How grueling is the workload really?

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I'm really interested in Midd, but I have some reservations about the work. Of course, to be at such an excellent school is to work significantly hard, but I've heard more caveats about Midd's workload than many of the other schools I'm considering. I know certain schools have reputations for having an unusually high workload, such as Reed and Swarthmore. Does Middlebury have the same reputation, or is it more balanced? I know it's tough to make a generalization, and some people are going to have more work than others, but if you could give me an idea that'd be great. (If it helps at all, I'm an English/Humanities person.)</p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

<p>I asked my son almost this exact question less than a week ago. He had recently told his younger sister that it vacillated between being really hard and somewhat easy and so I asked him on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 was easy and 10 was back-breaking, how hard did he think he was working. He said 8.5. Now… this is what I have to say about this in knowing the kid. He likes a life of balance. He said that he doesn’t usually work ahead during the week, but that he does try to get a jump on things during the weekend so that he has time to play squash during the week. He is also working out with the team a couple days a week as well as works out on his own lifting weights and stuff. So… he’s working very hard, but he also seems to have time to do the things he wants to do AND from all accounts, there’s time to have a lot of fun on the weekends as well. Mostly, he loves his classes and his professors and so the work is very rewarding so far.</p>

<p>I hear that it is hard, but a supportive environment-not cut-throat</p>

<p>It depends on your major. You will have to study but there are also less distractions compared to other schools. It is a quiet atmosphere where people take time to study.</p>