<p>I'm trying to decide whether I should ED to Middlebury or Amherst. I've visited both schools, and I like Middlebury better for its' environmental program, fun campus culture, ski bowl, location, athletic facilities, student body size and just overall feel. amherst just felt really serious, materialistic, and metropolitan in comparison. however, amherst is considered on par with the Ivies in terms of education/prestige/financial aid. they're athletic department also gets more funding. just look at their $1.5 billion endowment compared to Midd's $900 million. my parents are also telling me that amherst grads are more likely to get accepted into top graduate programs or hired by big companies than midd grads. is that true? i plan to major in english and environmental studies. maybe economics or international studies. i like to keep my options open.... so is middlebury really considered less prestigious than amherst by recruiters?</p>
<p>Did you also check out Williams (seems like it would be a good fit given your concerns)? But in answer to your question, Amherst and Williams probably have the prestige “edge”, but Middlebury is absolutely a peer institution, definitely among the very top LACs.</p>
<p>I think they’re both on par with each other. It should really come down to where you think you can do your best work.</p>
<p>williams was a little too “quaint” for me. the downtown was literally one street…</p>
<p>also i heard it is the worst out of all LACs for a snobby WASP athlete population</p>
<p>Williams students are definitely not snobby, and the racial/ethnic mix is very similar to Amherst and Middlebury (going back to the 1700’s, Williams would have been pretty WASP’y, but things have changed in the U.S.). No question there is a major athletic presence (something like 40% of students play on varsity teams), but this is not radically different from Amherst, Haverford, et al. The most intellectual yet least snobby, least athletic top LAC is probably Swarthmore. Where I would agree is that the town is small and isolated (still loved by many), but Williams has a larger student body than some of its peers.</p>
<p>Let’s enter a little context here. Amherst v. Middlebury is like Yale v. Stanford. Go to the one that feels better to you.</p>
<p>“No question there is a major athletic presence (something like 40% of students play on varsity teams), but this is not radically different from Amherst, Haverford, et al.”</p>
<p>40% varsity athletes at HC include cricket and track/cross country which make up the majority of this percent. HC does not have sports like football and hockey like the NESCAC schools. This would likely give a different feel to the colleges being compared.</p>
<p><a href=“going%20back%20to%20the%201700’s,%20Williams%20would%20have%20been%20pretty%20WASP’y,%20but%20things%20have%20changed%20in%20the%20U.S.”>quote</a>.
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<p>Since the 1960s.</p>
<p>Go where you feel most comfortable. There difference in prestige between M and A is minimal. Ten or fifteen years ago, my response may have been different. Midd is a school on the rise.</p>
<p>I think you have an open choice here. And I think you have a greater chance of being accepted at Midd ED, so your ED is actually more useful.</p>
<p>And I don’t mean anything about you. Anyone has a greater chance of being accepted ED at Midd since it has a larger population and is slightly less selective.</p>
<p>ED should only be used for your absolutely favorite school, IMHO.</p>
<p>As far as athletics go no one has mentioned that Middlebury has WAY more NCAA National Championships than Amherst and Middlebury also just won the Directors cup - a measure of the best athletic Programs in each division of collegiate athletics. Amherst has never won it and is almost always ranked lower than Middlebury.</p>
<p>Confused, what are your stats? It’s not like you have been accepted. Why the angst?</p>
<p>Your intended area of study is Environmental Science and English. While I think Amherst is a great school, and one my son considered seriously, the sciences at Midd are IMO better than Amherst simply because Amherst had to put on hold any and all updating of their science building due to the crash back in 2008. They have since put it back on the docket, and while they don’t list a starting date of construction, the article offers a completion date of 2016. Is that soon enough for you?</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/science_center[/url]”>https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/science_center</a></p>
<p>On the other hand, Midd’s Bi-Hall (McCardell Bicentennial Hall) was completed in 1999 and is stunning. Additionally, Midd was the first school in the country to have an Environmental Studies major (going back to 1965). When you consider that it’s commitment to sustainability, the school’s involvement in the solar decathlon in Washington DC (placing 4th in 2011 as the only liberal arts school in the competition - <a href=“http://www.solardecathlon.gov/scores.html[/url]”>http://www.solardecathlon.gov/scores.html</a>), well, I just don’t see how Amherst would provide better resources, connections etc for internships, research, grad school or post graduate employment. </p>
<p>[About</a> the Program | Middlebury](<a href=“Environmental Studies | Middlebury College”>Environmental Studies | Middlebury College)</p>
<p>Additionally, when you consider Midd’s commitment to Breadloaf with it’s specialized concentration in English and writing for advanced degrees… I tend to believe that commitment extends to the strength of the undergrad department. </p>
<p>If you had no idea what you wanted to major in, I think the comparative analysis might be more difficult, but if you look at the schools’ programs in the specific areas that you wish to study and the depth of those resources… well, I honestly think Midd comes out on top.</p>
<p>But the bottom line is… and as has been said here and on other boards constantly is… you need to visit and determine if you feel at home and inspired at whatever school you attend.</p>
<p>^^^I think you make some excellent points, but as a writer I can tell you that Breadloaf does not indicate anything about the undergraduate English Department at Midd.</p>
<p>Amherst has a wonderful English Department; so does Williams. Williams is not particularly known for its English Department though I am sure it is more than adequate to meet the OP’s needs. Williams has the highest rate of PhD matriculation in English, but that makes no difference since the OP does not want to pursue that and has already ruled Williams out for credible reasons.</p>
<p>There is no reason this applicant should chose Amherst over Midd, especially since Midd inspires the applicant more.</p>
<p>Middlebury is a wonderful school with a break taking campus and the advantages many posters have extolled.</p>
<p>Amherst is also the perfect school for the right student, but the OP is not as inspired by its attributes.</p>
<p>The Bread Loaf Writers Conference, the country’s first, and supported for more than 35 years by Robert Frost (who lived less than 2 miles from the Bread Loaf Mountain Campus), has 9-12 Middlebury undergraduate aspiring writers (they receive fellowships) at each summer session. They gain tremendous experience writing (poetry, fiction, and non-fiction) with some of the greatest writers of the day — including the past two national poet laureates. A great opportunity for serious literati.</p>
<p>Fair enough on the English program… assumptions are often proven inaccurate. But then too, I graduated with a degree in English and honestly? I think there are a lot of schools that would fit that particular bill. And while I don’t know much about Midd’s UG program or anyone else’s these days for that matter, I would suggest that you look at the classes offered for creative writing as well. But then maybe that’s just me because this was a real disappointment howevermanyyearsago when I was in school.</p>
<p>Fin Aid should all come out the same, tho Williams and Amherst may give more grant and less scholarship.
Midd is leagues above both for environmental studies and “green” ethos. Look at the Solar Decathalon. Midd did 4th against huge engineering schools and consortiums-awesome for a small LAC. Do you see those other schools on that list? My H, the MIT grad, was impressed.</p>
<p>Lets be real guys: Midd is a great school and the students are very smart. But its academic level is not Amherst, Williams or Swarthmore (any more than Brown, for example, is HYPS). That is reflected in grad school admissions and, I am sure, by employers as well. I am not saying that it is bad, but rather it is just not AWS. The CC forums are all funny: people who are interested in a school tend to post in that schools forum claiming that it is the best in the world. I don’t know, maybe its to bolster their own decision, or because they couldn’t get into the other school to begin with (look how much negative stuff there is on Harvard all the time, even though their yield is the top in the country–meaning that if people get in, they go). But we should all keep that in mind. If I could get into HYPS, or (if I want small colleges) AWS then I would go there. College is not about who serves organic food in the dining hall. The most important thing is who are your classmates that you interact with everyday. Midd students are great, but they are not the “top top.”</p>
<p>^^^If Amherst and Williams are filled with people like you, that’s reason enough to stay away. Although I’m pretty sure I could have gotten into both of those schools, I didn’t bother applying because of the overinflated egos I encountered there. Thank you for reaffirming that I made the right decision.</p>
<p>And welcome to CC.</p>