My daughter has been accepted to Colby, Middlebury, Wake Forest, UVM honors and Colgate. Now choosing one from afar seems really difficult. She wants to study Math. We live in Massachusetts so climate is not a huge issue. Colby offered her the presidential scholar designation–not sure how much this means. Her brother goes to Colby and is having a great experience so she may follow him but wants to investigate all of her options. To me it seems like she has two schools without frats and two with so she should decide on that factor as well. Plus UVM which so many kids we know love. Thanks so much for any help any of you can provide. All schools are affordable for us.
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All are excellent schools, and I think that all are equivalent for math, though Colby may have an edge. If your daughter wants to go on to grad school, Middlebury and Colby have the highest percent of students who go on to do a PhD in this list (they are very similar).
My kid attends Midd, but in Neuroscience, and she loves it, but Midd isn’t known for math.
In general, I would recommend Colby, because of the edge I mentioned above, and because of the Colby Presidential Scholar designation, which, among other things, provides extra funding for research. After that Wake Forest, Colgate, or Midd, whichever appeals to you most. UVM Honors probably is the best financially by far, so if that is an important consideration, choose UVM.
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If her intended major is math, then Colby College may be her best option.
HI. My daughter is wondering why Colby is better? Thanks so much for any information you can share.
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I suggested Colby because math is a respected major at Colby College. Additionally, your son enjoys Colby College. Presidential Scholar designation looks good on a resume.
If you reread your post which opened this thread, it leads to just one school = Colby College.
All readers know about your daughter is that she wants to study math & that she is considering 5 schools. It would be helpful to know more about your daughter’s thoughts on each school.
The problem is she hasn’t seen many schools so I don’t think she knows what she wants or even what she thinks of each school. She applied to a bunch of schools this year and these are her acceptances. She was remote for the first half of her senior year and attends a big public without a lot of guidance. We have tours set up at Colgate and Wake. Colby and Middlebury are closed to visitors but she has spend time at Colby so she knows what that is like to some extent. Hopefully the online accepted students programs will help too.
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From a readers perspective, the difficulty in recommending any of these schools is that readers do not know your daughter’s interests or preferences.
Colby College is a known school to your family & to your daughter. Presidential Scholar & offers a major in math. Easy pick.
If picking by location, then Middlebury College & the University of Vermont would be the top two–especially with the new rail line & train connecting UVM/Burlington & Middlebury to New York City. Additionally, both schools have beautiful campuses.
Colgate University has a gorgeous campus & places well in finance. Is your daughter interested in studying finance and/or economics ?
Wake Forest has a very nice campus & big-time sports.
For pure fun, the University of Vermont is the most social of all 5 options. As a member of the UVM Honors College, your daughter will have an instant affinity group of the best students on campus.
I am a bit surprised that Colgate & Colby are not listed as overlap schools as the students tend to be similar (preppy & social).
UVM & Middlebury are more liberal than Colgate, WFU, and Colby.
This is all really helpful and I will pass it on to my daughter. Thanks so much.
If it helps, it is clear that your daughter won the college lottery. Five great options.
@massmom2018: Class reunions at UVM/Burlington & Middlebury College should be well attended due to the convenience of passenger rail service from New York City to Middlebury & then to UVM/Burlington. Lots of valuable career enhancing connections as well as personal connections occur at college reunions.
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Congratulations on all those impressive acceptances! We never visited Wake or Colgate but I’d say Wake is your outlier and it will be good to get a sense of the vibe on campus as well as how long it takes to get there! My D was not interested in a Greek life and while she didn’t actively avoid those schools none happened to end up on her list.
We visited and loved Colby and the fact that she got the Presidential scholarship is impressive and worthy of consideration. Nice to have a sibling on board for support, too! D21 had been planning to apply but was accepted to Midd ED. She is interested in languages, policy, government so it felt like a perfect fit. It was the one school we visited twice and she was all in. She was also accepted to UVM Honors College.
All great choices, but obv Midd gets my vote! Look forward to hearing where she ultimately chooses. Best of luck.
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That train ride you keep referenceing is about 9 hours! Not sure what a great draw that would be for me?
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And it won’t be running until 2022, "The Ethan Allen Express between New York City and Rutland via Albany will be extended to Middlebury and Burlington, Vt., in early 2022, according to Lucas Irvine, road foreman of engines for Amtrak’s Empire Corridor. "
https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Amtrak-improvements-on-deck-for-Rhinecliff-16024919.php
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well, 2022 is… really not in a long time for a college student starting in September 2021. Too long to go to NYC for the week-end (anyway, kids head out to Montreal, Boston, Portland) but definitely an easy ride for Fall break for instance and faster than by car.
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Agreed, just wanted to clarify since there have been several posts that make it sound like a current option. Midd is a fabulous school. If they had accepted my D ED1, she would have been a Panther. Alas, she was, in her words, “salty after her deferral,” so despite the RD acceptance, she had moved on and enrolled somewhere else.
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It takes under 6 hours to drive. The train looks to be 9 hours… just for clarity.
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AArgh 
I enjoy train rides so it would be an attraction for me without the risk of falling asleep while driving. Also enables one to get some work done while travelling.
I appreciate the train info. Probably won’t be a game changer but I will pass it on to my daughter. We are planning a road trip for later in the month and hopefully seeing these places in person will help. Wake and Colgate have on campus tours for admitted students. Colby and Midd tell you not to come to campus but she can least check out the towns.
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You’re probably aware of this already, but Colby has an apartment-style dorm in Waterville. I bet if you walk around that area, you’ll be able to meet some students. http://www.colby.edu/residentiallife/alfond-commons/
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Colby College seems to be a great asset to Waterville, Maine. Definitely attractive for those seeking an LAC. Seems like an enhanced LAC experience due to the sophisticated housing & new indoor athletic facility.
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