@Prospective2021 You asked me to elaborate a bit. Unfortunately, I can’t answer the research question about Middlebury. My familiarity with Midd is more with the campus, town and vibe, having spent two summers at Middlebury’s German School and getting to know many full time Middlebury students while there. I attended Grinnell and have recently come up to speed on changes there through multiple visits with my son, who applied there EDI and will start in August. We visited Colby in October but we didn’t make it to Middlebury (too many schools and too little time).
For my tastes, both Middlebury and Colby have picture perfect campuses. The town of Middlebury is nicer than the town of Waterville or Grinnell, but they both have their charms as well. If skiing is important in your life, it’s hard to beat Middlebury’s facilities. Colby’s art museum was great and their campus is very new by LAC standards, but feels comfortably old.
For being outdoorsy and having nearby recreational opportunities, both Middlebury and Colby are on top of the LAC pile. Colby’s COOT orientation program sounds like the ideal way to begin college, and students there all spoke glowingly of their COOT experiences. Bates had something similar so maybe Midd does too. Grinnell is a bit more location challenged, but the rolling hills and cornfields surrounding town are pretty and work well for biking and running. Grinnell also has the GORP program which provides great outdoor opportunities and an easy way to bond with other students who love outdoor activities.
One differentiation is likely the student vibe. All three have very bright, happy students. Colby and Middlebury students strike me as generally more image conscious, more preppy. Feeling instantly at home with the other students was the biggest factor that drew my son to Grinnell. Grinnell students generally seem extremely unpretentious, friendly and down to earth. Often quirky too. Any form of elitism is taboo. Even the sports teams have no cut policies. I am amazed how the student vibe has not changed in 25 years. I think I went four years at Grinnell without seeing anyone wear make up (except a couple people at Waltz). One observation we had at Colby was that the tables in the main dining hall were all self-divided by gender except for a few two-person tables with what appeared to be couples. It struck us that the opposite was true at Grinnell. Just about every table with groups was mixed gender. Not sure what that means, but it was something that stood out to us. See if you notice that.
One other differentiation may be resources. On a per student basis, I think Grinnell’s endowment is around twice that of Colby or Midd, which themselves both have very strong endowments. What the endowment translates into is 1) a high level of financial aid security (although market downturns present a risk anywhere), 2) great new buildings and more on the way and 3) excellent opportunities. I’m sure you heard the stories at Grinnell of some freshman tutorials travelling internationally and of MAP students travelling to conferences to present their papers. My personal experience at Grinnell was consistent financial aid from year to year (despite a large market downturn) plus a surprise bonus my senior year to keep total loan amounts down.
Definitely check out the academics in your areas of interest and research opportunities, but you can’t miss at these three schools (or Amherst or Williams if they come into play). After visiting, one will call to you a bit stronger than the others and that’s where you should go.
