<p><strong><em>Sorry about the typo in the title!! I didn't preview post...</em></strong></p>
<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>My younger sister is applying to college this fall, and while she is smart and has great leadership experience, so far she hasn't dedicated much of her time to the 'search' phase of college admissions. She knows she wants to apply early to Middlebury, mainly because she loves Vermont and has visited many times -- NOT because she for sure wants a small liberal arts college. In fact, since she is pre-vet/possibly pre-med, she might be better off at a university that has better research facilities.</p>
<p>Here are some stats and colleges I've thought of for her so far. She's pretty open to look and apply anywhere, and wants to see where she gets in.</p>
<p>GPA: About 3.3, I think
School: Competitive sub-urban private
APs: Chem (will probably get a 4 or 5), next year: Bio, Calc
ACT: 30 (I think 34 math, 26 reading, but not sure)
Extracurriculars: 2 varsity sports (including team captaincies and lots of team-organizing), internship at a veterinary clinic, highly competitive horseback rider (training/prelim level)
Interests: horseback riding, chemistry, medicine, and socializing :)</p>
<p>Possible schools:
-Clark University
-Boston College
-Cornell Ag. School
-University of Richmond
-Colgate
-University of Vermont
-SUNY Stony Brook
-Rutgers</p>
<p>-Middlebury College- Reject
-Clark University- Match
-Boston College - Low Reach
-Cornell Ag. School - Low reach/ Reach
-University of Richmond- High Match/ Low Reach
-Colgate- Reach
-University of Vermont- Match
-SUNY Stony Brook- Match
-Rutgers- Match</p>
<p>I think is also depends on her course load. If she didn’t take any CP classes, then it would look better. No one can say she will be rejected, because do we work for admissions for Middlebury?</p>
<p>She should definitely apply to UVM. It is about an hour away and a great school. It is also a good fit, maybe even safety for her. It has GREAT research oppurtunities, and is a PERFECT school for a pre-med student. My sister got into Middlebury, but opted for UVM, even though it is less prestigious and all, because she is pre-vet and UVM has one of the best bio programs and some of the best bio equipment and research oppurtunities in the country. It is a wonderful school and since it is far less competative than schools like Middlebury, she will actually have an easier time applying to vet school or med school if she so chooses. Tufts, for example, generally takes 5 or so UVM students into their vet school each year, and your sister would have a very good shot at one of those spots. Please introduce her to UVM. I have visited my sister and it is a REALLY GREAT school and it seems like it would be a great fit for her! Burlington is an awesome city too and there are several colleges in the area. UVM has a really accepting environment too. No matter who you are, you will find people whose company you enjoy.</p>
<p>Good luck to your sister in her college search and throughout her college admissions process!</p>
<p>Try less-selective schools in upstate New York or New England like Bard, Colgate, Skidmore, UVM, UNH, Clark, Brandeis, BC, BU, Bates, and Colby.</p>
<p>Or just write a killer essay and get into Middlebury!!</p>
<p>UVM (Burlington, VT)
St. Michael’s College (Winooski, VT, just outside of Burlington)
Union College (Schenectady, NY)
Unversity of New Hampshire (Durham, NH)</p>
<p>I agree with NuclearPakistan 1 with a few slight changes:</p>
<p>Middlebury College- Reject
Clark University- Match
Boston College - Reject
Cornell Ag. School -Reach
University of Richmond- High Match/ Low Reach
Colgate- Reject
University of Vermont- Match/Low Reach
SUNY Stony Brook- Match
Rutgers- Match</p>
<p>Have a look at Middlebury’s Common Data Sets. For 2007-2008, the RD admit rate was 21%, the ED admit rate was 25%. That does not look like much of an advantage (assuming similar qualifications for both pools).</p>
<p>It is nothing wrong to apply to a reach or definitely rejected school if you really want to go there. You just need to be prepared when the notification comes in. You also need a good match school for EDII if it is available or want to do it. LACs are can good for pre-vet/pre-med if you can do well there. I think you should add some match/safety LACs to your list.</p>
<p>When she applies to Midd, her essays shouldn’t just describe her or what she does or how she feels about something. They should be tailored specifically to Midd - what makes it the best of all possible matches for her, what (specifically) she would plan to do there if admitted, and what unique assets (skills, passions, perspectives) she’d have to offer the campus community as a student there.</p>
<p>When you say apply early, do you mean Early Decision? She shouldn’t apply Early Decision based solely on the location, especially if she’s not sure she wants an LAC. Middlebury isn’t the only school in Vermont, and there are other schools in nearby states that are driving distance to Vermont. But I disagree that a bigger university might be better for her – Middlebury is a great college, many of their graduates go on to medical school, and research can be had at LACs.</p>
<p>And no, that’s not what ED is for. Early Decision may or may not help admissions (it may just vary by school), but as was already pointed out, the admissions rate for Middlebury is not much higher than the regular decision admissions rate. Early Decision shouldn’t be used as an admissions booster unless your sister is 100% sure that she really wants to go to Middlebury.</p>
<p>I think Middlebury wil be a reach with her GPA, although her ACT score is in their middle 50% range. Cornell and BC are other places that will be reaches, but it is of course fine to apply to reaches. The other schools on her list are probably matches, with University of Vermont maybe being a safety. I don’t think Colgate is a reach at all; University of Richmond might be a “low reach”.</p>