Admitted Students

A first-year seminar is a course, every first-year takes it. It’s a course designed to get you involved in the liberal arts education and what the liberal arts actually looks like. A lot of these courses are unique and are something that professors are interested in but don’t often teach. For instance, I teach a course called the Language of Conspiracy Theories, which is a fun course where we study why do conspiracy theories exist, where do they exist in the 21st century, and why do they keep popping up. Those are the types of courses that you’ll be taking with your first-year seminar. They’re a great way for you to engage with peers in your new class. Your first-year seminar professor is also your advisor. So it’s a great way to get you involved with your first-year experience here at Middlebury and to get you set up for the rest of your academic career. Next I wanna talk to just quickly about choosing a major. This is my third year at the College, and I can say that I’ve been surprised how many students show up, they have a major in mind. They know what they want to do in life. And then after a semester, maybe a year, they’ve completely changed their mind. They’ll go from something that, oh, they were all about science, and now they wanna do something a little liberal arts. Or vice versa. So to find a major, we really suggest taking a broad array of classes. Really exploring the possibilities of what interests you. And you’ll be surprised by what you might want to major in. It’s okay if you have a major already in mind when you get here, and maybe that stays your major. Maybe the major changes. Or maybe you don’t have a major in mind, and that’s great as well. The great thing is you’ll focus on taking different sorts of courses and working with your professor to find the best major for you.

Hi everyone, my name is Catherine Heckler. I’m a sophomore Feb here at Middlebury from Atlanta, Georgia, majoring in American Studies and Geography. I was so excited to be able to be a Feb here at Middlebury because being a Feb means that you get a little time off before you come to college, so I spent my Febmester hiking for 70 days in the western United States with a group of people I never would’ve gotten to meet otherwise. And then I came home and I worked in a thrift store in my hometown for a couple months before coming to college. Coming to Middlebury, all the Febs were housed in one dorm together so you really get that sense of specific Feb community from the first day. And once everyone else came back to campus after February break, I was able to feel the incredible sense of camaraderie within the other Feb classes! One of my favorite parts about being here on campus is that I can see another Feb, a junior Feb, a senior Feb, or even the new Febs that are coming soon, and be like “oh my gosh, you’re a Feb!” And there’s sort of just this instant connection within the class which is fantastic, while still being integrated into the rest of your class year with the September admits.

As an institution, Middlebury supports inclusivity on campus. For example, first gen, low income first-year students have access to a preorientation program called First@Midd which specifically supports them in their transition into higher education. And beyond that, all year round, students have access to plenty of affinity spaces on campus, such as LASA, the Latin American Student Association, as well as BSU, the Black Student Union, and so many others. And beyond that, Middlebury has a financial commitment to supporting inclusivity. For example, right now, I am currently pursuing an unpaid internship in Costa Rica that I otherwise would not have been able to pursue had it not been for Middlebury’s commitment to inclusivity in so many different ways.