Middlebury releases Class of 2030 admissions info

[Anonymous]

I can’t imagine there’s a crazy high market for people who want to go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Vermont, pretty much the only reason people go to Williams is cause the rankings are nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does Middlebury do February start? Nobody has answered this question yet.

On our tour, it was described as an option for kids who wanted to take a gap semester. Thought it was a good option, even if not for my kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine there’s a crazy high market for people who want to go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Vermont, pretty much the only reason people go to Williams is cause the rankings are nice.

Not everyone wants the same thing. What a revelation!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine there’s a crazy high market for people who want to go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Vermont, pretty much the only reason people go to Williams is cause the rankings are nice.

Not everyone wants the same thing. What a revelation!

And yet, we can probably infer from the 17% yield rate what people want, usually!

It’s almost like you didn’t make a point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine there’s a crazy high market for people who want to go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Vermont, pretty much the only reason people go to Williams is cause the rankings are nice.

Not everyone wants the same thing. What a revelation!

And yet, we can probably infer from the 17% yield rate what people want, usually!

It’s almost like you didn’t make a point

Unlike some other schools (ahem, Colby), Middlebury seems to accept only the best applicants, many of whom it knows it will lose to Ivys, Williams, Amherst, etc. They could certainly accept more average kids and increase yield. Their financial aid also isn't as robust as some wealthier peers, so they'll lose those battles as well, all else being equal. Perhaps they need to hire more cunning marketers or eliminate the application fee to drive up numbers (as some peers have done).

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Do we know why 117 students (1/7 of total enrollment) has a delayed Spring start? Is it because there's more space in Spring to fit them in because Juniors are away on study abroad?

USC is doing this exact same thing to make up some of their budged deficit so maybe that's what Middlebury is trying too?

Middlebury has had Feb starts for 50 years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAIGyrmXpdc

Why?

For one thing they fill in housing slots and class slots that are open because of many students taking a spring semester to study abroad. I don't think this is unique to Middlebury.

I wasn’t aware of any other small or mid size schools doing this. It’s mostly large privates who make this custom, and Midd

Colby has been doing this for over 50 years too. The difference is you still graduate on time with your class. You spend the fall semester on a Colby sponsored study abroad program and earn the same number of credits as your classmates who are on campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine there’s a crazy high market for people who want to go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Vermont, pretty much the only reason people go to Williams is cause the rankings are nice.

Not everyone wants the same thing. What a revelation!

And yet, we can probably infer from the 17% yield rate what people want, usually!

It’s almost like you didn’t make a point

Unlike some other schools (ahem, Colby), Middlebury seems to accept only the best applicants, many of whom it knows it will lose to Ivys, Williams, Amherst, etc. They could certainly accept more average kids and increase yield. Their financial aid also isn't as robust as some wealthier peers, so they'll lose those battles as well, all else being equal. Perhaps they need to hire more cunning marketers or eliminate the application fee to drive up numbers (as some peers have done).

What is your problem with Colby?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Is 17 per cent lower acceptance than last year? Or the same? Trying to gauge enrollment cliff.

Last year was 14%.

Oh great news! So it was easier to get in this year? I was getting worried hearing that top school admission rates were all going down - ivy plus, new ivy etc.

So Midd's acceptance rate went from 14% (2025) to 17% (2026)? Do we know if it was driven by fewer people applying ED binding to Midd, or just lower number of overall applications?

They've lowered the number accepted ED. Last year was 519, this year is 491. They greatly increased the number accepted ED during COVID. Perhaps they're starting to bring that number back down?

yes I think it's better they bring that number down. they still have a way to go as it seems like with even 491, that's a huge percentage of the class: 77% of the Fall starts this year were accepted ED, and 65% of the overall class (including the late-start "Febs", which usually aren't included in official numbers).

I think that's still pretty high - 65% or 77% of the class filled by ED.

[Anonymous]

Which is the better quality education and experience - Colby or Middlebury?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine there’s a crazy high market for people who want to go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Vermont, pretty much the only reason people go to Williams is cause the rankings are nice.

seriously? you are that self absorbed that just because you "can't imagine" someone wanting something other than what you want that it can't be possible. Good Lord. Get over yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which is the better quality education and experience - Colby or Middlebury?

comes down to what kind of programs you are most interested in. but really they are quite similar. people on this board love to hate on any school that isn't top 10. There are 3500 colleges in the US. Not a lot of difference if you are talking top 50 or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which is the better quality education and experience - Colby or Middlebury?

Depends. Not all the professors at the two are equal. Kids want different things.

I liked that Midd was close to skiing. Colby is closer to fantastic restaurants. BTV dining options are fine but Portland is way better. Portland is a slightly bigger city than BTV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does Middlebury do February start? Nobody has answered this question yet.

On our tour, it was described as an option for kids who wanted to take a gap semester. Thought it was a good option, even if not for my kid.

I went to Midd fall start over two decades ago but had a lot of Feb friends. Every single one found something valuable to do and was happy with how their college timeframe materialized.

[Anonymous]

Portland is a lot better, more interesting than Burlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Portland is a lot better, more interesting than Burlington.

Love both cities and spent a lot of time on both. You're wrong on this one