Hey guys! I was just wondering if anybody knew what schools are the same academic wise to Middlebury. Is Middlebury considered to be on par with the ivies? Also, how is the investment banking recruiting on campus? How intellectual are the kids here? Thanks
I think Midd is on par with Ivies but most people don’t, simply because it has much less name recognition and a higher acceptance rate. Academic wise, Amherst, Williams, Pomona, and Swarthmore (along with plenty of others) are on the same level. Other questions I can’t really answer.
Yeah, Middlebury is definitely an academic peer to all the top 10 LACs and probably will have better academics than many of the Ivies due to the intimate undergrad focus and no teaching by graduate students. I think Williams and Amherst are known as the top investment banking LACs, but Middlebury is right up there- probably 3rd among all LACs. They’re considered a target school, which is important for investment banking careers as those employers only tend to hire from target schools. The alumni network is quite strong as are their career services. I wouldn’t say there’s an outward intellectual vibe like Swarthmore, but you can find pockets of it, and Middlebury students are bright, dedicated, politically involved, and care about their academics. They come across as really well-rounded to me. Middlebury is definitely one of the best undergraduate experiences in the country 
By the academic preparation of their students, Middlebury would fall within the top 50 compared to all schools nationally:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-smartest-colleges-in-america-2016-10
In terms of LACs, this statistical factor, regarded in isolation, would place Middlebury between Reed and Colgate.
Middlebury is a top 25 school in the country.
As far as investment banking goes - Middlebury is among the best in the country among all schools, including National Research Universities. According to a LinkedIn study, Middlebury is behind only Amherst and Wellesley in IB placement among LACs and places in the top 20 of all schools. Yeah, it’s pretty good.