Admitted Students

So I definitely chose Middlebury for three reasons: the location, the community, and academics. Coming from New York City I wanted to go to a very rural setting, and I feel like at Middlebury you get to appreciate the three seasons, [those] being Winter, Fall, and Spring. You get to see the leaves fall and the seasons change, and it’s very nice. [I chose Midd for] the community because you get to have deeper relationships with your professors, your peers, and even the townspeople…you get to become their regular customers and feel like you’re a part of a community. [I chose Midd for the] academics because for undergraduates you get way more opportunities for STEM majors, like me, in labs, and also to get partnered with professors for their research.

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.

Middlebury is one of, if not the best places to go if you don’t know what you want to do postgraduation. I came to Middlebury expecting to be an economics major that was going to work in finance or go to consulting, and now I’m graduating and I’ll be working at a law firm postgraduation, not even as a lawyer, right? I have to go to law school for that. I’ll be working as a paralegal or a litigation assistant. And I recognize that if I’m there for a year or two years, I’m not tied down to that because my education here has prepared me for so many different fields. You can look at the average number of job changes that the individual has in their lifetime. People don’t stick to one area, and I think that Middlebury really recognizes that and makes sure that you are well equipped for that. We have strong emphasis on writing and reading, as well as the spoken word, right, as presentations. And these are all skill sets that are super important when you get into the working world. And so Middlebury recognizes that, and we have so many opportunities on campus to help you explore what future opportunities may look like.

So at Middlebury, the average class size is around 18 students, so a lot of classes that you take will be a lot smaller than that. I actually had a one-person class at Middlebury, I’ve a had three-person class at Middlebury, and those will stay open with professors. But if you’re in a larger class, it’ll split up into discussion sections or lab sections, since all of our classes are taught entirely by professors, not teaching assistants or anyone similar. You get to see that professor in maybe a bigger environment and also a smaller environment. So obviously I’m really close with the professors that I had a one-person class with or a three-person class with, but I also got really close with professors of larger classes. So one of my favorite professors at Midd, Professor Febe Armanios in the History Department, I have three classes with her, and every single one has been pretty large by Middlebury standards, probably around 30 students each. But because of splitting up into discussion sections, going to see her at office hours, just talking to her when I see her around, she’s become one of my best friends at Middlebury College and writes all my recommendation letters for my jobs going out of senior year. So it’s one of the people that I’m actually saddest to say goodbye to, and we never actually had super small classes together. So definitely you’ll get to know your professors no matter what, whether you’re into larger classes or smaller classes or whatever department you may be studying in.

If you’re concerned about being able to afford Middlebury, be assured that we meet 100 percent of your family’s demonstrated financial need. Our financial aid advisors are awesome and willing to work with you and your family to make sure Middlebury can be affordable.

So how inclusive is the Middlebury community? In my opinion, Middlebury not only does a phenomenal job of representing students from all different backgrounds and cultures, but making sure those students feel included within the student body. And this is the case because Middlebury has a lot of phenomenal resources available to students from underrepresented communities. One of those resources we have is the Anderson Freeman Resource Center which is a space on campus for students from underrepresented communities to exist and share their experiences amongst each other, amongst students from similar backgrounds, as well as offering different workshops and resources throughout the year. Additionally, we have a social house on campus that highlights the diversity of our student body by putting on events throughout the year, basically every week. And finally, we have a program called First @ Midd, which offers first-generation students the opportunity to come to campus a week early and listen to the experiences of past students and share their own experiences and hopes for the next four years. And so, it really has just been such a privilege to be among such a diverse student body at Middlebury College.