Frequently Asked Questions

Most Language Schools’ levels are identified by a number that roughly corresponds to the level of study per year of undergraduate, college-level instruction (see exception for the School of Russian). In other words, level 1 corresponds to first-year, beginning-level instruction; level 4 may represent the advanced level of a graduating senior who is majoring in the language. You need not worry about your choice of level at this time, as our placement testing will ultimately determine your final level. What you put on the application is simply to give us an idea of where you think you are likely to place. On each Language School’s website, you will find information concerning levels in the course listings; this may assist you further in judging which level may be most appropriate for you.

If it is possible that you will test into a higher level based on our placement process, please indicate the level where you are likely to place. Consider, for example, that a person who has truly never had any exposure to this language would be quite intimidated even by your modest awareness of it, if you are both in a “beginner-level” course together.

• A student providing a letter from their home institution stating that they receive 96-100% financial aid
• Active duty military
• U.S. Government employees (sent through official channels)
• IIPP students
• Middlebury College undergraduate students
• Alumni of all Middlebury College programs
• Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) - current students
• AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, Teach for America
• Alumni of the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy
• Alumni of the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF)

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If you would like to reactivate a previous application, you’ll need to start a new online application and provide all of the requested information. A personal statement is required but can be brief. If you are a returning student, the application fee is waived.

If you applied within the past two years but did not attend, you are required to pay the application fee. Your recommendations and transcripts are still valid and do not need to be resent (unless this is deemed necessary by the coordinator). However, updated transcripts will be requested if you have completed additional undergraduate- or graduate-level work since you last applied.

If more than two years have passed, you will need to send new recommendations. Contact the coordinator of the School to which you are applying in order to determine if you will need to send new transcripts.

Please contact the coordinator of the school to which you are applying. Alternatively, you can also start a new application.

From the time that your application materials are complete in your Language Schools’ office, a decision letter to you may take four to six weeks. However, we try to turn around a decision as quickly as possible.

Once your application is complete (all supplemental materials are in) it may take 4-6 weeks for a decision to be made. We cannot give admission decisions over the phone. Applicants will receive a decision by email.

Certainly; we keep track of all materials that come in and unite them all, as appropriate. It is very important that each part of your application materials clearly indicates which Language School it is intended for. Lack of clarity in this regard will result in unnecessary delays in processing your application for a decision.

You will receive an email message from the automated system after your application has been submitted. The link to your financial aid application will be contained within that message. We will send you an email to alert you to materials that we are missing after the application and some of the supporting materials have been received. You may log-in to the applicant dashboard to see the status of your application by using your username and password.

Please use the Application Tracker to see if we have received an item. If you have reason to doubt that your materials have arrived, you may contact us. Please allow a minimum of one week if the item(s) were mailed before such contact, as we will require some time to sort and identify all materials here in our offices.

Yes; please complete a separate online application and read the application instructions for each School to which you wish to apply. You must submit separate letters of recommendation and separate applications fees.  However, transcripts can be shared between applications.

We are currently accepting applications for all programs, and will provide information on the website once we are not accepting applications.

Generally, it will not. We need all of the requested materials, including the application fee, in order to make an admissions decision.

No; you may click the “Finish Later” button to save what you have filled in and return at a later time to complete the rest. Once you click the “Application is Complete” button, your information will be submitted, and no further changes or additions to it may be made online.

No. Although no offers of aid will be made before an applicant has been admitted, your financial aid application may be processed in preparation for a decision in the meantime. We urge you to send in your financial aid application as close as possible to the time that you apply for admission.

Please send an email with the correct information to languages@middlebury.edu, choosing as your subject line the language for which you’re applying, followed by your first and last names (e.g., “Russian - John Smith”).

If you wish to submit unofficial copies of your transcripts or grades, you may do so, but be aware that no final admissions decision will be made until your official, sealed transcript has been received.

If the transfer grades appear on the transcript, you do not have to send both.

When you fill out the section on the application for your recommender, the system will automatically send him/her an email with a link to the secure recommendation form. Your recommender should check his/her spam folder because on occasion, the email could be caught in a spam filter. The email will come from lsadmissions@middlebury.edu.

Check your application tracker, which you access through a link  you should have received by email when you submitted your application. If you haven’t received this link, check your spam filter or junk folder.

You can submit letters from recent instructors with whom you have studied other languages or disciplines; work supervisors from professional or volunteer work; or colleagues. Your recommendation should speak to your ability to adjust to and do well in an intensive immersion program. Please see the list of acceptable sources of recommendations in the application instructions.

You may do so, but it is not encouraged.

Not unless that person has worked with you in a professional context or as a former instructor. Please see your School-specific application information for complete instructions.

Yes; formal, structured volunteer work may count as a “professional context.”

When you fill out the application, you will be asked to identify your recommender and provide his/her email address. The online application system will generate an email to your recommender with a secure link to the form. This is the fastest way to complete your recommendation. Sometimes the email invitation may get caught in a spam filter. Please ask your recommender to check his/her spam folder if s/he doesn’t receive the link shortly after you enter the information. If s/he is have trouble submitting the recommendation, please contact the coordinator.

We are interested in recommendations from people who have been in recent contact with you. If you have recently had language instruction or are in regular contact today with a former language instructor, then they may be a good choice as a recommender. However, since each Language Schools student will be tested by our own placement process to determine the level most appropriate for them, it is not necessary to have a former instructor attest to your language level. Our primary concern is that each of your recommenders be familiar with you from recent contact.