I am a current high school senior and recently finished receiving my acceptance letters. After planning on applying ED at Midd, I decided I wasn’t ready to commit and applied through regular decision. Since the admissions numbers were so low for RD this year, I was shocked to wake up to an acceptance letter from Middlebury.
As stated in the title, I also was admitted to the honors college at UVM(my home state) and to St. Lawrence, both with scholarships that would make the cost affordable for my family. At Middlebury, however, I would have to pay full price, which is a large sum of money to almost anyone.
My question is whether you believe it is worth the difference in price? Midd holds the best reputation, and a few friends of mine believe that in the long term the investment will be worth it. I plan to study economics and attend a good graduate school for my MBA.
My parents have told me not to worry about cost as they would find a way to finance it, yet I do not want to choose a college that would cause such financial strain without reaping long term benefits.
As pure opinion, I prefer St. Lawrence in this comparison for its somewhat exotic location between the transnational St. Lawrence Seaway and the Adirondacks, its neat campus center and overall architecture. St. Lawrence’s chief drawback for some seems to be its inconvenient location in relation to large East Coast cities.
Based on the current information, and assuming a substantial cost difference, I would not pay full price for Middlebury College–especially for one intending to go to graduate school.
Middlebury is a good school. However it is a bad idea to go into debt for undergrad especially if you want to go to a top school for a MBA. The hassle to finance middlebury isn’t worth it, reputation doesn’t outweigh you taking the opportunities at UVM or St. Lawrence. Rule out Middlebury
UVM and St. Lawrence are good schools, UVM has a more well known name (arguably better than middlebury) but again that may not mean UVm is your answer. UVM is a mid sized school while St. Lawrence is pretty small. What size do you like the best? Also, UVM has an amazing college town and beautiful lakes and mountains nearby. I’m not necessarily saying st Lawrence isn’t nice, but I have been to Canton and it’s so rural. I personally didn’t like it, but you need to make the choice for you.
I personally love UVM a and I think it may be your best bet. You need to tour both and decide which you feel most at home at.
With respect to ultimate attendance at highly regarded MBA programs, College Transitions listed the below colleges with this introduction:
Amherst
Bates
Claremont McKenna
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Duke
Georgetown
Hamilton
Harvard Middlebury
Northwestern
Pomona
Stanford
Chicago
Michigan
Penn
USC
Yale
Yeshiva
I would listen to what your parents are saying about the finances. If they say they can afford Middlebury and you like it best, go to it. As a parent who is able to be full pay with the 529, our savings, and eventually a home equity loan, it was important to me that my son go to the college that was the best fit for him. At one point when he was talking about wondering if he should save us money, we were very adamant in our reply that we had worked and saved all our lives to be able to send him wherever he might want to go, and that it would negate that effort if he chose his college by price.
He now is at a college similar to Middlebury, and it is worth every penny to us. He is thriving in that intellectual environment with brilliant peers. Comparing his experiences over December and March breaks with those of some of his friends who went to different types of colleges, there is no doubt in his mind that his is the best college experience for him personally. It seems like a different world from some of those other colleges. Although one can go on to do great things from any of your choices- it is the person more than their college that determines one’s success in life- Middlebury will be a great experience not only for its superior reputation but also for the learning experience it will provide both in and out of the classroom. The “long term benefits” will include how you think and write, and how you view and contribute to the world— even more than how much money you will make.
If the fit for you is better at UVM or St. Lawrence, then go to the best fit college for you personally, and you will thrive. Those are very good colleges, too. Middlebury is not the best college for everybody; some would enjoy another college more. But if you are a “life of the mind” type of person yearning for a school like Middlebury, and your parents say it is manageable, you should take the opportunity to go there.
I agree that “find a way to finance it” is not a desirable strategy. If the money were sitting in an account waiting to be used for college, and the parents are fully funded for retirement, then sure, full pay at Midd makes perfect sense. But parental loans or borrowing from retirement accounts etc. to fund Midd vs. no debt for St L or VT Honors does not sound advisable. St L for a motivated student could be a terrific experience, I believe there is a semester in NYC for Econ majors with the ability to intern in finance. VT honors would also be a good option. Research career outcomes at St L and VT, ask Admissions for people to talk with in Career Services to get more specifics about interning, alumni networks etc.
It really depends on how burdensome is the tuition. Otherwise Midd is the clear choice. Nothing against UVM or St. Lawrence but it is in a different league and it is known for its econ dept.
UVM is a great school but its reputation is not on par with that of Middlebury. Middlebury also provides a different experience with smaller classes and more contact with professors. My daughter attends another highly competitive LAC and discovered the benefits of small classes when she needed recommendations for summer internships. Her professors knew her well and were consequently able to write strong recommendations. Her interviewer commented on both the recommendations and the reputation of her school.
If it can be reasonably afforded, a diploma from a school like Middlebury (and the network you will develop) is an investment.
Middlebury is an elite LAC that, along with Northeastern peer schools like Williams and Amherst, sends many of grads into prestigious jobs in banking and consulting. Such jobs, in turn, provide a significant boost to an applicant’s chances of being accepted into a top MBA program (which, again, opens doors to lucrative career options).
Of course, smart and hard-working grads of all sorts of colleges manage to make it into finance jobs and strong MBA programs, so opting against Middlebury would by no means close off your intended career path–thought it might make that path a bit tougher.
In any case, how the potential career (and earnings) boost that Middlbury might provide should be balanced against the school’s much higher up-front cost is a calculation that only your and your family can make. Good luck!
Can we come back to the OP’s description that parents would try to “find a way to finance it?” This does not sound like a situation where there is $300k just waiting to be spent on college.
If parents are borrowing, raiding retirement, taking home equity loan etc. to fund Midd – then that is not desirable and St L and VT Honors are great options.
You should not take on large Plus type loans for Econ at Midd vs UVM imho.
Yes midd is exceptional.
If the price was close or required work study etc. of course Midd would be my choice.
However, unless someone else offers to write these checks for your family, please feel free to the downplay the prestige factor. It’s like a fever. Don’t get caught up in it.
Because the fever will break one day, usually a year or two out of college when the bills start to roll in.
Seriously. UVM and Burlington is both really fun and a beautiful place to live. You can get an exceptional education there. Students make their opportunities in life, the school is vehicle. Get involved. Work hard. Make a difference. You’ll be very happy there and that’s the real gift.
SLU is great too. But far too remote for me.
-Midd is elite.
-UVM is excellent.
-Debt and loans are not elite
-Money for grad school and or for your parent’s retirement, priceless.
Regarding financial aspects, you can look at your potential choices by early career salaries. Middlebury and St. Lawrence fall closely to each other, with a bit of a gap to UVM: