<p>Is going to Midd a good idea for somebody whose in a minority (i'm indian-floridian).
Cause I've heard mixed things about it... do any of you encounter any sort of social separation between minorities and the "rich preppy kids" at Midd?</p>
<p>if you get a full scholarship and have no other choice i suppose... </p>
<p>i've heard mixed things as well, but it was either bad or worse. It's easy to get diversity % from all of the top colleges as those figures are proudly displayed when they describe their colleges, but at middlebury?... it's like pulling teeth to find the %. those stats aren't listed anywhere i could find. even googling, it was difficult to find the break down. Eventually, I did find the answer. While all of the top colleges, (swarthmore, williams, amherst, wellesley, haverford, bowdoin, wesleyan, smith, pomona...) have minority % 28-40%, middlebury is still 17-19%! and that's with an acceptance rate for under-represented minority students at 60-70%! the other colleges, have acceptance rates in the 40-50% range. however, numbers really don't describe the intergration on campus, so you should read about the experience of several african american students at middlebury last year (in the village voice in particular). really unfortunate. one described his experience as a "lynching" which is a term i'm sure is only carefully used. also, only 39% of middlebury students receive financial aid! while middlebury ranks in the middle of the group of top colleges in terms of endowment per student, other comparable colleges with similar endowments like bowdoin, smith and haverford are much more generous with aid (46-50% students get aid).</p>
<p>the good news is that middlebury seems to realize now that it needs to leave behing the culture of the 1950's and is planning IN THE FUTURE to obtain more endowment to catch up to its peers in terms of financial aid and diversity but, as those other colleges are ramping up their endowments as well, middlebury will still be the last in this regard.</p>
<p>Uncle, I think those those minority numbers may be slightly outdated. Here are the statistics for the class of 2009 according to the college board.</p>
<p>60% White/Non-Hispanic
1% American Indian/Alaskan Native
10% Asian/Pacific Islander
4% Black/Non-Hispanic
8% Hispanic
13% Non-Resident Alien
5% Race/ethnicity unreported</p>
<p>This puts Midd first year students at 22% minority exluding Internationals and 35% including internationals</p>
<p>Certainly less diverse than the leaders:</p>
<p>Swarthmore 36% and 43%
Pomona 36% and 39%
Williams 31% and 37%</p>
<p>Not all that significantly different from:
Carleton 24% and 29%
Bowdoin 28% and 30%
Haverford 29% and 33%
Wesleyan 29% and 34%
Amherst 26% and 33%</p>
<p>And considerably moree diverse than some other competitors
Washington and Lee 8% and 11%
Bates 9% and 13%
Colby 11% and 17%
Davidson 13% and 16%
Colgate 15% and 20%
Hamilton 17% and 22%</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Midd (along with many of the above schools) does still have reputation for being an enclave of rich, white preppy kids. Attracting minorities to the farmlands of Northern Vermont (a state that is 97% white!) has long proven to be a challenge for Midd. But it seems that in recent years things have at least begun to change for the better. </p>
<p>In addition, according to the Princeton Review 42% (not 39%) of the student body receives financial aid. This same Percentage is also applies to the student body at Yale. Regardless, this means 58% of the students at Midd come from families that can afford a 160,000 dollar eduation for their children.</p>
<h2>thanks for your very nice and detailed reply. in reading my post again, i didn't mean to sound so mean. midd is great academically but i think it does have significant issues with both financial and racial diversity. also, i pulled this from a link that someone else posted about the new campaign... it says "39%"</h2>
<p>The plan calls for reducing the amount of financial aid loans in favor of grant packages as a way to ease student debt after they graduate.</p>
<p>The new financial aid plan is seen as a way to attract different kinds of students, said college Dean of Planning John Emerson.</p>
<p>"I'm very proud of the plan," Emerson said. "I'm optimistic that as a community we will implement it over the next 10 years and that we can make it work."</p>
<p>Currently 39 percent of Middlebury students need financial aid. Total costs for next year will be $44,330.</p>
<p>Over the next decade an additional 25 faculty members will be hired, an increase of 10 percent.</p>
<p>The plan will cost Middlebury $392 million over the next decade.</p>
<p>The college's last strategic plan was finalized in 1992 and focused on capital construction. Among other projects, that plan led to the construction of the college's new $40 million library.</p>
<p>A fundraising campaign for the new project will probably begin in the fall of 2007, Emerson said.</p>
<p>hmm...I I guess Middlebury's own strategic plan is a much more reliable source than the Princeton Review. Regardless, I would agree that whether at 39% or 42% on financial aid, Midd definitely does need greater economic diversity.</p>
<p>i wouldn't listen to a thing that fur uncle says. check out this ad hominem comment that fur uncle made on another thread:</p>
<p>"oh... never mind, i see that you go to middlebury which seems to be the last stop on the dartmouth, williams and amherst train for wealthy white kids..."</p>
<p>this kid talks about wanting to go to Bowdoin, which has, by most measures, the most similar socio-economic and diversity measures to Middlebury than almost any other school.</p>
<p>"The plan calls for reducing the amount of financial aid loans in favor of grant packages as a way to ease student debt after they graduate."</p>
<p>This part of the plan is aimed at students in the $110-$160k income bracket who are often lured away by offers of merit aid at competing schools. While others may also benefit, this is who it is aimed at at Princeton, and at Williams, and now at Middlebury. It's a heck of a lot cheaper to offer five $5,000/year scholarships to $110-$160k students in lieu of loans than to offer a full-ride to a single Pell Grant recipient. More than that, if you get the five, they actually PAY the rest of the bill.</p>
<p>where did you see this info, mini?</p>
<p>yeah... i regret being a tool in that other thread. it was interesting to see my one comment (that i only partially believe) then produce 3 pages of fast and furious fighting that really had nothing to do with my comment at all and nothing to do about the thread topic. being a troll can be a guilty pleasure. however, this thread was started by someone who had a question about minority student issues at midd and i was stating the facts.</p>
<p>-there is something disturbing about midd only having 20-22% minority students. williamstown and hanover aren't diverse either but still do a decent job with recruitment... i feel cause they really try. what does it say about the administration here that they are only putting diversity (racial and economic) as a priority now?</p>
<p>-39% of students get financial aid. i didn't make that up. while for decades midd has financed winning football and hockey teams, it has decided to not spend the cash so that qualified applicants who are poor can attend. what does that say about priorities and the culture of the place?</p>
<p>-i would never dream about making up the experience of those URM midd students that i read about in the village voice. with so many midd students talking up their school on cc, why am i the 1st person to mention it here on this site? am i the only person who finds those articles disturbing and worth discussing? do white students at midd just not care enough to even recognize those events?</p>
<p>"why am i the 1st person to mention it here on this site? am i the only person who finds those articles disturbing and worth discussing? do white students at midd just not care enough to even recognize those events?"</p>
<p>You know, this site has a search function. It's up at the top.</p>
<p>ooops... my bad. in my defense, the search under "forum" came back zilch... all the discussions was on the parents forum.</p>