Middlebury College
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Economics
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Heterosexual Male
Summary
I’m a student-athlete and I’m also on the club hockey team. I’m also a member of the Community Friends which is a mentoring program.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Private boarding school in Connecticut with a graduating class of about 110 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Economics
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I’m a student-athlete and I’m also on the club hockey team. I’m also a member of the Community Friends which is a mentoring program.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
My sport has just because of the time commitment. Club hockey is fun, I’ve met some friends through that. Community Friends is nice because you get to help the kids out in town.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
For the most part, it’s all problem sets. Generally, classes have a problem set a week and either one or two midterms depending on how much content is in the class. Some classes have final research papers, but it’s less common to have papers throughout the semester. Once you get to the senior seminars you have presentations and more project-based work.
Is there anything that you feel your major’s department does especially well or especially poorly?
I think it’s a good department. They offer a lot of help and the professors I’ve had are pretty good. They all have office hours a couple of times a week so you can go in for help with problem sets. There is definitely a lot of help from peer tutors. The only issue is that there are a lot of Economics students so classes tend to be on the larger side. Once you get to your seminars, the classes are all about 18 people which is pretty good. In those classes, you get some pretty good conversations and debates.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s definitely a little bit of both, but probably more on the collaborative side. A lot of male athletes are Economics majors, so we tend to all work together on problem sets which is fine with the professors as long as you’re not just copying someone else’s answers. It’s competitive just in that people are trying to do their best, not that they want to have you do poorly.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re very accessible. The combination of professors and peer tutors always gives you enough help if you really need it. For the most part, if you can’t make a professor’s office hours you can just set up a meeting.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I’m happy with my choice. Mathematics was always my favorite subject growing up. I took a couple of math classes here and they were very hard and theoretical. I like how applicable Economics is and is what I stay interested in outside of school, so it was a pretty easy choice for me. Being a liberal arts school, we don’t have a business or finance major so that’s why so many people choose Economics. I’ve been happy with my professors and the classes I’ve taken.
How was managing both your sport and your coursework?
I think it’s very manageable. Freshman and sophomore year when you have more daily assignments, you have to be pretty good about doing the work on the weekends when you’re traveling in the hotel room or in the van. Usually, I have practice at 4:00PM, go get dinner after, and then get homework done at night. The best thing to do is get your work done during the day because you will have some downtime between classes and in the morning.
Reasons to Attend
1) The education and general prestige of the school. If the liberal arts education is something you grew up doing in high school, it’s a great continuation of that. By the end, you graduate from problem sets and tests to presentations and projects. I’ve seen myself progress from the work that I’m doing, which is nice.
2) The alumni network. I know a lot of people who were heavily in contact with alumni for networking and jobs and, for the most part, it all worked out.
3) Being a student-athlete and having the balance of playing sports at a competitive level and also have the coaches understand that academics are pretty important. The professors are also pretty understanding about having stuff to get done for sports and traveling.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It’s a big commitment to come out to Vermont. If you don’t like being isolated from everything then maybe look for a school that’s closer to a city. Our biggest city is Burlington which is 45-minutes away. Once you’re here, you’re here.
2) Being an athlete is a big part of the school here, especially for the guys. Most of my guy friends are athletes and some of my girl friends are but not all of them. I think the girls do a better job of mixing.
3) Liberal arts is a very specific type of education. I wouldn’t say I’ve learned a lot of material that will carry through after graduation. It’s more about trusting that how you’re learning is going to help you grow.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Allen Hall in a double
Sophomore: I had a special situation and was in a joint single, which is two singles with an adjoining door. I was in Coffrin Hall.
Junior: I studied abroad the fall semester and then came back and lived in a single in Hepburn Hall.
Senior: I live in an off-campus house with two other people. It’s right on the edge of campus so it’s not any further than some of the on-campus housing.
What is your favorite living situation?
The off-campus house. We get put in Commons where we live with the same people your first two years. Mine was fine but definitely not as social as some other Commons because the rooms were just singles and doubles. In other Commons, you can get suites of five people which I think is better to meet new people. I found myself hanging out in those halls, but I definitely liked having my room to myself sophomore to junior year.
How was transitioning from Connecticut to Middlebury, VT?
Middlebury is definitely in the middle of nowhere so you find yourself just staying on campus most of the time. People are into doing outdoor activities like going on hikes and stuff. It’s nice not having too much to do because everybody stays on campus, which is nice. It gets a little boring sometimes with limited food options and having to drive 30-minutes to do something fun.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
The safety is really good. We have public safety and the blue light system. There are also emergency hotlines that you can call. I’ve never had any issues with safety.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
Usually, we go out on Fridays and Saturdays. A lot of what we do freshman and sophomore year is hang out in people’s rooms and then people who live in senior housing have open parties that people can go to usually on Saturdays, so we’d go to those. Fridays can be more lowkey. Off-campus housing has parties occasionally and those are little bit more for upperclassmen. Other than that, I do a lot of active stuff getting outside. My friends will play paddle tennis and I played a lot of squash freshman and sophomore year because the courts are open to anyone when the team isn’t practicing.
What is the impact of sports teams on the nightlife?
It’s very high. Because there’s no Greek life, a lot of the sports teams have taken on that role of hosting parties. For the most part, teams are the ones that organize parties and throw them. Not just athletes go to these parties, but you know which team’s party you’re going to. [About 25% of students are athletes.]
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a weekend activity?
There’s always stuff going on. There are a lot of performances that happen on the weekends. I can’t say that I’ve been to a lot of them, but I always get the emails about them. If you really look out for it, there’s always stuff to do.
How happy are you with the nightlife at Middlebury? If you could change anything, what would you change?
Overall, for what the housing options are and what we have, it’s pretty good. You definitely see the same people out on the weekends, but you get to know the faces and people who are in the class above and below you. Some of the parties get really packed but they don’t really get shut down. The campus police are just there to make sure no one does anything stupid.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
Some of them are on my team and the other ones I met through mutual friends. You also get to know the other athletes and then get to know their teammates, so now by senior year we have a really good group of guys on a bunch of different teams. Sports is a pretty big aspect and getting to know each team has let me make some close friends.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
You can tell where people are from in terms of wealth because just walking around there are a lot of social indicators that people are wealthy. Like, you see Canada Goose jackets all winter. That’s one part of it, but the other part is people are really friendly and you can go up to anyone and say hi to them. There is also a slight divide between the crunchier people and the more preppy people. [Socioeconomically, about 23% of students are from the top 1%.]
To what extent do students of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I’d say it’s about average. People of different sexual orientations mix really well, I don’t think that’s an issue on campus. Race is hard because it’s such a White school, so there’s not much racial mixing just because there is such a clear minority. But, if there were more minorities here, I don’t think racial mixing would be an issue because there is no prevalent racism around campus. [About 62% of students at Middlebury are White.]
How would you describe the student body?
Very competitive people who want to do well in school and also get good jobs. People are self-driven and motivated and you can see that in the classroom and when it gets time for final exams. There are a few people who are not as good about getting their work done and everyone knows who they are because everyone else actually gets their stuff done. Also, everyone’s pretty friendly. Once you get to know your group of friends and your bigger group of friends in your class, you can go do any activity with anyone. If you like to go skiing, which is a big part of the winter here, you can ski with twenty to thirty different people during the season.
How do you like the size of Middlebury in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 2,500 undergraduates.]
I like the small size. I think it’s a good size for me coming from a private school where I was used to having small classrooms. Socially, I probably would like it to be a little bit bigger because you end up seeing all the same around people. But, you get to know them really well, which is nice. The main thing about the size is the size of the classrooms and being able to never have issues with going into office hours.
Do you think people are generally happy with their choice of Middlebury by senior year? Do you think people leave loving Middlebury?
Yeah, I actually just got an apartment with four other Middlebury guys in New York City. I think the biggest thing Is the Middlebury network is great and the friends you make here are awesome. The main thing I’ll remember from Middlebury is the close friends and I think that’s why people keep up with it.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
I got my job next year through Handshake, which is a pretty common thing. A lot of Middlebury alumni will come back and put on panels a couple of times a year. I’m going to work in finance, so the big banks will send up people to do information sessions and about half of the people they send up are Middlebury alumni. If you introduce yourself and follow up with them, they always do put in a good word and we’ve had people do really well in the past at those companies, so people are willing to put out offers to interns which usually turns into a full-time offer.
To what extent have you used the career office? How helpful were they?
I went there once for a one-on-one meeting with the woman who is focused on finance and consulting. She showed me how to use the Middlebury platforms and how to search for jobs and helped me with my resume. I didn’t use them that much because she’s usually pretty busy because it’s a high-interest field here. They have all the tools there, so it’s just up to you to use them.
Have you learned any computer programs or languages that will be helpful to you professionally?
Mostly just Excel. In my accounting and finance class we did some Excel work but nothing too crazy. In Economics, we use Stata, which is more of an economics program.