Middlebury College

by Roland Allen ~ July 9th, 2009
Vermont

Vermont

It takes about an hour to drive the 35 miles down U.S. Highway 7 from Burlington to Middlebury. Middlebury College, founded in 1800, is adjacent to the village center.

The Village of Middlebury is classic New England, with bustling sidewalk cafes, restaurants, bookstores, folk art shops, a stream running beneath Main Street, and the like. Middlebury is home of Vermont’s original marble quarries. Many of the buildings on Middlebury College’s very attractive campus are built with Vermont marble, and the College fits in nicely with the local environment. You can take a virtual tour online. The College was more vibrant than expected for a summer visit. In fact, campus was buzzing with summer students, researchers and visitors.

Middlebury is a NESCAC college, meaning that it is part of the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Other member colleges are Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Trinity, Tufts, Williams and Wesleyan. With nearly 2400 undergraduate students, Middlebury is larger than most NESCAC colleges.

Middlebury is further distinguished by the variety of programs offered. The College has an international focus. Often noted are the language programs, and the Breadloaf School of English, which Mr. Reemstma and Mr. Peter Clark are attending this summer. The renown Monterey Institute of International Studies in California is affiliated with Middlebury College.

The College offers summer language programs for middle and upper school students through the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy.

St. Margaret’s presents the Middlebury College Book each year at the spring awards ceremony. This book is given to a student with a proven interest in and concern for the environment.

I had a great visit to Middlebury. Many of the admissions officers have long tenures in the profession, and I’ve known a few of them for years. Even though the admissions office was hosting a large group today, they took time to meet with me, and incorporated me into some of the activities planned for the group.

Mr. Blake at Middlebury's Breadloaf Mountain Campus

Mr. Blake at Middlebury's Breadloaf Mountain Campus

Historical Note: Emma Willard House, home to Middlebury’s admissions office, is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places and is a National Landmark. Emma Willard lived here when she founded Middlebury Seminary for Women in 1814; the first institution of higher learning founded for women in the United States.

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Colorado Colleges

by Gabrielle McColgan ~ July 8th, 2009

Mr. Allen and I spent a great 4 days at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO right after graduation and I was able to stay on a couple extra days to visit other schools in the area.

 

Colorado College is probably best known for its Block Plan, a system where students enroll in one course at a time for 3 weeks ‘blocks.’ There are two other schools that are known for this type of calendar: Cornell College in Iowa and Quest University in Canada. Find out more about the CC block plan.

 

I was also able to visit the University of Denver, Colorado State University and University of Colorado, Boulder. From Denver to Ft. Collins to Boulder, the weather was gorgeous and I was impressed with how connected to nature the students can be when studying in these beautiful places. Hiking, skiing and snowboarding are popular sports for CO college students and outdoor recreation is constantly on the schedule.

 

Some highlights at CSU was the Student Media’s Radio, TV and Newspaper opportunities and the veterinary and human cadaver labs! At Boulder I learned about the Kittredge Honors Program which is an incredible way to combine residential and academic life as well experience smaller class sizes and more academic challenge. DU also had a gorgeous campus set right in Denver, with both a very strong campus atmosphere as well as a strong connection to the greater city of Denver. They have a number of fantastic programs including the Lamont School of Music (with their brand new multi-million dollar conservatory building) as well as the Daniels College of Business where students can enroll in a class that gives them real money to invest as a semester long project among other hands-on courses.

 

All four of these colleges have so much to offer SMES students, feel free to come and talk with us about them!

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Common Application Launches

by Roland Allen ~ July 8th, 2009

The Common Application for the 2009-2010 application year launched on July 1. California colleges joining the Common Application as new members this year include Menlo College, Mount St. Mary’s College and Pepperdine University.

Currently 392 colleges and universities accept the Common Application.

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SOS Classroom

by Roland Allen ~ July 8th, 2009

Students in an advanced writing class at USC created an online summer school for students in Los Angeles public schools whose summer school classess were cancelled because of the State’s budget crisis.

The project, called SOS Classroom, gathers and organizes educational web resources that K-8 grade students can use to enhance their learning over the summer.

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University of Vermont and Burlington

by Roland Allen ~ July 7th, 2009

Founded in 1791, the University of Vermont is the fifth oldest college in New England. The University is called UVM, which is from its Latin name, Universitas Viridis Montis, meaning, the University of the Green Mountains.

UVM is considered one of the so-called “Public Iviies”, along with other public notables, including, the universities of Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina, California at Berkeley, Texas, College of William and Mary, and Miami of Ohio.

UVM is a beautiful campus in a fortunate location. Burlington, Vermont is a vibrant city on Lake Champlain, about 90 minutes from Montreal and 3 hours from Boston. Burlington is one of the most livable cities in America. The university is walking distance from downtown and the waterfront, which includes restaurants, pubs, hotels and shopping. Burlington feels like a European university city because of its history, sidewalk cafes and active “urban” life in this city of 40,000 residents.

The university offers many standout academic programs, including a school for environment and natural resources.

I flew from Orange County to Burlington, with a change of planes in Detroit. I rented a car and will make the rounds through Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine. My trip will conclude at Boston’s Logan International Airport, where I’ll drop off my rental car and return home on an early evening flight.

Colleges close to UVM include St. Michael’s College, Middlebury College, and Dartmouth College. One could also visit McGill Unviersity in Montreal, which is less than two hours away.

Notes:

UVM uses the Common Application.

Visiting UVM and online tour.

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