<p>Im a current Midd student. I remember wanting to know more about the social life at the schools I was choosing between and not having a whole lot of resources. Almost 2,000 people clicked on that other social life thread and I have a feeling they weren't satisfied either. Midd has plenty of options for people seeking non-alcoholic weekend plans; so if you dont drink dont let this post make you anxious. Personally, I wanted to know more about parties. I was worried about a small rural schools nightlife. So here it is</p>
<p>Saturday nights are the biggest nights on campus. Fridays can be questionable, but if you dig enough you can usually find something. Thursdays are big bar nights for the seniors and a certain social house throws parties. Wednesdays are host to beerpong tournaments. During J-term, all rules go out the window and you can find a party most nights. If you are going out, you typically pre-game with your friends in the dorm until at least 11. Parties dont pick up until around or after then. Then you go to your destination. In general you cannot guarantee alcohol at a destination, which is why pregames are so big. On almost any Saturday night, you essentially have three main destination options: social houses, Atwater suites, and dorm parties.</p>
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<li><p>The social houses parties take place in the big open basements of the large houses. They are usually open to anyone, unless its a specific date-type event. Sometimes they serve beer, but not always. </p></li>
<li><p>Atwater suites are apartment-style senior housing. Generally, you walk to the area and follow the lights and music until you find the party. Parties in Atwater are almost always thrown by various sports teams that live in the suite. This is where you get more of the frat-like scene, with dark, cramped, sweaty rooms full of dancing bodies. </p></li>
<li><p>Dorm parties are my personal favorite. Theyre rare freshman year because freshmen do not have suites and therefore have less room. But these are the parties where you get to actually talk to and meet new people, as opposed to faceless dark Atwater parties. These differ a bit from the other two in that you cant just walk into one unless you know somebody there.</p></li>
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<p>And thats pretty much it. Overall, this school will not live up to Im shmacked videos or the preconceived idea of what a college parties look likewere too small for that. However, there are options and you will have a hell of a good four years at a small that offers so so much academically. Feel free to ask questions.</p>
<p>First off all, thank you for this!! What do students do outside of the Middlebury? I’m aware of the isolated area, but where are common, I guess, road trip destinations? Places people go outside of Middlebury to have fun. According to other websites (that would be blocked if I typed their name), there isn’t much of a dating scene, it’s just hook-ups. Is that true?</p>
<p>Burlington is a pretty common weekend destination and is the most accessible place without a car (buses run twice daily straight to Church Street for a few bucks). On long weekends and during J-term, Montreal is pretty popular. During the winter people will sometimes take trips to ski at bigger mountains. When the weather is nice, it is very very common to go somewhere to hike, go to Lake Dunmore (a nearby lake), or to a swimming hole. The spring is a really incredible time at Middlebury.</p>
<p>The dating scene is all about how you handle it. You can’t expect to date someone you made out with drunk at an Atwater party, but plenty of people are interested in dating. I know a lot of couples and I actually ended up dating someone that started out as a hook-up. I think one of the biggest things keeping people from dating at midd is that so many people go abroad. Even if you meet somebody before your junior year, it’s hard not to think “well I won’t see them for a semester/year/more, so maybe we shouldn’t get serious”.</p>
<p>To what degree is the social scene centered around sports teams? I’ve heard at some small colleges it can be hard to make friends/get invited to parties unless you’re on a team, is that what it’s like at midd?</p>
<p>One of the great things about Midd is that it is very well integrated. It’s not unusual to see the football quarterback or lacrosse goalie at an art opening (or having an art opening) on Friday night. There seems to be a lot of mixing among social groups. This, in fact, is a large aspect of your education at Middlebury - exposing you to things you wouldn’t otherwise know.</p>
<p>For parties, it’s really not an issue. Usually the sports team parties start off by being a team-only pregame event that opens up to the whole campus later. Sometimes there are date-only events or mixers with another team, but they rarely happen during the team’s season and it’s not hard to find something else.</p>
<p>That being said, there will undoubtedly be times that you feel the athlete presence. Because the school is small and the number of teams high, we have a high percentage of athletes. You see them in the dining halls and they live on the same floor as you- they’re around. But they’re just as friendly as non-athletes, and they won’t value a friendship based on whether or not you play a sport. Their networks cross with each others’ so they may know more people than you do, but this doesn’t matter at the end of the day when you go back to your group of friends; you will have athlete and non-athlete friends that envy each other for different reasons.</p>
<p>There are many club sports, and lots of participation. Water polo and sailing have won local and even national recognition. Plus,it’s easy to participate-show up!</p>