Middlebury, VT: I had heard many things about Middlebury before I actually saw it, and these things were floating through my head as I made the four-hour drive from my home in Connecticut. The one thing that friends who had visited kept repeating was, in so many words, "This is the most beautiful college campus in all of New England." When I arrived on that beautiful fall day in late September, I was not at all disappointed.

Middlebury is a small, private college, located in northern Vermont, a half-hour south of Burlington. About 2000 students attend the college with an equal male/female ratio. Like most liberal arts colleges, Middlebury is very strong in the social sciences and the humanities. They also have an excellent science program as well as a strong language program. I am interested in majoring in Environmental Studies, which I was impressed with as well.

The campus itself was all it was cracked up to be; that is, really gorgeous. The college sits on the side of a hill, and you can actually see the horizon (between the many trees) from most points on campus. The center of town is only a short walk and includes all the necessities a kid in college might require; in other words, lots of places to eat and go bowling. My tour guide mentioned that the college provides its students with many things to do right on campus, like concerts, comedians, etc. All students can park a car on campus (many do) and some of the favorite destinations include a quick drive to Burlington (in my opinion, one of the prettiest smaller cities in New England), or the two-and-a-half hour cruise up to the city of Montreal.

The living quarters at Middlebury are some of the nicest accommodations around. Upperclassmen get the best dorms, but even the freshman rooms are larger and more livable than the cubicles most colleges provide.

Middlebury is not among the cheapest or easiest colleges to get into; but if you're looking for a fairly small, rural, yet not-at-all boring place to spend your college years, Middlebury definitely deserves your attention. n




Reviewed in 1993