Thoughts on Middlebury?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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"!

That's gotten super old and it's not clever. Let it go.

[Anonymous]

isn't Middlebury a 60,000 per year college?

how do people afford almost $250,000 after tax money for a college education?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:isn't Middlebury a 60,000 per year college?

how do people afford almost $250,000 after tax money for a college education?

Saved like crazy and earned a decent salary. We get no FA and it's expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:isn't Middlebury a 60,000 per year college?

how do people afford almost $250,000 after tax money for a college education?

About 99.9% of people are stressed out about college prices

[Anonymous]

Middlebury decisions come out tomorrow. Hoping for good news for DC.

[Anonymous]

Did you get good news?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you get good news?

Nope. Admissions seems to be quite random there. Kids with higher scores/grades than my DC rejected, kids with lower/scores/grades accepted. Not clear what they were looking for. A little surprising to be denied, was expecting waitlist at worst. It's tough at the small schools.

[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.

Half of Cornell is also a state university that most likely affects rankings but keeps tuition more affordable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you get good news?

Nope. Admissions seems to be quite random there. Kids with higher scores/grades than my DC rejected, kids with lower/scores/grades accepted. Not clear what they were looking for. A little surprising to be denied, was expecting waitlist at worst. It's tough at the small schools.

NP here --

I'm so sorry to hear this. As a parent and former admissions staffer, I know how very hard it is to get this news. Schools as selective as Middlebury will have so many extremely well-qualified applicants that the decisions can seem arbitrary. I can assure you they're not, but anyone who has worked in admissions would also say they know when they send out those rejections that in many, many cases it truly is the school's loss. For the SLACs especially, the numbers just make it impossible to take all the kids who would offer so much to the community. I can also tell you that it is very likeley that a year from now your child will be thriving at some other school that will be fortunate to have him/her as a student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you get good news?

Nope. Admissions seems to be quite random there. Kids with higher scores/grades than my DC rejected, kids with lower/scores/grades accepted. Not clear what they were looking for. A little surprising to be denied, was expecting waitlist at worst. It's tough at the small schools.

Sorry. If you have any 2nd or 3rd choice admits that you kid will maybe be happy with someday, cheer us all up & share.
Sorry for the disappointment.

[Anonymous]

I don't think admission to selective schools is random. They are trying to build a well-rounded and diverse class. They are looking far beyond test scores/grades, once the threshold for those has been met.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think admission to selective schools is random. They are trying to build a well-rounded and diverse class. They are looking far beyond test scores/grades, once the threshold for those has been met.

Nice in theory. But not everyone accepts their offer so who knows which 600 kids they will end up with.

They are also quite focused on yield so are sometimes more likely to deny an overqualified student who they suspect will end up going elsewhere.