I can’t decide whether I should go to Middlebury or Colorado College, I love both for different reasons. Can anyone please offer me any advice? I compete internationally in snowboard cross and am super passionate about it, so the mountain environment at both places are a huge plus. Some pros specific to each are:
Midd: I applied as a Feb so I could do something cool during my gap semester, about an hour drive away from several mountains, slightly cheaper than CC, higher ranking, J Term, SUPER nice people/made numerous friends on Preview Days, driving distance from home.
CC: In Colorado–my dream home!, Block Plan fits my learning style, smaller classes, better food in my personal opinion, in the Rockies, in a small city, I just really love being out west and its always been my dream to live out west.
Some cons at each:
Midd: A little too similar/close to my home state for me and I want some change/something “new”, hard to go anywhere without a car, take four classes at once, mountains aren’t as nice as the ones out west, many classes are larger than the ones at CC
CC: 2 hours away from any mountain so no weekday riding, need to buy plane ticket to visit home, not as highly ranked as Midd, seems harder to register for classes.
When I was at Middlebury I started the Middlebury College Snowboarding Club. I was the first person to snowboard at the Middlebury Snow Bowl and Mad River Glen (MRG no longer allows it, but they did for a few years). I was able to meet Jake Burton and work with him to develop the sport in Vermont. I worked with Betsy Pratt (the former owner of MRG) and negotiated with her directly to open the area to snowboarders. One of my best friends got a job with Burton right after he graduated. He’s a big wig in the industry today. After graduation I spent a year out in Crested Butte, Colorado as a ski bum before attending law school. Sure, the mountains in Colorado are bigger, but the best racers often come from back East, because the conditions force you to be better. There will be time later to ski or ride in Colorado (or Utah, or Wyoming, or Oregon). Your education will stay with you forever. J-Term is a big part of your life at Middlebury. It’s one of the best parts of the school. The Snow Bowl is only half an hour from campus. No, it’s not Crested Butte, but it’s a great place to get on snow and make some turns. You won’t be bored there. One of my hall-mates freshman year grew up in Vail and went on to ski on the World Cup. He always enjoyed skiing at the Snow Bowl and the many other ski areas within an hour’s drive of the campus. Good luck.
Ack! You do have a tough choice. I am a CC grad and my Daughter is a freshman at Midd. I am very familiar with both they are exceptional schools!! What do you want to study, or what are your academic interests if you (like most 18 year olds) aren’t sure yet? What do you see yourself pursuing after college- grad school? med school? Are you interested in foreign languages or global studies? Do you have to go into debt and if so is one school more significantly affordable than the other? Will it matter that you have a higher travel cost to CC?
So there are a few differences you’re likely already mulling over that I will weigh in on. One overriding difference of course is the block plan. I’m sure you have heard so many of the pros… immersion, lack of distraction from other classes, BLOCK BREAKS. There is a lot of flexibility with the block plan, and even opportunities to apply for venture grants to create your own block wherever in the world you want to go for the month. Cons would be that some students find out they don’t perform well in block style learning- they prefer to spread out the information and not have it be so immersive. Some blocks are way more intense than others. Sciences can be awesome or can be a killer on the block plan, depends on your learning style and that particular class for sure.
The other major difference is location of course. The skiing is definitely “better” in CO but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will challenge you to be a “better” snowboarder as was pointed out above. The conditions and choices are simply better in CO. But, they are much farther away. Having said that a good friend of my D’s from high school, a freshman at CC, is a world class freeskier and was able to get up to the mountains quite a bit all winter long. They are far away from ski areas (2.5 hours) but there are enough CC kids with a similar passion that they are dedicated to their snow sports and make their way up on weekends. Do not plan to miss class for skiing though! And it takes $$ to be able to do this regularly (gas etc.) so if you won’t have financial flexibility it might make it tougher to pursue snowboarding to the degree you are accustomed.
Colorado Springs is so different from Middlebury! It is nice to have amenities of a city if that matters to you. And there is easy access to Denver. But there is major sprawl, serious homeless issues, traffic, and a pretty conservative vibe once outside of CC and the downtown area. At Middlebury you get the quintessential idyllic, small New England town. And Burlington is wonderful, D gets up there once a moth or so. Middlebury is in a rural location with decent access to larger towns, the Springs is a city. Very different vibes off campus, though on campus CC and Midd have pretty similar vibes. In fact, people/student wise, the schools are remarkably similar and I can’t even split hairs over that one.
Overall I think Midd tends to have a slightly more intense intellectual environment. I don’t mean this as a pro or a con, simply that overall it feels more (inherently) intellectual to me when I visit which again is not overwhelming or negative in any way. CC is a little more casual in a way, and I think the flow of block plan with block breaks makes it feel less intense on an overall continuum. Yes campus is a little quieter during the third and fourth weeks of the block but then the block is over and a new cycle begins.
Finally, Midd has an incredibly strong alum network. CC is working on ramping up their network, and their fundraising for sure, but Midd is a well oiled machine. I have been beyond impressed with the team at Middlebury- their outreach to parents, their constant connection with alums, their linking students with alums, the list goes on. I am not saying CC does not have similar success but as a parent of a Middkid I am really impressed with Midd’s ability to get their students the resources they need and to connect them with opportunities beyond campus, often with alums in their areas of interest.
So in the end my D chose Midd over CC (primarily) because we live in the mountain west and she wanted the New England experience. It is different living somewhere other than where you grow up, for better or worse, and since you live in New England perhaps that matters as much to you as it did to her to try something new geographically speaking. You can’t go wrong either way. If financial issues are important I would definitely choose the best financial route for you because other factors are so similar. I am excited for you that you get to go to one of these amazing schools… and sad for you that you have to say no to the other. Tough choice, glad you have another 10 days to decide.
And if you have made it this far reading this post please feel free to PM with any other questions any time!!
So which one did you pick? Just curious.