Is it possible to graduate within three years at Middlebury (specifically with an IPEC major which requires a study abroad program)? I want to save my parents a year of tuition if it’s possible.
Unlike at many other colleges, each class counts as a single credit at Middlebury, and you need 36 credits to graduate. That means you’d need to rearrange 9 credits to graduate in 3 years.
From the college handbook:
So your first year, you will have a maximum of 9 credits. Your second and third years, you will have a maximum of 11 credits. That adds up to 31 credits. You’d need to make up the remaining 5 credits by taking approved classes during the summer (most likely at another college).
Keep in mind that the workload with 4 courses is pretty heavy. With 5, it would be extremely difficult, especially for four consecutive fall and spring semesters. You’d need to check with your advisor to make sure they’d even let you do this.
You can come in with some AP/IB credit. There is a limit as to how many credits can go towards graduation/degree (5), and none of those credits count toward distribution requirements. But they are credit nonetheless and can at least help a student jump into higher level classes. As mentioned above, even if doable, it would be pretty intense to try to go through in three years.
I know students who graduated in 3.5 years, however, doing so was stressful.
I also have a friend who took 5 years to graduate.
He wasn’t stressed about being on the 5 year plan but his full-pay parents certainly were. 
My daughter was eligible to graduate from Vassar after 3.5 years without too much difficulty, but the distribution requirements aren’t comparable Midd. Unfortunately, and much to the detriment of my checking account, she opted not to graduate early.
I have no personal experience with Middlebury but have visited more than once with prospective students. It does not strike me as a grind-it-out kind of place. To have the chance to live and learn in such a beautiful, academically rigorous place is a tremendous opportunity that many students probably wish would go beyond four years. Very generous of the OP to think about his parents’ purse, but maybe his parents need to think carefully about the college experience they want their kid to have.
Save your parents money by studying abroad a year? Tuition costs are like nil, especially at places like the University of Munich or Rennes in France. This way you don’t have to stress out at Middlebury by taking more than 4 classes every semester.
@International95 while you may save a little bit of money while studying abroad, the general cost will still be closer to 50k than 0. Generally you will be paying a lot of fees for study abroad program costs.
That isn’t true. Studying at Edinburgh for a year, for instance, costs only $30k. Studying a year abroad at Rennes in France or in Munich costs only room & board. If $30k or $45k, or whatever it turns out to be, is chump change to you, then oh well. I mean, if you go through an expensive program, where AMERICANS do expensive handholding for you, of course the costs will be expensive. Sarah Lawrence’s study abroad programs are probably the most expensive ones out there.
Sure, you can go study in Rennes for a year, and pay very little-- but there is no guarantee that Middlebury will accept those credits. Every person who studies abroad at Middlebury will go through a program, nobody directly enrolls. Many people go through Middleburg’s own programs, and when you go through Middlebury’s programs, your financial aid will transfer, which is great, but also means you will be more or less paying the same as you always do.
Studying abroad is a very enriching experience that Middlebury certainly encourages, but it’s not a means of saving tuition money.
I think you’re asking a lot to both study abroad AND graduate in three years. You’d be on campus a grand total of four semesters.
Wesleyan has graduated its first heavily promoted contingent of three year degree seekers. But, Wesleyan is a little bit different from Middlebury; it only requires 32 credits to graduate:
http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2015/06/05/chronicle3yeardegree/
The semester during which you go abroad you would not be able to get more credits than you would at Middlebury. If you go abroad for fall or spring you will get 4 credits. If you’re abroad during J-term as well you could probably get a 5th credit. This would mean that if you go in with 5 ap credits, inorder to hit 36 after 3 years you would need to take 5 classes starting freshmen spring. The fifth class during freshmen spring definitely can be done; all you need to do is go to your dean and convince him that you have reason to do and will be able to (also having a plan of which class you would drop if it proves overwhelming helps convince them).
Going abroad during the summer would be a great option to relieve academic pressure but it might not allow you to sufficiently network.