After what has been a horrendous college application season, I have whittled down my college choices to Middlebury and Emory. The academic reputation of each college, I am sad to admit, is quite important to me, as are their respective economics and political science departments as I would like to study International Political Economy. I am also concerned about the social scenes on campus and their academic resources. I understand that I am really comparing apples and oranges here, but I believe these schools give two different versions of the undergraduate experience that are really attractive to me. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Scott

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9654785)

Middlebury has been around for a long time and is highly touted academically. It's in the middle of nowhere, however. This may alienate some people, but if you think you can settle in comfortably there and be satisfied with an occasional jaunt to burlington, vermont and montreal, then it's a good place for you.

I think that the quality of education to be had at the Vermont school surpasses that at Emory, though not by much. Remember, the later is a university with burgeoning graduate programs. This means that the presence of graduate students and the weekly seminars that import visitors all year will give you exposure to interesting figures in your field of choice. While Middlebury may bring in some visitors as well, it wouldn't be as many because the institution is undergraduate-oriented.

You cannot go wrong at either institution. Visit them in the few weeks you have left to decide if you can afford it, and go with your gut.

Congrats on getting into some good schools when so many this year did not.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9655394)

To a person, everyone I know who who went to Middlebury is extremely proud that he has done so. And to a person, they are utter sacks of shit.

Emory is the only choice in my book. Enjoy.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9655710)

Middlebury is more prestigious dood.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9656199)

Middlebury = TTT for artsy-fartsy pretenders who are full of themselves.

Emory = Major research university.

End of discussion.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9656298)

Then they go up against research university grads on a law school exam, a job application, or anything--you name it.

Invariably, the Middlebury grads get pwned, and are left whimpering something like, "But, but, I went to Middlebury!"

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9659243)

Perhaps I should present an example. Pomona is similar to Middlebury in that it is a small Liberal Arts college, not a large research university. However, the percentage of Pomona grads going into law school is higher than most of the larger "research university" Ivies.

I'm not saying that you're completely wrong, but saying that larger research universities offer a "better" education is myopic and, in my opinion, not true.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9659257)

Middlebury is just not one of them, though. Something in the water there makes their graduates stop trying once they get out. For my money, give me Amherst, Tufts, Williams, Trinity, Wesleyan, hell, even Connecticut College.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9659394)

In the now outdated Wall Street Journal feeder school ranking, Middlebury came out ahead of Cornell, Hopkins, Wesleyan, and destroyed Emory. And Midd has become much more selective since then.

Just because you hang around with tools doesn't mean that all Midd grads are the caliber of the people you associate with.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9660559)

Dude, even the tools I know don't refer to their school as Midd.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9664582)

If you don't mind the ball-chilling frigidity, all in all a fantastic place to go to school.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9656577)

have you visitied both schools? if not try to do so and stay overnight with a student. then just go with your gut instinct. this is what i would do in your position.

they're both good schools and you can't really go wrong with them. personally i think of middlebury as being "better" and more prestigious by a good margin, though they offer two vey different environments. i think i would end up choosing emory.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9659338)

I wish I applied there - and other LAC's for that matter - in high school.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9661137)

Go to Emory

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9661672)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9662154)

Oh and I think you'll get better grades at Middlebury. Its a great Grad School feeder. Going to Harvard grad is not impossible and has been done. You'd rather compete with other Middleybury students (which is a small number) than Emory undergrads.

Also, when classes are closer, its easier to keep concentration. You want your living space, class space, and study space to all have similar atmospheres and at Emory it could become a bit of a large campus blur.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9661946)

ESPECIALLY if "the academic reputation of each college, I am sad to admit, is quite important to me, as are their respective economics and political science departments as I would like to study International Political Economy."

Midd has far and away the better academic reputation. Much more selective with an outstanding reputation. Ridiculous IP&E (international politics and economics) department. Unless you have some unreasonable aversion to the cold, you need to send your deposit to VT ASAP.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9662232)

I would like to thank everyone who has posted on this thread concerning my up-coming college decision. I have read each and every comment and have given weight to a considerable majority of them. As per many of y'all's advice, I have visited both institutions and can say that each provides an environment where I can thrive and expand my academic and social horizons for the next four years. I am still in the process of deciding between these schools, but I appreciate every snippet of assistance that this community has given me.

The only thing that is definitive, however, is that I am incredibly grateful to be in this situation. Coming from a family who was ecstatic some 35 years ago that my father would be able to attend Miami-Dade Community College with a scholarship, I feel blessed to be presented with the opportunities that have placed before me. I could not think of a more envious position than where I am currently.

Thank You,

Scott

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9662480)

I come from the South. I don't know a damn thing about Middlebury. I hadn't heard of it until I came to PR. I suspect that sentiment is widespread outside the Northeast. So if you plan to get a job in the South, West, or Midwest right after college, I doubt the name will carry you very far. Perhaps graduate schools admissions officers might know more than the layman, but they carry their own regional biases as well. Emory is also very regional, don't get me wrong, but its national reputation is still improving while Middlebury has probably reached its glass ceiling.

But as an Emory alum, don't let these people tell you that the social scene at Emory is much better than in bumfuck, Vermont. Emory has a strong greek culture (1/3 of all guys and 4/5 of all girls go Greek) so if you're not really into the frat scene you're pretty much a prisoner on campus. They will not let you live off-campus or have your own car for the first two years so you have little to no access to the wealth of enjoyable activities in Atlanta. It isn't until junior year where you finally get to expand your social horizon (ie. Going to the bars you want to go to, going to Braves games, driving up to Stone Mountain in the middle of the night for no good reason, etc.). When you have that freedom, Atlanta is one of the best college towns in the country - but Emory goes out of its way to make sure you don't have that freedom. They want to cultivate a LAC-esque campus environment in a semi-urban setting; in doing so, they've destroyed one of greatest advantages in coming to Emory.

I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have about the academic life at Emory.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9665166)

Indeed, to come to Middlebury from Alaska, or Oklahoma, or Sri Lanka, you'd need to know a bit about the academic world and have done research into elite college admissions. More than three quarters of Middlebury students come from outside New England, and 11 percent are international.

Your post confirms my belief that kids who end up at Emory have somewhat of a more myopic view of the world. And I would rather live in the middle of nowhere then in suburban Atlanta. Seriously. And applications to Middlebury have doubled in the past 3 years. Hardly indicative of reaching a "glass ceiling."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9665437)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_VixlWsASI

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9668596)

I think liberal arts is a sweet deal. YOu study for what you wanna study, and if you're a smart enough guy and your school's a good enough school, you won't have a major problem with your job hunt out of college. There's a reason why only one of eight ivies have a "business" major undergrad.

Majoring in something ebcause of a job is pretty poor.

Um, and going to a research university won't help you score higher on the LSATs. If anything because you're forced to take classes in which you must read and write and think critically, you may even be better off.

Middlebury is a good enough school. Folks who go there don't try hard after college because, as pointed out, they usually are rich white kids, and also because generally, a Middlebury name will carry you to a certain point in the Northeast.

Emory will carry you in Georgia.

Choose what you will.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9670474)

i would rank at least twenty schools above it

and don't try and be cute saying it's on its way up, either the institution as a whole or its undergrad ranking/prestige. prestige mobility happens in the 50s and 60s and stuff. schools in the top 20 are pretty much set in stone. Emory will never be respected, just like WashU (a better research institution, and undergrad once ranked in top 10) will always get shitted on.

Emory is a very poor man's Wash U, dude.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9670479)

FWIW, i attended Dartmouth, which is pretty LACcy itself, and have always valued that since like, fourth grade. My parents are the type that think when money becomes an end, not a mean or a byproduct, then you just suck at life.

anyways, i don't really get what's so bitter about my assertions. aside from subjective things (like "everyone hates atlanta and emory") try to prove me wrong on the more objective ones.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9682234)

1) that there are twenty research universities in the US that rank ahead of Emory in terms of overall quality of faculty, research, and institution

2) that, save for cute USNews flukes to sell copies or Emory's stepping up of gaming the rankings, it will not rise above where it currently stands

3) that no one educated and informed has any respect for Wash U as an institution, and Emory has still got long ways to go to catch up to Wash U

4) that going to a research university doesn't mean shit when it comes to taking grad school admissions tests

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9686347)

yeah, the dude needs to go to Middlebury. Anyone who thinks Emory is better academically needs to get their head out of their ass. Especially since the OP wants to study political economy.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9683247)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9683285)

Emory is 17.

If all the schools were combined on one list, the rank would be pretty similar.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9686386)

After reviewing what everyone here and in my personal circles have told me and what I have been able to find from students at both institutions, I have decided to become a Middlebury Panther. Go Panthers!!

Thanks to all who have posted on this thread. I really do appreciate everyone's opinions and insights into the schools. Its been a torturous process, but I now get to relax knowing that after years of hard work, I am going to a top-tier school that will be able to catapult me into the world of Global Economics.

Though I am appreciative of everyone's input here, I must say that I was slightly repulsed by some posters comments about both schools. To be frank, the level of pretentiousness and snobbery that prevails in some of these posts is abhorrent. If you seriously consider these schools as so sub-par, I truly feel sad for you and your myopic view of the world.

Thanks Y'all,

Scott

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=801361&forum_id=1#9688910)