<p>Any of you concerned about being a Feb at Midd, watch this video. I think you'll feel a lot better. </p>
<p>My wife and I recently returned from dropping off our youngest child at Midd for Feb orientation. Although I was very concerned about S being a Feb (as OBD can attest), it turned out to be the best thing for him. He was never worried about it, and in fact he wanted it that way. The school goes so over the top to make these kids feel special. His feeling is that any Feb… and I mean any year Feb, are special and he would feel comfortable with them immediately. That isn’t to say that he’s best friends with every Feb on the Midd campus, but as OBD had predicted to me in a PM, he has 100 friends already on campus. He’s already feeling socially comfortable, has an awesome dorm room, and heavily engaged in a ridiculous course load (which his advisor, DW and I advised against.) Of course he’s only been up there a week, but he already says he wouldn’t trade being a Feb for anything (again he already felt that way from the get go) and feels like he fits in perfectly at Midd. Of course no one can predict the future, but the past is the best indicator of future results and if things turn out the way it seems to for most Febs… he’ll be another happy Feb forever!</p>
<p>While the Feb orientation is great, I hear support for Febs is lacking thereafter and course registration can be a real challenge (as many classes fill before they get a chance to register.)</p>
<p>I can’t say what will happen in the future, but for this year registration wasn’t a problem. There was one class he wanted that showed as full, but a meeting with the prof solved that without any hassle especially after mentioning that he was a Feb. Again, I’m not discounting your kid’s experiences because I certainly don’t know, but I’m willing to keep an open mind. Besides all that, there is nothing that could have convinced my S into giving up his Febmester. In the end, there seems to be a Feb flavor that perhaps can’t be defined. Admissions seems to have an ability to discern which kids would make “good Febs.” My older daughter’s friend who was a reg actually commented to her when she mentioned her little B was going to be a Feb… “I was always jealous of the Febs, they all did such cool things and were so tight. I just wish I could have had that experience.”</p>
<p>I’d say abcd doesn’t know what in the world s/he is talking about. </p>
<p>Spots are kept open for Febs, and registering was easier for my Feb S than the fall starter. He got all his first choices, a palatial room, welcomed to several EC groups warmly, and “100 instant best friends”. He can’t wait to ski down the hill when he graduates next February…</p>
<p>Anytime my kids haven’t gotten into a class they desire because the class is overbooked, they have eventually been enrolled by following my H the college professor’s advice: e-mail the prof and ask to be allowed in the class, citing a good reason. Ask if said prof would like to talk in person why you need the class. Then show up for the meeting. If still not enrolled, go to the class anyway, and keep going. Stay til someone else inevitably drops it.Never been known to fail, either at Midd, or my H’s LAC classes. Profs can’t resist interested and committed students.</p>
<p>Good point OBD. Glad you responded!</p>
<p>I totally agree with OBD.
My student, not a Feb, has successfully enrolled in several ‘overbooked’ classes. He did so by showing up for that desired class (each time until he got in), speaking with the professor and following up with an email to the professor. Has not failed yet. … (One time he had to get a signature from the head of the dept to be the extra person in the class, but he still got in.)</p>
<p>This thread is titled Feb Concerns, and I do know that there were a lot of sophomore Febs turned away from required classes last week due to lack of space (the professors are great but if there is not a chair in the room or a computer in the lab, they cannot take more kids.) This probably is not a problem in many majors, but registering behind the regs each semester makes this a concern. Not everyone gets a palace for a room, and more support for Febs who need to make a room change could have kept at least two of the Febs I know from leaving the school. It is a good program and a great college, but there are some concerns.</p>
<p>One of my close friend’s D is a Feb that just started her senior year. She has raved each year about Middlebury and about being a Feb. They were also worried at first about her coming in as a Feb, but the concerns washed away quickly as they realized there is a Feb culture all its own and it made her feel quite special. Feb Feb Feb … (chant).</p>
<p>Abcd, I’m not quite sure what you mean. I was not a real feb. I took a semester off and thus, became a feb upon my return, but I don’t ever remember registering behind all the regs. I think the only time you could possibly register behind all the regs is perhaps when you first arrive. After that I think you’re all in the same pool together.</p>
<p>It must have changed and is now done according to credits (AP credits do not count) and the Febs are usually 4-5 credits behind the rest of the class. </p>
<p>[Dates:</a> Spring Registration | Middlebury](<a href=“Spring 2023 Registration | Middlebury”>Spring 2023 Registration | Middlebury)</p>
<p>I think we are talking about 2 different things-Feb freshman-spots kept-and feb sophomores.</p>
<p>How many is “a lot”, and did the students persist? My S is a feb and he hasn’t had any problems using the above strategies.</p>
<p>Any student can have trouble getting the “easy” section, the non-early time, the class near their dorm. Sometimes a student may need to branch out from their ideal schedule of no classes before 10 am, none in far-away lecture halls, and no Friday classes to get what they want. This is not limited to Febs.</p>
<p>In fact, some popular profs have been known to use the opposite strategies to keep enrollment down-or the un-motivated out. My S had a class that met way down the hill at Twi Hall at 9 am twice, then was moved up the hill. Pretty funny.</p>