It's a public school that's small and mostly full of OOS - something like 70% are from OOS, and there are only 11K students. In the Honors College or LASP the classes are small and seminar-style. It's in Vermont - so cold in the winter - but beautiful, and fall and summer are fun and gorgeous.

My relationship with UVM: My wife and I both went to UVM. Our son now attends UVM. He's in his first year, the Sustainability, Ecology, and Policy program (Rubenstein School).

Cons
Overall, not a strong academic culture
Finding off-campus housing
Weather
Burlington is isolated
Relatively weak alumni network
Liberal arts & humanities significantly diminished from the 1990s

Pros
Wonderful college town (and I've lived in more than a few, e.g. Boulder)
Outdoor recreation
UVM aggressively courts and panders to out-of-state students
Honors College, particularly the on-campus housing options
For a public research university (recently promoted to R1), high quality instruction
Environmental programs are excellent with a strong reputation well beyond New England

My DC graduated a few years ago. She loved it - we loved it - Burlington is fabulous. DD accepted a great job after graduating and was just accepted to an Ivy Grad program with excellent funding so no complaints here! Beautiful and vibrant place to spend 4 years!

Yes, it's cold in Vermont.

Lots of homeless, ice cold 80% of school year (the wind off the lake roars right over main campus!), tough housing, even when on campus you can "buy" up to a newer dorm. The tend to offer max merit 20-25kk to any oos with a pulse and good grades. Lots of trust funders, lots of weed, no phish replacement. Good times if $ and prestige are lower in your value set.

Also, Burlington Airport has 2 or three flights a day to National (American and Delta) and Dulles (United). There's an Amtrak station downtown and another one in Essex Junction. The Ethan Allen runs from Burlington and goes through Albany and down the Hudson to NYC (you'll have to change trains there) and the Vermonter runs from Essex Junction and down through MA, CT and down - no need to get off at NYC. For some reason the Ehtan Allen is the more expensive of the two.

Our daughter is a junior.

Housing after soph. year is off-campus. Kind of a PIA at first but not really a big deal. Just make sure to start looking at the beginning of sophomore year - good places fill up fast.

Burlington is a great college town. Apart from UVM, there's Champlain College just down the hill and St. Michael's just outside of town in Winooksi.

Good programs all around, especially in environmental science and pre-med; UVM has its own hospital and med school and competition to get in is tight.

Kids tend to be hard workers. I know for the class of 2026 the UW GPA to get in was 3.8. That being said, the overall vibe is pretty chill though not to the point of being lazy. Greek life is there if you want it, but it's not a big factor.

Sports are very good - the men's soccer team just won the national championship. However, it's not your typical rah-rah school; there hasn't been a football team since 1974 and no one seems to miss it. Basketball has been in the NCAA tournament several times over the last decade but America East is kind of a weak conference and UVM always seems to pull someone like Duke in the first round.

Of course, there's the outdoors. If you like to ski, hike or camp out, Vermont is heaven.

Are you out of state or in state?

Love it! Great location, deep blue state, just right size (for some), some sense of history, healthy # of matriculations from top privates, outdoorsy activities are very available, and overall good vibes.

It depends on what you want to study and where you want to live or work in the future.

My D is admitted & thought she would love it. Does like Burlington, but didn’t love UVM. Housing an issue for sure. It’s definitely her “vibe” - she’s a rock climber & backcountry skier from northern New England, but she’s not feeling it for some reason. Sorry I can’t be more specific.

Do a search! I and other current parents have posted on this at length in previous posts.

Daughter toured this past weekend and really liked it. I hope others chime in!

Well a lot of people on DCUM will tell you that nothing outside of the Ivies is worth attending. Don't let them.
I've known several people who've attended over the past 30+ years and all have loved it. They have some great programs.
Burlington is a great town.
The only real issue I know about is housing. You must find off-campus housing (I think after your second year) and you have to secure that housing way in advance. A lot of people look a year in advance.

Title says it all. Please share any pros and cons.