I was honored to get accepted to both of these schools for the Class of 2022. I have decided that these two are my top choices, however, I am unsure of what to choose.
Some things to know:
-I’m a senior from NYC who wants a different environment
-I’m planning to major in Spanish, but also want a school where I can get assistance to go to med school .
-Prestige does not matter.
-I will be visitng both schools next weeks.
Some comments:
-My main concern is fitting in. I’m Latino and I have heard that Middlebury has a “preppy” and “elite-boarding school” vibe to it. Is this true? But then, Middlebury has a great program for language. Should I choose Wesleyan instead?
Your post in general suggests Wesleyan might be the better choice. Regarding Spanish, Wesleyan offers its own abroad program in Madrid, which might serve to indicate the strength of its program overall.
“I’m Latino and I have heard that Middlebury has a “preppy” and “elite-boarding school” vibe to it. Is this true?”
IMO, yes, especially compared to Wesleyan. I’m glad you are visiting both and I think that will help you make your pick. Congrats on getting in to 2 excellent colleges.
What a wonderful choice you have! I don’t think you can go wrong here. They both share the best characteristics of top small liberal arts colleges. Visiting both should help you decide which “feels” best to you.
Our family visited and loved both colleges.
I did not feel an elitist vibe to Midd. And I give Midd credit for this— of all the colleges we visited, Midd seemed the most socially integrated in daily life. At both meals we ate on campus, the dining room tables had an interesting mix of students of different races, and of people in athletic uniforms and people cross-dressed and people nerdsy looking, eating at the same table and talking to one another and having a great time. At other schools, there might be a table with a lot of black students and another with a lot of Asian students and another with a lot of sports team members. To us, it looked like students at Midd can really get to know and become good friends with students from different backgrounds from themselves.
The two schools do “feel” different. It is great that you will be visiting both. That should help you decide. If you do not like your student host for any reason, be sure to interact with some other students so that you get a real sense of each school. And you also might reach out to the president of any Latino student organization to ask some of your questions.
Good luck and congratulations on having such fantastic options!
I suspect it will come down to which looks better against a snowy backdrop, Middlebury’s white limestone or Wesleyan’s eclectic mix of brown and red-brick?
I haven’t been to Middlebury, but having spent a lot of time learning about both schools over the years, and having visited Wesleyan, I prefer what I know about Wes. I only say that because if I had known about Wes back in the day, it would have been one of my dream schools. I like that it has a creative media vibe. A lot of talent has come from Wes. I really like Middletown. I like the eclectic mix of buildings. I also like that it’s no slouch in academics either. Both schools have a strong reputation, both will put you on a good track for med school. Both will have strong offerings in Spanish, though Mid reigns supreme in terms of broad FL offerings. My thought is that if vibe matters to you, the vibe at Wes is going to be more arty than the vibe at Middlebury.
P.S. There’s an AMAZING ziplining water park about 10 minutes from Wes. Brownstone Park, a former quarry. That alone makes it worth going there!