First-Year Life at Middlebury

As you transition to your first year at Middlebury, you will be supported by a team of mentors and advisors. This team includes the dean of the first-year experience, Sabrina Durand; your first-year seminar (FYS) professor and pre-major advisor; your Compass Mentor; your student orientation leader, and your residence director or assistant, just to name a few!

You will always have a trusted adult or peer leader to turn to when you have questions about academics, the college community, or your personal health and well-being.

Where do first-years at Middlebury live?

As a first-year student, you’ll most likely live in one of our first-year residence halls: Stewart, Hepburn, Allen, Coffrin, or Battell.

How does Middlebury assign roommates—and when?

You will be matched with a roommate, so you don’t have to stress out about finding one on your own! Since first-year students are housed based on their first-year seminar placement, roommate requests aren’t accepted.

A few months before you arrive, you’ll be sent a detailed questionnaire asking about your preferences, study habits, and lifestyle. From your answers, you’ll be paired with a roommate. Roommate assignments are typically announced in mid-August for a September start date and in late January for Febs.

If you’re a first-year student arriving in the fall, you’ll most likely live with another first-year student in a double room, although you may be in a single, or a triple room, which is larger than a double. (Singles can be assigned for medical reasons or ADA accommodations through the Disability Resource Center.) If you’re a Feb, you and your roommate will live within first-year or sophomore communities.

While we know it may be a little unnerving to think about living with a total stranger, we encourage you to keep an open mind as you meet your new roommate and embrace this as an opportunity to connect with someone new. You may become close friends with your roommate, or you may make deeper connections elsewhere. Everyone’s experience is different—and that’s okay! Either way, you will surely learn from each other and grow as you begin your Middlebury journey together.

How does the meal plan function?

Your comprehensive fee at Middlebury covers your residence and dining. Our dining plan allows for unlimited meals at our three campus dining halls, Proctor, Atwater, and Ross. You’ll also be able to use your meal plan to make purchases at our retail locations, including the Grille, with cook-to-order meals; Crossroads, the student-run café in the Davis Library; the Wilson Café (which serves Starbucks coffee); and MiddXPress.

How does registering for classes work?

In early June, you will receive a First-Year Registration booklet, from which you will select preferences for your first-year seminar (FYS). This is the first course into which you will be placed before you arrive on campus. Your FYS instructor is also your pre-major advisor.  Then, later in the summer, you will have the opportunity to select course preferences from a subset of courses appropriate for new students.  You will receive all the information you need to participate in the selection of a first-year seminar and course preferences via your Middlebury email in the weeks preceding each event. The goal here is to have all new students fully registered in four courses before arriving on campus. More details on this process are forthcoming; if you have questions, please contact Amy Morsman, First-Year Seminar Director (fysd@middlebury.edu).  

What is orientation like?

Our students often say that Middlebury’s orientation is one of their favorite college experiences.

In general, you’ll arrive at Middlebury for orientation a week before returning students and before you begin classes—earlier if you’ve been invited to participate in First@Midd or in our international student programming. You’ll meet your new classmates and your orientation leaders (current Middlebury students); you’ll be introduced to faculty and academics; you’ll begin to get oriented to Middlebury’s culture, community, and student expectations; and you’ll connect with support and resources.

All orientation activities are included in the cost of attending Middlebury. There are no extra charges or fees to participate.

In the months leading up to the start of orientation, you’ll receive communication from the orientation team before you arrive on campus. This communication will help you navigate the steps toward becoming a new student at Middlebury. 

Visit our orientation website for more detailed information. 

When do we get time off during the academic year? Can I stay on campus over breaks?

While the 2024–25 academic calendar is still being finalized, in general Middlebury has a midterm recess in October, a Thanksgiving recess in late November, a three-week recess from mid-December through early January, a 10-day recess at the end of winter term (also called January term), and a spring recess in March.

You can stay on campus during breaks, although campus services may be limited, and some facilities may be closed. If you choose to stay on campus during midterm, Thanksgiving, and spring recess, you need to register with the Office of Residential Life. You would need special approval to stay on campus over December recess.

How do I get around without a car? What if I have a car?

Almost everything in the town of Middlebury is within walking distance from campus; many students keep a bicycle on campus to get around quickly.

You certainly don’t need to have a car. There’s good public transportation in town, as well as to the Snowbowl and the Rikert Outdoor Center, and to Burlington—and you can ride for free with your student ID! An Amtrak train departs daily from Middlebury to NYC. We also run shuttles to the airport during peak travel times as well as discount charter buses to Boston, NYC, and the Burlington Greyhound station.

If you have a car, you may bring it to campus as a first-year student, although you’re likely to be so busy getting immersed in your life that you probably won’t use it very often. You’ll have to register your car, pay for a parking permit, and understand the rules about where you can park on campus and in town.

What’s important to have for winters in Vermont?

It’s true that Vermont winters can be cold and long; they also can be beautiful and a lot of fun. So, what you really need is a sense of adventure, and a sense of humor for those times when your shower-wet hair freezes on the way to the library or you tumble into a pile of snow when you’re sledding down the hill in front of the Chapel. In addition, many students find that a warm coat that goes down to at least mid-thigh, a hat that covers the ears, a good pair of gloves, and waterproof, insulated boots go a long way toward making them comfortable no matter what the weather has in store.