I was hesitant to go on campus visits but gave in because the people around me thought it was important. I just visited Yale, and though I learned a lot about I what I want in a college, I feel like it wasn’t as helpful as I thought it would be. The information session gave a lot of basic information that was included in their pamphlet, and we didn’t get to see the inside of the buildings during the tour except for one, so I didn’t get as much of a feel for student life there. After that we ate at a restaurant and had to leave shortly after because of parking issues and impending traffic, so we didn’t have much time to explore.
I’m planning on visiting Middlebury. The trip is five hours (if there isn’t issues with traffic…) I want to make sure this visit counts. So what do you guys suggest? Is the information session worth it if I’m going to read up as much as I can on Middlebury anyway? Should I go on a tour, or should we do a self-guided one (if we can) and if so, where should we go?
You should tour any college that you are serious about applying to and potentially attending. Five hours is not a long time when you are talking about the next four years of your life.
I meant the drive there will be five hours! We’ll stay at the college as long as possible for the day, but it depends on what time we can get there. That’s why I’m concerned about making the best of my visit there.
I planned on touring my top two colleges this summer, and if I get rejected from them/ am still not sure what to pick, I will tour the colleges that I got accepted into during the spring.
All that I’m saying is that even if it is a long day, say 7 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (which would leave you 5 to 6 hours on campus), it is well worth a visit prior to applying.
In line C7 of the Common Data Set, Middlebury says that they “consider” an applicant’s level of interest. I think that for someone 250 to 300 miles away, they would expect that a serious applicant would visit prior to applying. In the spring if they are choosing between two candidates with nearly identical stats, they will probably lean toward the one who has visited campus.
I believe a school such as Middlebury would put less emphasis on stats once they know the kid has the ability to thrive academically in college and would then put more emphasis on character. In that case, every applicant is unique, and I would never seem identical to another applicant. That’s insane. I’m positive that Middlebury or any other college would never reject me on the sole reason that I didn’t visit.
With that said, I will visit Middlebury. My question is, how can I make the best of my short time there?
I used to live 4 hours from Mrs. 50N when we were dating.
I’d have driven further. Happily.
In NM and some other western states its entirety possible to have only one in-state 4 year university within 5 hours… Or maybe none at all.
For DD’s most recent visits, we drove 4 hours after school, got up at 6, and drove another five. Did the visit, then at 4:30 drove another 5 to get to the next day’s visit. Fortunately, it was only 13 hours home from there…
My point is that the distances you’ve scoped are entirety reasonable. Take advantage of the road trip with your parents while you can.
You are really misunderstanding. They won’t “reject” you because you didn’t visit.
8,894 students applied to Middlebury this year. The vast majority of them did everything they can to increase their chances of acceptance: took lots of AP classes, did SAT prep, involved themselves with interesting ECs early on and stuck with them, AND visited campus and interviewed. Even with all that effort, only 1,512 got in.
If you feel that you understand the admissions process better than most of those other 8,894 applicants, then don’t go. Maybe you really do know something that the rest of them don’t. Who knows?
I think we’re both misunderstanding something. I’m visiting Middlebury. My question is, do you recommend I do the information session and the formal tour by a college student? The quality of these events depends on the college. I want to know if Middlebury’s is insightful enough to attend. If not, my parents and I will wander around campus on our own and visit buildings (if we can, though I wouldn’t know what buildings to visit or who to talk to). My focus is to get a feel of what student life is like and I need tips on how I can explore that while I’m on campus.
I would recommend the info session and your when possible. More so the latter than the former but both are good. The tour guide can tell you about different aspects of student life and can possibly connect you with students interested in the same thing you are. I agree that Yale’s tour wasn’t very revealing about student life, but that is partially due to its historical focus and due to the fact that lots of outside tourists that are not considering colleges tour or for fun. Middlebury is likely to be much different and is likely going to have a more traditional college tour. Plus there is nothing saying you can’t walk around and talking to random students to get a feel for the college afterwards. If you want to talk to a specific department or area you can possibly ask if you can arrange that with the department head or the admissions office.
Suggest you PM one of the regular commenters on the Middlebury forum, if you don’t get advice directly related to Middlebury.
If you’ll be on campus when classes are in session, recommend you sit in on a class that interests you.
As an adult unaffiliated with Middlebury, I’ve visited the art museum during the academic year. I was able to go into the library and the student commons area. At a minimum I’d suggest going to those places to see whether you can envision yourself there for 4 years. You can also start a conversation with students.
Walk around the town of Middlebury, again to get a sense of whether you’d be comfortable being in a small town.
As you already know, information sessions & tour guides vary. Bear that in mind when putting those experiences in the context of the entire assessment of what a college/university has to offer you.
Good Luck!
(re: Yale, if you’re interested in the sciences, that tour is very good, at least a few years ago. It focuses on Science Hill, including exposure to various labs.)
Thanks so much for both of your suggestions! They’re very helpful. I wish I knew this before we went to Yale. We’re planning on going Sep 3, so I don’t think classes will be in session.
You’re right, freshman arrive Sept 8th and classes don’t start until September 16. What are your interests? You might be able to connect with some professors if you email them to see if they are around. It would be a shame to drive all that way and not be able to dig a little deeper than the tour and info session. And since students really aren’t on campus I would definitely say attend those!
The tour they offer is pretty great, from what I recall. The only supplemental places I’d recommend are the organic garden, near Bicentennial Hall-- really really beautiful and just a further example of the beautiful Vermont nature–and eating at the dining hall to get a taste of the food. But, since you’re arriving Sept 3, I don’t know that the dining halls will be open, I’m not sure if Orientation will have started. Honestly, if you can, I’d recommend waiting a week or two to come, so you can see what campus is like with students. If you do, I’d recommend going to open student areas like Crossroads Café (located in the student center, it’s a student run cafe) and chatting with people there, including the servers.
I was in a similar situation this time last year. I visited Midd after making the 7 hr drive to campus. It was well worth it. I just did the tour (I found at other colleges that the info sessions were redundant) and spent a little time driving through the town before heading to Maine for a few other tours. I found that the tour was enough for me and I fell in love with the campus even without students on campus. International students arrive September 5, so I doubt dining halls will be open when you’re there. Just enjoy the tour and ask any/all questions you have!
Try to connect with a professor who might be around even though school is not in session. Also, consider digging a little deeper into these programs/resources that Middlebury offers their students:
MiddCore- in addition to this summer program, Middlebury offers a Jan Plan version just for Middkids on the Vermont campus: http://middcore.middlebury.edu/