Friday, April 27, 2012
Middlebury College, Middlebury,
VT
Middlebury was another one of my favorite schools simply
because it was SO beautiful. Middlebury is a very highly selective liberal arts
college with an international and global scope.
Middlebury was larger than we’ve seen at a nice size of 2,450 students,
although just by walking across the campus you may think that more students
attend due to the size of the space that the campus sits on. The campus is stunning, the buildings are
beautiful and the overall space is just very attractive.
Middlebury is renowned for its leadership in language
instruction and international studies and is also nationally known for its
programs in environmental studies. As I
mentioned, Middlebury is very selective.
Out of 8,533 applications that were received in the 2010-2011 year, only
1,500 were admitted for September and another 156 for February. Students who are admitted to Middlebury are usually
in the top 5-10% of their class with straight A’s in high level rigorous
courses. Even so, Middlebury simply only
has so much space and will still reject some top students. So, what do you need to get in (besides high
GPA, SAT/ACT, etc)? They said that they
are impressed by candidates that show “passionate
engagement” – not students who are involved in 15 different clubs and
organizations, but are involved in a few things and are truly engaged and show
leadership in those. A remarkable essay
can certainly help and they look for students who distinguish themselves by
thinking outside the box and showing entrepreneurial thinking and leadership
skills.
Middlebury actually encourages students to do a half year or
full year off between high school and college to do some type of gap year program and they have recently begun
a new initiative to encourage transfers from community colleges. They accept students into both the
traditional fall term, and also into the college at the start of their February
term. They believe that students who
take the half year off and enroll in February typically bring more to their
college experience and, as a result, derive more from it. These students also hold a higher number of
leadership positions on campus and, on average, perform better academically. Middlebury believes that students benefit
greatly from the opportunity to travel, work, or pursue other interests, and
all of those options can help contribute to an even more enriching college
experience. Students who enter their
freshman year in February are called “Febs.”
While Middlebury encourages this gap period, they do also recommend that
students go through the college admissions process during the normal time their
senior year and once admitted, then consider gap year options that are available.
University
of Vermont, Burlington, VT
UVM was by far the largest school we saw at about 10,000
undergraduates. At over 100 majors, they
have a wide variety of programs to choose from.
They are split into 7 different colleges – Arts & Sciences,
Agriculture and Life Sciences, Engineering and Math, Education and Social
Services, Business Administration, Nursing and Health Sciences, Environment and
Natural Resources. Like many colleges we
visited, they have a hands-on, experiential learning style and are committed to
the environment and social justice. They
were actually one of the first colleges to ban plastic water bottles on campus!
Because UVM is the largest school we saw, naturally class
size is going to be larger – at about 31 and student/faculty ratio a little
higher, at 17:1. The most popular
programs are business administration, biology/biological sciences, psychology,
English, nursing, animal science, political science, environmental sciences,
history, and mechanical engineering.
A great part of UVM is that it offers undergraduate research
opportunities for students. Students
assist faculty in research in a wide range of fields. Several programs even provide research grants
for undergrads. UVM was one of the few
colleges we saw that had Greek life – there are 16 fraternities/sororities
(about 8% of students are involved).
Also maybe the only school to have Division I sports – 18 of them. Housing is available at UVM all four years
and about a little over half of students are residential.
Because UVM is located in Burlington, students have the opportunity to
be in a city-like atmosphere, with options for shopping, dining, museums, outdoor
activities, etc. While some of these
other campuses are located in such rural areas, it is difficult to get that
same college town feel that Burlington
gives.
Overall Impressions
While Vermont has the
highest number of colleges and universities per capita in the US, there is
very little competition among the schools.
The admissions staff of the colleges works more on a collegial basis,
making sure that each student has a good fit with the college. For example, if a student applies to one college
and the admissions counselor realizes it’s just not a good fit, he may call up
an admissions rep at another college in VT and speak to why this particular student
might be a great fit for another college.
Overall, Vermont
is a gorgeous area. There is a beautiful
view from almost anywhere you are in the state.
At almost every college the landscape was just stunning. It’s a completely different feel than being
in a major city. Most of the colleges,
with the exception of UVM are small – fewer than 3,000 students and most are very
small – under 1,000 students. If you are
looking for a small college where there is a small average class size, small
student/faculty ratio and where professors know your name, provide support, and
are accessible, Vermont
may be perfect for you. Many students at
various schools told us that they “didn’t want to be just a number” and got the
personal attention they needed and didn’t feel lost in the crowd. Another thing I picked up was that almost
every school had a very hands-on, experiential style of learning – the students
learn most by doing and there was an emphasis on internships, community
service, social justice, and an active student body.
There’s a different culture in Vermont.
People seem to be more laid back and friendly. At many of the schools we saw students were
just walking around campus barefoot – it is just a way of being that embodies
many of the schools. Because it’s Vermont and Vermont
lacks diversity in general, many of these schools lack diversity, although they
all seem to be trying very hard. So, if
you are looking for diversity among the student population, make sure you know
what you are getting at the schools you choose to apply.
There is a huge outdoor culture in Vermont.
If you don’t like the outdoors, snow, and being active outside… you
should probably re-think Vermont. There is a huge ski / snowboard culture and
many of the colleges give discounted rates and passes to the local mountains –
of which there are many – Sugarbush, Stowe, Bolton Valley, Smugglers’ Notch, Jay
Peak, Killington, Mount Snow, Stratton… etc.
You’ve really got to love the outdoors if you decide to go
to Vermont. There are so many different activities that
you can be involved in and many students are – hiking, cross country skiing,
snowmobiling, horseback riding, bicycling, climbing, whitewater boating, snow
shoeing, mountain biking, rock climbing, fly-fishing, canoeing, camping,
swimming….
Ultimately, YOU NEED TO VISIT (and spend the night if you
can) to really understand what these colleges and communities are all about. I had an idea of what I thought a few of
these colleges were about, and you just can’t get a good picture from reading
the website and brochure. Even the
virtual tours, while they do provide a good place to start, you need to actually step foot on campus and talk to real students to see what the college is all
about. This was such a fantastic
experience, I am so grateful for everything I learned and all the wonderful
people I met!
Any additional information to share about these
colleges? Leave your comments!
About Smart Track™
Toolkit: The toolkit is a
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About the author: Laura Guarino is the Student Services Coordinator
with the College Resource Center, LLC. Laura has a Bachelor's Degree in Human Development from Boston College
and a Master’s Degree in School Guidance Counseling. She is also enrolled in a certificate program
in College Admissions Counseling. Laura
is at the forefront of the college admissions process for the families of The Smart
Track™ Toolkit.
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