Middlebury College
Sample Review

Name: Jake Carroll

Hometown: San Antonio, TX

Class Year: Senior

Major: Theatre

Extracurriculars: Improv, lit. mag, radio station

What are some stereotypes about Middlebury students?

That we're all rich, northeast, high-school-sports-captain types who are racist, or we're extremely crunchy, environmental hippies who eat sprouts.

Are the stereotypes accurate?

I think the international diversity at Middlebury is impressive. Basically - the school is split in half between the jock contingent and the hippie contingent, but most people can be found somewhere in between. This makes for a seemingly homogenous student body at first glance. Though, like most schools, a closer look does reveal a variety of people with unique interests, upbringings, political views, etc ...

Middlebury: The Big Picture

The best thing about the college is the setting. When I leave Vermont, I feel like I'll miss the surrounding area like crazy. There are endless mountains and ridiculous views and trails to take in-hiking, biking, running, skiing, you name an outdoor activity and it's probably possible within 20 minutes of Middlebury. In the fall, there's the famous Vermont foliage. In the spring and summer you can stick around and swim at Lake Dunmore. In the winter you can freeze your balls off and also ski at the Middlebury Snow Bowl. Camping is big at Middlebury and I definitely took advantage as often as possible. Some of the best times of my life were on these trips. If you come from a big city, a small town in the south, or wherever, it's almost guaranteed that you'll fall in love with Vermont by the end of four years.

In the middle of all this grandeur, Middlebury sits in a small college town which has all the necessities, but not quite enough fun things to do. A few more nightlife options or bars would definitely be nice. Middlebury's administration knows students want this, and recently they've gotten a little better at trying to provide it (they bought some buildings in the town to turn them into nightlife venues), but students are slightly skeptical as far as how successful this attempt will turn out to be, since many previous attempts turned out to be duds.

Generally, however, students are super happy and friendly and if you were to ask anyone on campus if they're "happy," they'd probably do a little dance or something. Because they're so happy, I mean. Aside from the gargantuan work load, it's really easy to be happy at a place like Middlebury.

Academics at Middlebury

Middlebury has a core curriculum every student must satisfy. That said, it's pretty lenient and opens many students up to the opportunity to take a diverse array of classes that they might not have chosen. Taking a foreign language is required as part of the core, and this is a good thing since Middlebury has a world- renowned foreign language program. There's also a new requirement which means you have to take a few classes dealing with outside cultures - European, African Studies, etc - which is probably a good idea.

Across the board, Middlebury professors tend to be phenomenal. They make a real effort to learn students' names, and in many cases to stay in touch once the class is over. Throughout my time at Middlebury I've remained in contact with history, English, and theatre professors. My favorite class thus far has been Modern Middle Eastern Politics and Culture, which was taught by a former US diplomat to Egypt (and a contributor to the 9/11 Report.) The professor was extremely knowledgeable, and it was all the more lively because we had both a Palestinian student and an Israeli student as members of our class. (Middlebury has a pretty good international student community, and they contribute a lot to the academic/intellectual atmosphere.)

I'm a theater major, and the theatre dept is definitely close-knit and chummy. All the students know each other and work together. There are 4 theatres, and all of them are in constant use. The English dept is also very strong - professors are all well-regarded, published authors. Middlebury also hosts the very prestigious Bread Loaf Writer's Conference each year.

Overall, Middlebury is definitely geared towards learning for its own sake. I'm hearing this sometimes creates some issues upon graduation, however, because liberal-arts minded types are sometimes left wandering and confused. Recently, the environmental studies dept. has helped a lot of students land really interesting, promising post-graduate jobs. A lot of students have found themselves working in environmentally-minded careers.

Middlebury's Student Body

Most Middlebury students are upper-middle class. I'm on a lot of financial aid, and I've definitely felt weird at times dealing with money issues with my friends. But rich kids don't ever flaunt their cash. Generally, you won't be able to notice the inordinately wealthy students.

Politically, I'd say 50% of students are super liberal, 25% are moderate, and the other 25% are (semi-secretly) conservative. For the most part, students are tolerant of other students' beliefs and political leanings. Racially, there are lots of international students, but not many African American students. I think African American students from larger cities tend to feel a bit out of place at Middlebury, despite the college's best efforts.

The gay community, too, is a bit divided at Middlebury. MOQA, the most visible gay group on campus, isn't as prominent as some might like it to be - and a lot of gay students seem to shun MOQA for various reasons. On top of that, there's still rampant homophobia on campus. Most students are extremely tolerant, but a stupid minority will, without fail, knock over and rip apart any MOQA displays each year. That's always really disappointing.

Activities + Social Life at Middlebury

On weekend days, Middlebury provides some great entertainment options, including concerts, films and readings from some of the most prominent authors and journalists. The Center for the Arts always has something cool going on, too.

On weekend nights, students drink a lot. Seeing as we're in rural Vermont, which has nothing much to do in the way of "nightlife", this makes sense. Students drink and smoke pot in each other's dorm rooms, at big off-campus parties, in "Social Houses" (Middlebury's version of frats/ sororities), and in language houses (French, Spanish, etc.) where theme parties are thrown almost every weekend. When they turn 21 (or not), students can also go into town and drink at any of the three skeezy bars the town offers. None of these bars offers a "club" atmosphere per se, but one of them, Angela's, does have a wicked/awkward karaoke night.

Once students are drunk, hooking up is big, but so are typical college "marriages", where couples stay joined at the hip for years on end. Apparently, Middlebury has one of the highest marriage rates for its alums...something like 60%. The students, generally, are ridiculously attractive, fit, and smart. There's a running joke that people have to submit a photo in order to get accepted to Middlebury. In the winter months, it gets cold, so most do choose to sleep with someone else to keep warm. (Zing!)

No Holds Barred

Middlebury is in an interesting place right now - while on one hand we have more international students than ever before, there still seem to be a lot of racial tensions underneath the surface... tensions that the administration could probably do more to alleviate. These issues are far from volatile, and aren't noticeable on a day-to-day basis by any means, but it seems like there are unresolved issues.

The amazing environmental program is a great reason to love Middlebury -- the college has really decided to stand for something, and has put its endowment where its mouth is. As a result, environmental activism at Middlebury really is a huge deal, and is visible on campus from all angles. The arts scene, while much smaller in scale, also seems to be growing each year, with film and theater programs becoming bigger draws for prospective students. In general, I've loved my experience at Middlebury. The people are interesting and the place is gorgeous and I wish I could stay a few more years and drink Otter Creek and eat American Flatbread (the greatest, healthiest pizza in the world. You'll love it.)

Now if only they could solve that "nightlife" problem ...

In Closing ...

What's the best thing about Middlebury? The beautiful setting.

What's the worst thing about Middlebury? The lack of nightlife, the lack of socio-economic/ethnic diversity.