<p>Deciding between Rice, Wesleyan, but primarily:</p>
<p>WashU
Middlebury </p>
<p>Looking to major in English and maybe also something along the lines of art, history, languages, film and media culture, and international studies. I'm currently leaning toward Midd because of its fitting strength in the right academic areas, its amazing teachers and, of course, the tightly-knit community. But I definitely sense the fun-loving, mellow atmosphere from WashU too. Plus, another possible benefit is its city location - coming from Hong Kong, I don't know if I can last in rural Vermont for four years. Any insights would be appreciated!</p>
<p>if you're an international student and are planning to go back to Hong Kong, go to WashU or Rice. LACs are amazing, yea, but they are not very well known internationally. Middlebury is amazing, but my friends who got into WashU love the school/ atmosphere..
Well the decision is up to you</p>
<p>orinthesea, thanks for the reply! Good point about reputation back in HK. However, I'm not sure I'll be going back to Hong Kong to work. In the States, Middlebury is pretty reputable. </p>
<p>Just curious, what did your friend love about the school/atmosphere?</p>
<p>As I'm sure you know, Middlebury is perhaps best known for it's strong English, international studies, and language programs. Considering your interests, Middlebury seems like a logical choice. In the end, you need to decide if you'd thrive in an urban environment (although I personally am not a fan of St. Louis), or a rural environment with a small city nearby. The size of the student body also should be a consideration. Wash U. is nearly 3 times the size of Middlebury.</p>
<p>Either school has great academics. You need to decide which is the best fit for you. Larger school vs. smaller school? Urban vs. rural? By the way, St. Louis does have much to offer in the way of museums, music, sports, etc. Have you visited both schools?</p>
<p>Ah herein lies the problem. It's too far to fly from Hong Kong to St. Louis and Middlebury - I'd miss too many school days and the ticket costs would be ridiculous. I've experienced rural to some degree (does Iowa City count?), but am still not sure whether 4 years of it would be in fact healthy or madness-inducing for me.</p>
<p>Iowa City, with nearly 70,000 residents and home to the University of Iowa, isn't exactly rural. It is, however, pretty far from a major U.S. city. Middlebury (population 8,000) will have a much different feel. The Town of Middlebury is very quaint New England, with lots of old buildings, church spires, and a high degree of charm. Think small town America, with used bookstores, cozy country inns, and non-chain restaurants. That being said, Middlebury is closer to major cities. Montreal is 2.5 hours away by car, Boston is 3 hours, and NYC is 5 hours. Burlington, a small city and home to University of Vermont, is around 40 minutes from campus. If you enjoy outdoor sports (or think you might), Middlebury is close to mountians, hiking trails, lakes, rivers, etc. Wash U. would be a totally different experience.</p>
<p>Thanks arcadia - as you can tell, rural is entirely foreign to me. The charming description seems too good to be true, but if it IS true, I would definitely appreciate having 4 years of peace, quiet, and reflection before the storm.</p>
<p>I think WUSTL would be my last choice of those four, especially if your interests are non-science and would probably go for Midd or Wesleyan depending on which environment you like better.</p>
<p>gellino, how would you describe the different feels of Wesleyan and Middlebury?</p>