<p>Refer to above.</p>
<p>A big factor for my son would be location and aesthetics (he would tend to choose Middlebury, I think). One is city…one is most definitely rural. Both excellent schools. If you are an athlete, Middlebury is stronger across the board. Sorry I can’t offer more as I am not familiar with their program of studies. I think Middlebury might be the tougher of the two to get into.</p>
<p>You have to think through: 1) LAC vs. mid-sized school and 2) urban/suburban vs. rural before this can be answered, but maybe my daughter’s experience will help. She was concerned about access to a City but finds now that she is at Middlebury that her life is really on the campus and it matters less than she thought. On the LAC issue, Middlebury is one of the larger LAC’s (2400 students rather than the usual 1800) and I think that makes a difference. Still, classes are small and you will not have graduate students handling sections which might be slightly different at Tufts. Middlebury has amazing language departments but is also increasingly known as a good place for science, especially environmental science. If you care about U.S. News rankings, it is difficult to compare the college and university rankings, but Middlebury moved up to #4 this year among colleges and Tufts (although it may be unfair) is 27 or so on the University list. Stay overnight with someone at a mid-sized school and an LAC to compare if possible.</p>
<p>campus bubble vs. life spent off-campus.</p>