Thoughts on Middlebury?

[Anonymous]

My niece went there & I met a bunch of her friends. Each one believes they're more special than the rest

[Anonymous]

I am surprised to read this place has a reputation for international relations majors. I work for an international organization in DC and have never met a grad of this school. Ivy and othe big name East coast schools are far more common and actually make more sense then a small liberal arts college in a small town in Vermont.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised to read this place has a reputation for international relations majors. I work for an international organization in DC and have never met a grad of this school. Ivy and othe big name East coast schools are far more common and actually make more sense then a small liberal arts college in a small town in Vermont.

Odd, it has a very strong rep in the intl economics arena. Maybe not intl development. Of all the NESCAC schools, Midd has the best reputation in intl economics. Harvard/Yale/Princeton of course are very strong here also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD is there, first choice, she applied ED and got in, initially was supposed to play sport there but in the end injury prevented participation, however would have chosen school even without being recruited as an athlete. Was a NMSF and competitive for top Ivys but always wanted Middlebury because wanted small but not too small (too small were Haverford, Amherst even despite 5 college system), not too preppy-conservative (Williams) but not too crunchy-druggy (Wesleyan), beautiful and near outdoor activities/hiking but not too isolated (Williams). In the end other schools she strongly considered were Bowdoin and Pomona. She loves it, lots of smart students and challenging classes, really likes the very large and diverse international student presence, and the spectrum of backgrounds and political views (surprisingly so). Campus is gorgeous, outdoor activities unsurpassed, and she likes Burlington as a small nearby city with good music scene (but having a car is a big plus for getting to Burlington or further cities to see friends and do city-type stuff, Boston is less than 4 hours, NYC about 4 hours). Likes lack of Greek system. Food is really good. She is focused on languages/international affairs, and that is clearly a strength of the school, but she has friends who are premed and also very happy

What are "top Ivys"? Are there "bottom Ivys"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it a tough place to be for a kid who doesn't have much disposable income? I remember (back in the day) whole dorm floors at Amherst deciding where they would go for spring break: someone's ranch, someone's Carribbean retreat and if you didn't have the money to join them, you were really out of things.

You can find that mentality at many colleges including public. Not everybody who attends private is wealthy and not everyone who attends public is poor.

I had this impression also when I toured the school. Mind you, I've always thought highly of Middlebury, but the tour guide pointed out a special cash/credit card pub/restaurant right on campus where she said is quite popular with some students, despite the fact that it's not on the meal plan. Those with less disposable income, I guess, go to the dining halls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised to read this place has a reputation for international relations majors. I work for an international organization in DC and have never met a grad of this school. Ivy and othe big name East coast schools are far more common and actually make more sense then a small liberal arts college in a small town in Vermont.

Some is the result of the language program there, which is very well known.

[Anonymous]

Really? I know several relatively recent Midd grads who then went onto Wilson School or LSE, and are in international relations as academics or think tank people, and several others in the foreign service. The school has really improved enormously academically in the past ten years, so looking at older age groups is not going to be representative of the present.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is there, first choice, she applied ED and got in, initially was supposed to play sport there but in the end injury prevented participation, however would have chosen school even without being recruited as an athlete. Was a NMSF and competitive for top Ivys but always wanted Middlebury because wanted small but not too small (too small were Haverford, Amherst even despite 5 college system), not too preppy-conservative (Williams) but not too crunchy-druggy (Wesleyan), beautiful and near outdoor activities/hiking but not too isolated (Williams). In the end other schools she strongly considered were Bowdoin and Pomona. She loves it, lots of smart students and challenging classes, really likes the very large and diverse international student presence, and the spectrum of backgrounds and political views (surprisingly so). Campus is gorgeous, outdoor activities unsurpassed, and she likes Burlington as a small nearby city with good music scene (but having a car is a big plus for getting to Burlington or further cities to see friends and do city-type stuff, Boston is less than 4 hours, NYC about 4 hours). Likes lack of Greek system. Food is really good. She is focused on languages/international affairs, and that is clearly a strength of the school, but she has friends who are premed and also very happy

What are "top Ivys"? Are there "bottom Ivys"?

Top Ivies are generally thought to be HYP. Bottom Ivies are Penn and especially, Cornell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is there, first choice, she applied ED and got in, initially was supposed to play sport there but in the end injury prevented participation, however would have chosen school even without being recruited as an athlete. Was a NMSF and competitive for top Ivys but always wanted Middlebury because wanted small but not too small (too small were Haverford, Amherst even despite 5 college system), not too preppy-conservative (Williams) but not too crunchy-druggy (Wesleyan), beautiful and near outdoor activities/hiking but not too isolated (Williams). In the end other schools she strongly considered were Bowdoin and Pomona. She loves it, lots of smart students and challenging classes, really likes the very large and diverse international student presence, and the spectrum of backgrounds and political views (surprisingly so). Campus is gorgeous, outdoor activities unsurpassed, and she likes Burlington as a small nearby city with good music scene (but having a car is a big plus for getting to Burlington or further cities to see friends and do city-type stuff, Boston is less than 4 hours, NYC about 4 hours). Likes lack of Greek system. Food is really good. She is focused on languages/international affairs, and that is clearly a strength of the school, but she has friends who are premed and also very happy

What are "top Ivys"? Are there "bottom Ivys"?

Top Ivies are generally thought to be HYP. Bottom Ivies are Penn and especially, Cornell.

Top Ivies are Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Medium Ivies are Columbia, Penn and Dartmouth. Bottom Ivies are Brown and Cornell.

Sometimes Penn or Dartmouth get kicked down to Bottom Ivy category, like a Premier League team that has played poorly and been relegated to the Football League. And sometimes Brown climbs into Medium Ivy territory, but then Vanity Fair or the New York Times will let out that some celebrity's idiot child has been admitted to Brown, and Brown has to start all over. Cornell, on the other hand, has a Hotel Management program and, for that reason alone, will always be Bottom Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Dartmouth will never be "top" again. Too many drunk Greeks at that school. They should get rid of the Greek system like many LACs have done over the years to improve their reputation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is there, first choice, she applied ED and got in, initially was supposed to play sport there but in the end injury prevented participation, however would have chosen school even without being recruited as an athlete. Was a NMSF and competitive for top Ivys but always wanted Middlebury because wanted small but not too small (too small were Haverford, Amherst even despite 5 college system), not too preppy-conservative (Williams) but not too crunchy-druggy (Wesleyan), beautiful and near outdoor activities/hiking but not too isolated (Williams). In the end other schools she strongly considered were Bowdoin and Pomona. She loves it, lots of smart students and challenging classes, really likes the very large and diverse international student presence, and the spectrum of backgrounds and political views (surprisingly so). Campus is gorgeous, outdoor activities unsurpassed, and she likes Burlington as a small nearby city with good music scene (but having a car is a big plus for getting to Burlington or further cities to see friends and do city-type stuff, Boston is less than 4 hours, NYC about 4 hours). Likes lack of Greek system. Food is really good. She is focused on languages/international affairs, and that is clearly a strength of the school, but she has friends who are premed and also very happy

What are "top Ivys"? Are there "bottom Ivys"?

Top Ivies are generally thought to be HYP. Bottom Ivies are Penn and especially, Cornell.

Top Ivies are Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Medium Ivies are Columbia, Penn and Dartmouth. Bottom Ivies are Brown and Cornell.

Sometimes Penn or Dartmouth get kicked down to Bottom Ivy category, like a Premier League team that has played poorly and been relegated to the Football League. And sometimes Brown climbs into Medium Ivy territory, but then Vanity Fair or the New York Times will let out that some celebrity's idiot child has been admitted to Brown, and Brown has to start all over. Cornell, on the other hand, has a Hotel Management program and, for that reason alone, will always be Bottom Ivy.

Good, and accurate, summary. Chunks of Cornell are a state/land grant school (although oddly not Hotel Management) - the true public Ivy I guess. SUNY Ithaca?

[Anonymous]

Middlebury: in Vermont, and, a kid better be ready for the long, cold winters. School is small, the town is almost non-existent. It is VERY different from anywhere around here. And I love Vermont. One of the costliest schools you can go to. So, if your kid goes, and then ends up earning $45K out of school, you are almost better off just giving the kid some money...

[Anonymous]

It is very New England prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised to read this place has a reputation for international relations majors. I work for an international organization in DC and have never met a grad of this school. Ivy and othe big name East coast schools are far more common and actually make more sense then a small liberal arts college in a small town in Vermont.

Some is the result of the language program there, which is very well known.

Not to mention that the Monterey Institute of International Studies is now one of their graduate schools (it used to be private). Their graduate programs in International Policy, Translation and Interpretation, and Language Education are unique, well known, and well regarded programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a w school?

Whitman, Churchill, and Walter Johnson. Some people have expanded recently to include wooton.

Also known as "Wonton"!