's the only dorm on campus that is seperated by gender, so last year floors 1-3-5 were for males while 2-4 were for females. there's a bathroom on every floor, even if that sounds like not enough for you, believe me--i've experienced no problems during the year except a couple of days which i had to wait for at most 5 mins to take a shower. this year, though, stew will be a little different: normally it's an all-freshman dorm, but this year the first floor will be for sophomores because the class of 2011 was huge. half of the second floor will consist of brainerd commons offices, which might be a little weird if you live there, but i'm sure they'll work something out to make it less awkward.
also, i think stew is in the best location on campus. although it's a little far away from some academic buildings, it's the closest dorm to mccullough student center, which you will use a lot. it's also just uphill from the library, so going there is really convenient if you need to study.
socially, of course, the context of every dorm changes every year depending on the people in them. stew has around 120-130 people in it, so you're bound to find something going on anytime. there have been parties every weekend and some weekdays last year--and some pretty huge and awesome ones too.</p>

<p>hi thanks for doing this!</p>

<p>well, if there's anything like a near-perfect fit for me then it's middlebury. i absolutely love it from the research i've done, except... there's just one little (BIG!) problem. i'm really put off by its isolation. i'm sure vermont is a very nice place but i really wish the school were closer to a major city.</p>

<p>so, how would you describe life at middlebury for someone like me? is it easy to meet people outside of the school? do people take regular trips out? i know this might sound like some weird questions, but i'd love to give midd a chance : )</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

<p>generally, most people stay on campus for the whole yr. of course ppl take trips every now and then to montreal and boston, but probably 2-6 times throughout the yr. while the townies are great ppl, midd really isn't the campus to meet ppl out of school. that's just the truth; it isn't. </p>

<p>with that said, I absolutely love midd and can't wait to go back =)</p>

<p>Kollegyippee, with Middlebury, perception is reality. It is remote. Burlington is a great town but it's not a major city. And, as glucose101 said, in theory you can always get away to a major city but as a practical matter people don't. If you are the type that will want to look outside the campus for your stimulation on a regular basis, try one of the other LACs that are near major metropolitan areas - Haverford/Swarthmore for example. Bowdoin is near Portland Maine, an outstand little city and an easy (and cheap) 2 hour bus ride to Boston.</p>

<p>okay thank you! i probably won't apply to middlebury but good luck to all those who are!</p>

<p>well, to give some more examples/to elaborate further on this topic:
i come from one of the biggest cities in the world--a population of around 12 million people--and i've lived there my entire life. coming to middlebury for college was the first time i've left my city for a long time--i.e., more than a month. the rural life of course has its downsides--you're confined to middlebury most of the time even if you have a car due to heavy courseload and weather. you sometimes want to grab a coffee somewhere else (there're only 3 places you can) or eat in somewhere nice out of the dining hall and the 4-5 decent but relatively expensive restaurants.
yet again, this should not deter you from going to your near-perfect fit as you have said on your post. even i got used to it, and there's always something going on in campus. even if not, then you've got your papers and readings to worry about. you can go to burlington whenever you want if you have a car, and that's a really cool town.</p>

<p>I really wouldn't consider most LACs if you're wanting an urban, populated environment. For the most part, LACs are located in rural areas to foster the LAC education you're seeking.</p>

<p>hmm well, my ideal school would be a LAC/small-medium university that is enclose in its own tight-knit campus in or close to an urban, populated environment :)</p>

<p>but yea, i dont know. we'll see. i still need to look for some good safeties.</p>

<p>Vassar, Macalester, Pomona, Claremont-McKenna, Sarah Lawrence, all fulfill your requirements.</p>

<p>Hi again! Move-in day's getting close.
I'm social but also pretty shy, and the idea of knowing NO ONE up there is making me really nervous. (Otherwise I can't wait for everything up there.) How friendly is everyone, and how easy is it to make friends so I don't feel so "alone" the first few days?</p>

<p>hey there! it's really easy to make friends in the first couple of days, actually, especially during move-in day. just keep your door open and pop into other people's rooms once every while. there also will be floor meetings that will help you know who's on your floor and what not. i was also like you, but it all turned out to be well, so don't worry!</p>

<p>uhmm hiya echoes, am from India, and am gona apply got the class of 2013, Any idea if there are many indians ( from India , asia) at middlebury?? Are indian( from india, asia) students rare or many??</p>