What are some pros and cons about going to Middlebury College?
I consider the location a con.
Why is that?
Very remote campus, miles from the interstate. We were there in good weather and it still seemed so far away from everything. I can’t imagine going there to pick up a student or worse than that, having them drive home from there in snow season. On the other hand, there is the mountain right there so if skiing is your thing…
Pros: Beautiful campus, quality education, good reputation, particularly in New England, environmentally friendly, cute little town with some friendly people and a couple good dining spots, great student center, Brattleboro not too far away, access to nature for hiking, skiing, etc.
Cons: A bit isolated, little to no transportation options, homogeneous, a little too preppy/jocky for my liking, drinking culture due to isolation.
We have a graduating senior and a hopeful ED applying son and we could not have been more pleased with the school on every level
Campus is beautiful, athletic facilities amazing
Education is top notch, and school reputation along with campus recruitment helped my son obtain an offer this week for a position upon graduation in May in New York
Personally, the way the campus is situated allows for the students to become very close knit and form very tight friendships
Burlington is a short drive away
We are from New Jersey and visiting or my son driving home on breaks has never been a problem
Best of luck in your college search
@NEPatsGirl You want it to be closer to the interstate? There’s essentially one interstate in all of VT. Can you imagine if that ran through the town of Middlebury? It would look horrible and destroy this quintessential New England College Town. I’m a bit confused by your comment that you were there in good weather but it still seemed far away from everything? How does the weather impact proximity? To each her own.
It may interest some of you to know that Vermont recently was awarded a $10 million U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant to extend passenger rail service from New York City to Burlington, and included in the project is a new Amtrak rail station in Middlebury. Once the track improvements are made and the station platform is built, Middlebury students will be able to take the Ethan Allen Express all the way to NYC, and also will be able to take the train to Burlington. Exciting news!
It seemed to me that both Burlington (our starting point) and the closest point on the interstate were at least an hour away (with clear roads and no traffic). IMHO, that is remote.
@urbanslaughter, weather of course does not impact the actual proximity in miles but it can certainly make the trip a lot slower in ice and snow. And no, of course not, I wouldn’t want an interstate running through the town, but 15 miles away rather than 40 or 50 miles away would make it much more accessible. And yes, to each her own, this was a conversation based on OPINION on the pros and cons to which I believe the location is a con, maybe you don’t, but I don’t see you answering the OP’s question. FWIW my D applied there because she liked it but I made it clear that I wouldn’t be making the trek there for short weekend trips and thought it might be difficult for her to get home as well on her own, again, especially in winter weather.
Don’t go there if you don’t like snow, or winter. Save the spot for someone who will be thrilled with the gorgeous, location. For my family, the location was a big pro. We always enjoyed the beautiful scenery in Vermont, even tho we couldn’t drive on an interstate, and we drove the 300 miles from our home 5-8 times a year. We love to hike, ski and go to farmer’s markets. Shopping at the mall, not so much, but Burlington is nearby if you need a fix.
As for the comments of Doschicos, don’t think that poster actually attended, so I’d go on the posts of actual students(and their parents). Midd isn’t an uber-party school, and the “drinking culture” is less than at many of the other NESCACs and Ivies. Students generally give the Midd experience high marks for the friendliness of the students and the fact it is easy to get involved in more meaningful outlets for one’s free time.
Small liberal arts school where the classes are generally very small, so the professors know every single student in the class. That’s a huge plus, esp. when it comes time to finding mentors/advisors or people who genuinely know you, who can write a dynamite reference letter for you whenever to wherever that might be. And the atmosphere is tolerance, helpfulness, and collaborative, all with a smile. Small college in a small postcard-type New England town helps build community. And J-term is great.
@OldbatesieDoc okay thank you. How do/did you like the school academically? And was it an easy school for you to get into, or more of a reach? I’m just wondering what it will take for me to get in, thank you!
“As for the comments of Doschicos, don’t think that poster actually attended, so I’d go on the posts of actual students” (#9)
“Beautiful campus, quality education, good reputation . . . environmentally friendly, cute little town with some friendly people . . . great student center . . . access to . . . hiking, skiing.” (#4)
So Middlebury doesn’t offer any of these qualities? Too bad.
@IvyLeaguer225 , my daughter is a freshman at Middlebury and has had a phenomenal first few months so far. She loves her classes, has had no problems making friends- lots of interesting people- she is surprised by how quickly she has developed very close friendships in such a short period of time. Middlebury is a very happy campus with varying parts dynamic, intellectual, laid back, intense, sporty, traditional, outdoorsy, international, sometimes even nerdy vibes… the list goes on… Seems like Middkids are adept at navigating the waves of intense academics with periods of fun and adventure.
The party scene is there for sure but my daughter feels like it is easy to have fun without going to big parties or to go but not feel pressure to drink excessively etc. Just like at any other LAC/college/university, it really is up to the student as to how they navigate the social scene. BTW she does not play sports but is an avid hiker, backpacker, skier, etc.
Taken in context of our family’s short relationship with the school so far:
PROS:
*strong academics, close community, friendly student body, attentive administration
*lots of academic choices, can always find an interesting class to take if a first choice is full
*gorgeous campus, exceptional facilities, gorgeous location in quaint Vermont village
*great outdoor opportunities, fantastic food
*lots of resources for students… for internships, travel abroad, health/wellbeing, career etc; strong alumni network
CONS:
*her freshman dorm (Battell) is the worst facility on campus (but misery loves company and the 200+ freshman in Battell bond over their shared experience!)
*can be difficult to get into the popular intro classes like art history, bio, env science… if you don’t get in right away just have to be proactive and seek out the professors to show your interest and they will try to accommodate you
*not a great place to be if you don’t like winter… they are cold and deep…
Best of luck to you on your college search!
@lr4550 (or anyone else) - can you elaborate on the fantastic food comment? I’ve heard some very poor reviews.
Couple things…
*Most of the rotating “hot” meals are quite good and there are multiple choices regarding hot dishes. D feels like the options that are always available (salad bar, sandwich bar, panini maker etc.) work well if you don’t like the hot choices. Of course some meals are better than others, and some meals can get boring, but overall she is really happy with the quality and the choices.
*Lots of ingredients are sourced locally when possible (in season) including produce from Midd’s organic farm
*They have two main dining halls that serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A third dining hall is open for breakfast and lunch, and occasionally special dinners. It is on its own menu system so lots of kids choose to go there when they serve a popular dish.
*Dining staff is happy to make recipes that kids bring from home 
*Unlike many peer schools, Midd doesn’t have a meal plan which means there are no points or swipes per meal. The dining halls are open all day and kids can come and go on their own schedule as many times as they want. Some kids even like to meet and study in the dining halls.
My 2 sons attended Midd, one as a recruited athlete, the other was admitted off the wait list…You can see my other posts if you’d like to read some drama with pointers.They both had top 5% GPAs and did the IB program at our NYS public school. SATs were well over 700 for wait-list boy, ACT 31 for our athlete.They both had won awards and did many other activities. It’s not easy to get in.
One son lived in Battell his first year-known as “the projects”. Main complaint other than the ugliness was there aren’t enough showers and no laundry in the building. He was the athlete. tho so used to shower at the gym. My older son was a Feb, so he had a fabulous room and “felt like I am living in a luxury hotel”. (Forrest,attached to a dining hall so can actually eat in your jammies)
Neither are big partiers, or teetolalers. They had lots of friends and fun. They didn’t leave campus much, except to ski. One was very political, the other played sports. Both did intramural sports.
My husband is a college professor and he gave my kids the advise that to get in a class you can’t enroll in, just attend it. After you’ve been there twice, looking interested and paying attention, tell the prof your sad story. He’s never turned a student down who did that-and someone always drops! It worked for our sons. One professor would schedule a popular class at a dreadful time in a remote location, then move it after a week to avoid those less than fully committed from signing up.
The open meal plan is a big advantage because then faculty meet and eat with students, and you can go in and out with friends for snacks or coffee.It’s more social. We ate there on many occasions and the food was good-lots of variety, a big salad bar, and several panini machines.Both boys felt that for institutional food, it was good, and they had their favorite meals. Sunday brunch was a big one.
Choosing between NESCAC schools is really splitting hairs-you are lucky to get into and attend any one of them, IMHO, but if you like foreign languages, environmentalism, or skiing, Midd is the best of them for those. My older son used to ski in winter before class a few days a week, and the student pass is cheap.
The alumni network is very valuable.Older son majored in Econ and Poli Sci and got a great job right out of school with his Midd connections. All his friends have gotten jobs in their fields, or are in grad school.Second son has also been working in his field overseas. Both are able to support themselves and pay their loans, so we feel the investment was worth it. Many of their friends from HS who attended state schools are back living at home looking for jobs. It was a valuable education which gave them the skills and connections they needed to move forward in this complicated society of ours.
Good luck!
@CHD2013 I’m also going to say that of the MANY schools my daughter toured… and thus the many dining halls we checked out for lunch while visiting… some schools really stood out regarding quality of food. Granted this report is based on the typical fly-by-for-one-day only lunch stop. But in particular Tufts and Bates were the best. All the schools catered by Bon Appetit were excellent. Bowdoin was certainly good but didn’t stand out as much as Bates and Tufts. By far the worst meal we had was at Denver University. Definitely room for improvement there!!
I’m really glad to get his feedback because its inconsistent with my family’s experience. Here’s some family rankings from about 10 college visits.
- Bowdoin
- Yale
- Bates
- Tufts
- Midd
Based on all the feedback, Midd clearly will deserves another chance
On another website that assigns grades based on student’s reviews (which cannot be linked to at CC), Middlebury’s food gets an A+.
A couple of other links to check out:
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/09/25/best-colleges-for-food-in-america/
http://www.collegemagazine.com/cms-top-10-college-dining-halls/