<p>I've been doing my tours and visited middlesex. unfortunately we had to hurry up because of a weather situation and our interview and tour was rushed (we didn't even get a tour). my parents somewhat has an aversion to it, and I have wavering feelings about the school. for example, my interviewer asked me to take the toefl -_- i speak perfect english, english is my first language, but because i speak a different language at home. ahh dont flame me middlesex! but i felt i really dont need to take the toefl... I took great offense at that!
the school seemed to be smaller than its peer schools..</p>
<p>SO</p>
<p>How's middlesex? Good school? Bad School? It's quite a small school.. about 270 something. However, about 1,000 apply (WHOA). my parents are telling me not to submit the rest of my application. what should i do??? should i tell defiantly hell no im not taking the toefl, or take it because its a good school?? if i do take the toefl, ill have to take it in january and its jam packed with students, the ibt server sometimes goes down because so many ppl take it.</p>
<p>Perhaps you could offer to submit some of your essays done in English for their review or have some current teachers mention in particular that you have no problems keeping up with discussions/work in English. Did you say anything to the interviewer about english being your first language? Do your parents have difficulty communicating with the interviewer in English - so that confused the interviewer? I think it's worth discussing it with them before you just ditch the app IF you like the school otherwise. That's too bad you felt rushed... although the weather here has been brutal recently it really stinks that you went there and it wasn't a good visit.</p>
<p>Also have you done any other interviews and did the other schools ask you to take TOEFL?</p>
<p>It is a smaller school - about 350 total so you should be prepared for that. If you prefer 1000+ then it's not a good fit for you. Academically it is right up there very close if not in the top tier from what I have read.</p>
<p>okay so let say idk that eng is your first language. then if you speak another language at home but you've enrolled in a school which english has been the main instruction language for three years and over then you do not have to take the TOEFL. i wonder whats wrong with middlesex...</p>
<p>I know two kids who went to Middlesex, a brother and sister - wicked, wicked smart kids so I was under the impression that it's an excellent school academically. I don't know them very well, but as far as I know they've thrived there.</p>
<p>As for TOEFL, I agree with what somewhat else said about discussing it with the school first before totally ditching the app.</p>
<p>hey guys thanks for the input. I told the interviewer that I speak english as my first language, and that i've been learning since pk. I just dont speak it that often at home (only with my bro). we kind of argued about it, but he told us that if I didn't speak it at home, I would have to take the TOEFL. i dont want to take the damn toefl, its pretty useless and so i would have to pile that on top of my essays, schoolwork, ecs, etc. you think i should send an e-mail to the admissions office? ahh</p>
<p>i'm not too sure, but is middlesex a really, really good school? we didnt get the chance to tour the school or look at the facilities. my parents feel the school is sub par compared to the other schools we visited (sps, deerfield, etc.) you think so (who visited/attends/graduated)?? i'm already applying to other schools that are pretty top tiered and i'm not sure if i should spend even more money (no essay from middlesex! yay!)</p>
<p>If you look on the Middlesex website, it says that the TOEFL is a required test for applicants whose primary language is not English. In your case, it sounds like you are bi-lingual, but English is very much your primary language. </p>
<p>If I were in your position, I would talk to the Director of Admissions. Make a telephone appointment with him/her to discuss the issue. The Director will hear you speak, and should determine that you speak perfect English. You can explain that you are bi-lingual, but have been speaking English your entire life and consider it to be your primary language. If the Director of Admissions insists that you take the TOEFL, then if it were me, I would drop Middlesex for being inflexible. If your English is perfect, it just doesn't make any sense and shows a certain ignorance.</p>
<p>I assume an interviewer spoke with you. If so, and he (she?) stated you should take the TOEFL, then you should take the TOEFL, if you want to apply to Middlesex. Boarding School Review states that 9% of Middlesex's student body is international. I presume they have good reason to require students to take the TOEFL, probably garnered from long experience with international applicants. </p>
<p>Spoken and written English are different. You don't state if you are in the US, or an international applicant. If you interviewed at the school, I doubt the Director of Admissions would overrule an interviewer.</p>
<p>It's a fine school. We were very impressed. However, if your parents don't like it, I doubt you'd choose to attend, if you were accepted anywhere else. Why go to the trouble of finishing the application, if that is so?</p>
<p>If you are not that interested (and you probably wouldn't attend if accepted) then just focus on the other apps and let it go. Why muddy the waters with something you don't really want? It is not a safety school so I wouldn't just apply to it as a back up for your other schools. I would be thrilled if my son attended Middlesex and he is extremely bright. I don't consider it "sub par" at all.</p>
<p>since i know you freshie im going to laugh at you :P
<em>laughs at freshie</em></p>
<p>nahh. don't take offense to the toefl. well you could've taken enough that you'd mention that you go to an english-speaking school, that it is most DEFINITELY your first language -in the most articulately eloquent way possible-, and that (well this is unnecessary but it'd be pretty offending to them i guess..) the OTHER schools never soaid a thing about you otherwise unquestioned English abilities.</p>
<p>ok im totally kidding. please don't flame me, i'm applying to middlesex as well :P</p>
<p>i think some people (not trying to flame anyone who posted here, just for future reference if you get what i mean) don't understand how tedious the toefl really is. i never took it, but my friends did even though they could only speak English properly -apparently some schools asked for them to take it regardless. they usually got near-perfect scores but keep in mind that primary languages have slightly impractical grammatical usages (i probably made one back there) and being a native speaker could be worse than being a growing learner that crammed pretty damn well for the test.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If by really really good you mean top tier (ex A/E, Deerfield, SPS, Hotchkiss etc.)....No.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is wrong.
Middlesex is just as top-tier prestigious as A/E/Deerfield/Hotchkiss. It's one of the best among ISL with top education and prestigious reputation. </p>
<p>Speaking from personal experience, my son who now attends Exeter and my second daughter at Hotchkiss both did not get into Middlesex. My first daughter was at Middlesex by the time, so they were originally aspiring to follow the older sibling's footstep, but it didn't happen. To this day, I don't exactly understand why they were waitlisted even with the sibling there, and I remember my husband even calling them to ask why. </p>
<p>It's my impression that Middlesex is a smaller school and thus more selective than bigger schools such as Exeter and Andover. (They are all good schools. It's just that Middlesex must choose 80 students while Exeter chooses 250.)</p>
<p>Middlesex has a fantabulous writing program. It was hard not to compare it to Groton, which I saw first, and to be honest, Groton was prettier and the facilities were better. Middlesex isn't as selective as HEADS schools (about a 25% acceptance rate to their ≤20%). I'm applying, and its really great that they make you write an essay at the interview so that you don't have to stress over it on the application. My interview there was in my top 3 (Along with Hotchkiss and Groton; I'm not applying to Choate but that lady was the most enthusiastic and was practically begging me :))</p>
<p>Selectivity and Prestige are not same things................
Acceptance rate does not determine how "good" the school is. </p>
<p>For example, Best</a> Colleges - Education - US News and World Report, you'd see that Cooper Union acceptance rate is 10% while Cornell's acceptance rate is 21%. Obviously, Cornell is considered a much more prestigious and more renown university than Cooper Union. </p>
<p>I don't know much about Middlesex, but I know a lot of friends who got into E/A but were waitlisted there. Like, A LOT. So we just assumed it's just as good as Exeter except smaller. I also personally know someone from Deerfield who transferred to Middlesex.</p>
<p>"Through outstanding academic programs in architecture, art and engineering, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art prepares talented students to make enlightened contributions to society. The College admits undergraduates solely on merit and awards full scholarships to all enrolled students."</p>
<p>Cooper Union has a student body of 906, and all their students receive full scholarships. It is not a full-service university, so it isn't competing on that category. If you plan to be an architect, artist, or engineer, then I'd recommend Cooper Union, not Cornell. </p>
<p>If your ultimate career goals are to be a lawyer, or a bank president, then Cooper Union isn't the school for you.</p>
<p>Often, a school will waitlist a student that they think is not going to accept their offer of admission, but rather go to a better school. It's called the Tufts Effect, and it's been discussed on this board before. That is why many people get accepted to E/A but waitlisted at slightly-less-competitive schools. It doesn't mean that Middlesex is MORE selective, it just means that Middlesex does not want to waste admits, or in other words, they want to protect their "yield." </p>
<p>"I don't know much about Middlesex, but I know a lot of friends who got into E/A but were waitlisted there. Like, A LOT. So we just assumed it's just as good as Exeter except smaller."</p>