Middlebury College Top Questions

The left-leaning contingent is huge. People are active, are impassioned and want to get things done, but fun is also big. They also are sometimes just hippies with little drive to change the world. There are lot of NorthEastern rich, private school, kids. But not all of them are as bad as they sound. A lot of them are. It's getting harder to get into Midd, I think. Most everyone who's there, though, REALLY wants to be there. Which is nice. You learn a lot about lots of different things in a liberal arts education...including how to party and where to party. Why to party? 'Cause the work is damn hard. The Feb program is meant to create a sense of community for certain individuals who could use extra time...for some it is more ostracizing. It's a tradition, so it's important. But I kinda hated being a Feb, yeah, I said it. A lot of people speak a lot of languages-- I don't. A lot of people skied a lot. I didn't. It's hard not to feel kinda lame on a campus full of such good-looking young people.

Yes, they all are to some extent. You'll find lots of everything here, but it's never hard to break free of the bubble, even though Midd is really in the middle of VT.

Most people range from well-off to very wealthy, but there is a little diversity. The first stereotype is less accurate than the second, but overall it is not very diverse in terms of viewpoints and upbringings.

The trend of Middlebury students is tending, year after year, to shift from students who are well-rounded to students who are specialized. Whether this is because of the students choosing Middlebury or the other way around, it is happening. Middlebury is not, on whole, super crunchy, super liberal, or super alternative. You can loosen your tie a little because it's not Williams--but don't lose the shirt altogether because it's definitely not Wesleyan.

these stereotypes are somewhat accurate. having visited other schools, i would say that middlebury students are, on average, more laid back, but still far from hippies.

No, their are also apathetic crunchies.

Yup

The stereotypes in themselves are not very accurate. For a small, liberal arts college in rural Vermont, there is a fair amount of diversity and a high percentage of people who have lead interesting, off-beat lives. however, the stereotypes do effectively segregate the school into a series of generally impermeable groups and cliques.

For some groups, but not for everyone. Though middlebury is predominantly caucasian

Mostly yes, but the truth is that the majority of kids are actually really smart and interesting once they allow themselves to step outside of their own stereotypes.

For a large portion of the school, yes. Unfortuneately the other half of the school does not fit this criteria and are labeled accordingly.

I think it is way preppier than I would have guessed before coming here.

There are a lot of "bros" There are some snoody rich people, but they don't dominate at all. You just avoid them and enjoy the company of all the incredibly friendly people from around the world. Not at all true. They just got Bi-Hall, the new science building and they have some of the most amazing, extravagant (I'm not sure if I spelled that right) equipment and awesome professors to go along with it (and an awesome observatory which is great up in VT where there are no real outside light sources). It is sooooo hard. There's so much work it's nuts.

No, not at all.

Yes.

Yes and no. Some kids work hard, some play hard, a lot do both. Not everyone is outdoorsy, but there is a large contingent of patagonia-donned granola-eating forest people. Midd kids are generally the kinds of people that like to be good at everything they do, so there is a lot of competition; like who can get the best grades while participating in extra-curriculars, while partying hearty, while working out every day, while still appearing totally relaxed. There are a lot of "preps" at Middlebury, but also a camel-smoking, mismatched-vintage clothed hipster counter culture. It's actually a pretty diverse school in a lot of ways.

yes

I think so. I personally don't fit the rich preppy white kids one. I do care about the environment, but I'm not an environmentalist. Who knows if I'll stick with my "beliefs" after college.

There's a reason they exist, but it's not overwhelming.

for the most part.