<p>Hello, I am a senior in HS from Texas and am considering Middlebury as an option for next year.
My only question is, what are the people like in general? The social life? I have read on previous forums that it can get cliquey, and I am trying to avoid attending a school that has a strongly visible "hierarchy" based on factors including money, looks, etc. Cliques and friend groups are inevitable at most schools, so I guess my question is how do the people treat each other? Are they friendly? Open to making new friends? Outgoing? Do you think a shy introvert would get lost in the shuffle?? I would plan on joining a social house, if that makes a difference. If anyone has insight on the "reputations" of these, that would be greatly appreciated. *NOT because I want to social climb up to the top, just so I'd know what to expect and could go from there.
ALSO- do lots of students know each other before they even begin freshman year? I really just want to avoid another 4 years of high school.</p>
<p>I don’t think you can join a social house your first semester, you might be able to second semester but that’s definitely a new thing. Very few people on campus are part of social houses, even though they host a lot of the party life. KDR is the “minority” house, Xenia is the sub free one, the Mill is the hipster one, Tavern doesn’t really have a unique characteristic. ADP was recently disbanded but I’m sure it’ll pop up in some incarnation, the football bro house. </p>
<p>In terms of social scene, there are some ways that Midd is probably different than other LACs. People care less about clothes than at other schools, based on what I understand, but I mean we’re in Vermont and you can’t get that fashionable when it’s 5 degrees outside. People who dress up are very noticeable among the mass of Northfaces and L.L. Bean boots. Pretty large international population, and they compose much of the diversity on campus (which is not huge). A lot of people who are really into the environment and divestment from fossil fuel companies. Certainly a lot of people who are very wealthy and they do tend to hang together, but nobody is that ostentatious. There isn’t really much of a hierarchy, most people are pretty friendly. Most people will not know each other before entering, except for the Posse kids (leadership program in NYC and Chicago that ends up being the source of most black/hispanic American students on campus) and that’s like 30 people. The party scene is open, anyone can go (if you know about it of course), even freshmen boys which is not necessarily a reality on other campuses. </p>
<p>All in all, Middlebury can be cliquey, but I wouldn’t say more so than any other place. People are smart, passionate, interested in a variety of subjects, and generally pretty friendly.</p>
<p>I wish that I had asked some questions about the social houses when my daughter and I were at Midd for a tour/info. session last month. Maybe a current or recent Midd student can help me out.</p>
<p>How many social houses are there and what percent of the students belong?
Are they part of or separate from the commons system?
I’m assuming that they are not exclusive and not gender specific, otherwise they would just be fraternities by a different name (I belonged to a fraternity at Midd in the 1980s). Is this correct?</p>
<p>It’s interesting to hear that The Mill is a social house; that building used to be my fraternity.</p>
<p>Only 4 social houses, the 5th was disbanded last year. I’ve seen somewhere on this board that only 7% are part, sounds about right. Separate from commons system, it’s like separate interest housing. You can also live in a social house without being part of one, because they need to fill their beds. They are indeed coed.</p>
<p>Interesting. Are they exclusive? Can anyone join whichever one they want? Do the current members have a say in who joins? Why was one recently disbanded?</p>
<p>I also think it’s interesting that one of the social houses is called KDR, which was one of the six fraternities when I was a student. And I thought Midd got rid of fraternities!</p>
<p>None has national affiliations; they could not retain their ties and be co-educational — none of the nationals would permit that. KDR, perhaps because it was the alpha chapter, was allowed to retain its name, though it has no official ties to the national and is co-ed.</p>
<p>One was disbanded because it had major violations (major and repeated dorm damage, didn’t follow rules for open membership, and some other things) and had just come off a long suspension four or so years ago.</p>