I was recently accepted to Middlebury and I also believe that I will be accepted to Wesleyan and I need help choosing which one I should go to.
My passion is learning foreign language and I would like to major in East Asian studies and environmental studies. I would also like to study Korean and Portuguese. My problem is that Middlebury doesn’t offer Korean and Wesleyan doesn’t offer Portuguese. Also Middlebury has a better language program, but Wesleyan has more internship opportunities which is EXTREMELY important to me.
Both of these schools are so great but which should I choose?
Middlebury has a J term which Wesleyan does not. Often for foreign language studies this affords more options for study and internships. As a language student you will have greater resources and program options at Middlebury. As for offering language alternatives, I think its highly likely you can arrange for instruction in a missing language such as Korean at Middlebury, whereas at Wes I don’t know if they can be as flexible with independent study of a language not typically offered.
Normally, I’d cede prominence to Middlebury when it comes to languages, but, you’ve obviously visited the Wesleyan College of East Asian Studies site and it’s a pretty sweet deal academically and pedagogically.
I’d say, Middlebury if you’re not sure what language you’d like to study; Wesleyan if you’re looking for an academic peak experience.
@MrHopeful101, “Wesleyan has more internship opportunities,” based on what? Even if this is true, a fact I’d be inclined to dispute, I’m certain Middlebury has plenty of internship opportunities, especially associated with languages.
You seem to be describing an unrealistically ambitious college program. Any one Asian language is very challenging (unless you already have a strong foundation as a heritage speaker). You want to combine 2 interdisciplinary fields, at least one hard Asian language, and a completely unrelated Romance language? Interesting, but not practical or coherent.
So try to focus your objectives then choose the college accordingly. Both languages and environmental science are among Middlebury’s strongest majors. Middlebury also strikes me as having a nicer setting and facilities. But if you want Asian Studies with a Korean focus, Wesleyan makes sense.