Vermont

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have experience with U of Vermont? It's on my daughter's list.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is a freshman there and it has exceeded her expectations. We are especially impressed by the relatedly small intro classes and how accessible the professors are. She's in CEMS.

[Anonymous]

It's UVM. Dh and I went there (me in-state, him FL) as did sis and BIL. All normally successful but not crazily so. More importantly my nephew is there now (junior) in electrical engineering and has had fabulous opportunities. He had a paid internship last summer at global foundries and is now working with a prof on mars rover research (also paid). Will likely intern at GF again but had multiple offers so who knows?

[Anonymous]

I have a kid there, who is overall having a good time. He says his classes are mostly too easy, as was his public DCPS high school. The housing situation sucks and can be very stressful. It is a fun town, walkable with access to Lake and mountains. The winter can be very long and gray. It is a little hard to get back to DC – not a big deal for the major holidays, but the kid cannot come home for a long weekend like they could if they were in Pennsylvania or Virginia

[Anonymous]

My DS is a freshman there now. Loving it. As people say above, transportation can be tricky. He has a car that he parks off campus so he can get home when he needs to (we live about four hours away) and also allows him to get out and about easily for skiing, hiking etc. He hasn’t done a winter yet but we live in Maine so he does have some reference points. He seems to really like his classes, my sense is he’s taking college more seriously than he took high school (he was a pretty good student, smart kid, and probably a bit of an underachiever for his capacity.) He has found lots of opportunities for fun and is really enjoying Burlington and the surrounding area a lot. Doesn’t hurt that the men’s soccer team is killing it again this year so there’s some fun sports energy on campus (would not matter to me but something he really enjoys.) it has a different vibe and a lot of other state schools because the majority of kids are from out of state. So my experience as a parent is still pretty new since he’s only a few months in, but overall we’ve been really delighted that he is there.

[Anonymous]

Any experience with pre-med at UVM? What is social scene like for a nerdy kid, not into huge parties?

[Anonymous]

UVM is generous on merit for top students. Always has been kind of a sleeper university but you rarely hear of students who don't enjoy their time there.

[Anonymous]

Good merit, kids like it, liberal vibe, long & cold winters, Burlington (which used to be awesome) has become a dump. Close to Montreal (+), beautiful state, nice people.

[Anonymous]

My DC graduated a few years ago in a very UVM specific major. Is now in grad school now at a top Ivy program. Had a great experience there that included excellent internships, greek life and working with professors as a TA. DC found their people and loved Burlington.

[Anonymous]

What are typical class sizes like, and how strong is the advising system? My dc is drawn to it but worried it will feel too big and impersonal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are typical class sizes like, and how strong is the advising system? My dc is drawn to it but worried it will feel too big and impersonal.

I think like most schools intro classes will be bigger and gets smaller as they move along. Official UVM info says average class size is 35 or something like that. Undergrad is about 12,000 so it’s definitely not LAC if someone is looking for that kind of environment. That said, my DS who is a freshman now had a high school graduating class of 120 and he is finding the size very manageable. He is in the underground business school which did feel smaller and more personal than some of the other biz programs we looked at. I’m not sure about other schools within the university.

[Anonymous]

In response to just the thread title: Yes, I am in favor of statehood for Vermont.

[Anonymous]

It was on DD's list until we visited. We didn't see one person of color throughout the tour/visit to Burlington (2 days in total). I discretely asked the school tour guide about this (didn't call them out when stopped, but walked next to her and asked quietly). Response was that it's mostly students from Vermont, who are predominantly white, and, they are working on it.

Came of DD's list, because she didn't want to be in such at such a homogeneous place

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC graduated a few years ago in a very UVM specific major. Is now in grad school now at a top Ivy program. Had a great experience there that included excellent internships, greek life and working with professors as a TA. DC found their people and loved Burlington.

What major?

[Anonymous]

I know a few people, it's very popular where we are in Pennsylvania. Their majors are environmental engineering, art history and studio art x4, biology, political science and economics, and history. Everyone seems to love it! A couple of the art students were very introverted and their parents expected them to stay closer to home but they seem to be thriving up there. One of the art history students met a wealthy boy through skiing and they've been together for a few years, so the parents are relieved. Another art student is very involved in Jewish life on campus. The environmentally-oriented kids are loving access to the outdoors and had a crunchy/granola vibe in high school that they've really leaned into. The political science major was able to do some government internship in Burlington. There are a few youtubers if you search for uvm or University of Vermont vlogs.