I am not here to tell you whether Middlebury College is “good” or “bad” for your child. No federal data can tell you that. I am here to show you what can be seen clearly, so that when you sit down with your child to talk about it, you are not guessing.
What kind of school it is, and where it stands
Middlebury College is a private nonprofit, four-year college classified as an institution focused on the arts and sciences at the bachelor’s level. The system that classifies colleges in this country describes it as a small and highly residential school: at least half of its undergraduate students live in institution-owned or institution-affiliated housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 attend full time. In that same system, it appears in the most selective admissions group.
What does “highly residential” mean for your family? It means that if your child enrolls here, they are likely to live on campus, rather than drive from home every day. That brings a separate cost, room and board, which we will discuss later. And it means something else: if you do not live near Middlebury, Vermont, you need to start thinking about the move as part of the plan, not as a last-minute detail.
Here is the exact location: Middlebury College is in the town of Middlebury, in Addison County, Vermont. The area surrounding the campus is a town setting, far from any large urban area. This does not tell you how far it is from your home or how much the trip would cost. You calculate that yourself, with your own address in hand.
As for the academic level it offers: IPEDS, the federal higher education data system, records the doctorate as the highest level Middlebury reports offering and classifies it as an institution where the bulk of the credentials it awards are bachelor’s degrees or higher. That does not mean the field your child wants to study has a connected undergraduate-to-graduate pathway here. That needs to be verified program by program, not institution by institution.
One more thing before we continue. Middlebury College is not listed as a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), a Tribal College or University, or a land-grant institution. These are three distinct designations with different histories, and among the 3,012 colleges in this national directory, 138 have at least one of them. Middlebury’s having none of these designations says nothing about which communities it serves today or how your child would feel there. Ask directly: what cultural centers exist, what student organizations are available, and better yet, talk with someone who already attends the school.
A small community, mostly from out of state
Middlebury College had 2,857 students enrolled in the most recent official count. It is medium-sized within the higher education landscape, and compared with similar private schools, it falls right in the middle: neither one of the large schools nor one of the small ones. Of that total, 2,800 are undergraduates and only 57 are graduate students. Above all, this is an undergraduate school.
Within that community, 12 out of every 100 undergraduate students are Hispanic or Latino. That is a small minority. Compared with nearly a thousand similar selective private schools, Middlebury ranks above the midpoint of that group, though not in the highest quartile. Having few Latino students does not remove the school from your child’s list, but it is information worth having before the visit: ask what is available for Latino students, whether there is a student group or cultural center, or whether anyone in the admissions office speaks Spanish.
The undergraduate population is almost evenly divided between men and women: 53 out of every 100 are women.
And here is a fact that changes the character of the campus environment: fewer than 25 out of every 100 first-time students had their permanent residence in Vermont. In fact, it was only 3 out of every 100. The rest come from other states or other countries, or their residence was not reported. This does not measure distance or transportation costs, but it does tell you something real: the vast majority of your child’s classmates, if your child enrolls here, will come from elsewhere. It is a community formed by bringing in people from far away, not by recruiting its neighbors.
How the academic year works, and how concentrated the offerings are
Middlebury operates on a 4-1-4 calendar: four courses over four months, one month with a single intensive course, and another four courses over the following four months. It is a different pace from a traditional semester, and your child should understand what studying this way feels like before making a commitment.
As for high school credits: Middlebury accepts credit from AP exams, but it does not accept credit for life experience and does not enroll high school students in college courses for credit. Saying that it accepts AP does not mean it awards credit for every exam or every score. This report does not tell us what score is required or whether those credits count toward your child’s specific degree program. Request the credit equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for those savings until you have it in hand.
In the most recent year reported, Middlebury awarded 611 bachelor’s degrees across 18 fields of study. The field with the most degrees was social sciences, with 203 of the 611, or 33 out of every 100 degrees awarded that year. Compared with similar schools, Middlebury is in the quartile that awards the most degrees each year. But the 18 fields in the report are not 18 actual programs with active offerings; each field groups several programs, and some rows may report zero. What you need to do is simple: verify the exact program that interests your child, not the school’s overall offerings.
One number that often impresses families is the student-faculty ratio: here it is 9 students for every full-time-equivalent faculty member. Compared with similar schools, Middlebury is in the lowest quartile, among the most favorable ratios available. But keep this in mind: a low ratio does not guarantee small classes. The number compares institution-wide totals; it does not count seats in a specific classroom. If this matters to you, ask directly how many students are in first-year classes.
Middlebury also reports structured academic opportunities: study abroad, cocurricular undergraduate research, and pathways for students seeking teacher certification. These pathways exist on paper; how accessible or robust they are is something to ask admissions.
Getting in: what is required and how difficult it is
There is no open admission here. Middlebury reviews several components before saying yes. Of the nine considerations measured by this report, four are required: the high school record, personal essay, letters of recommendation, and an English proficiency exam for applicants to whom it applies. Put simply, gathering documents is not enough at this college. The essay is required, so your child has to sit down and write—and write well.
Other components are not required but are considered if submitted: the high school GPA, class rank, completion of the college-preparatory program the school requires, a demonstration of competencies, and whether a family member attended the school. On that last point, if it does not apply to you, do not waste energy worrying about it. Spend that energy on what is within your child’s control.
The undergraduate application fee is $65.
Now for what families ask about most: how selective it is. In the most recent cycle, Middlebury received 13,297 first-time applications and offered admission to 1,379 applicants. That is 10 out of every 100. Compared with nearly a thousand selective private schools, Middlebury is among those that admit the smallest share: nine out of ten of those schools admitted a higher percentage of their applicants. On the other side of that calculation are 11,918 applicants who did not receive an offer.
I need to tell you this plainly: that 10 out of every 100 does not measure your child’s worth. It measures how many offers were made compared with how many people requested them that year. But I am also not going to tell you that “anyone can get in with enough effort.” The simple truth is that this is a school where few applicants are admitted, and that should translate into a college list that also includes schools that admit most applicants.
Of the students Middlebury admitted, 45 out of every 100 decided to enroll here. The other 55 admitted students chose another school. This is above what similar schools typically see, where a smaller share of admitted students usually enroll. This number does not measure quality or satisfaction; it only counts how many of those who were offered admission ultimately enrolled. When your child’s admission letters arrive, this fact should not determine anything. What should determine the decision is placing the letters side by side and comparing net price, field of study, and distance.
As for standardized tests, Middlebury is test optional. The SAT and ACT are not required; if your child submits them, they are considered, and if not, the application proceeds just the same. Among enrolled students who submitted SAT scores (28 out of every 100), the middle half scored between 720 and 770 in reading and writing, and between 710 and 780 in mathematics. Those numbers describe students who were already admitted, enrolled, and submitted scores, not all applicants. That 720 is not a minimum that must be reached, and that 770 does not guarantee anything either.
One last point in this section: transferring to or from Middlebury is uncommon. Of the cohort that entered in 2017, only 3 out of every 100 transferred to another school without graduating here, and in the most recent count, only 6 students arrived as transfers from another institution. If your child were to consider moving to another school later or transferring here from another one, this is not a path Middlebury uses often.
The sticker price, and what it might actually cost you
At Middlebury College, among 44 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received Title IV federal aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $10,270. Among 48 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $14,741; among 89 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $48,804. For dependent students, the income band combines their parents’ income and their own.
There is a difference of $38,534 between the average for the lowest-income band (44 students) and the average for the highest-income band (89 students). These are group averages, not a prediction of your family’s price. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $22,912.
Among the 937 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this figure with the same period coverage, Middlebury falls in the least expensive quartile for the lowest-income families after grants and scholarships are subtracted. That does not mean it will be inexpensive for your family. It is a fact that carries weight when you build the list of schools to which your child will apply.
Because the price changes so much from one income band to another, correctly identifying yours is the first step. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received Title IV federal aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The financial aid letter you receive is what matters.
Grants, Pell, and loans: who receives what
At Middlebury, 47 out of every 100 students receive some form of grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. The other 53 receive none of that aid. Among those who receive it, the annual average is $57,955. Compared with similar schools, Middlebury falls in the quartile where grants and scholarships reach fewer students.
As for Pell, the federal aid for low-income families: only 17 out of every 100 students receive it here.
Do not assume that aid will arrive. Before applying, request a list of available scholarships and grants, who qualifies for each one, and when each application is due. And when your letter arrives, remember: a high average among students who received aid says nothing about the size of your award. What matters is how much your family would have to pay out of pocket. That is the number to compare across schools, not the size of the advertised discount.
And now for the loan figure, which I think is one of the most revealing in this entire report.
In the most recent academic year, only 23 out of every 100 Middlebury undergraduate students received a federal student loan. In other words, most students here were not awarded a federal loan that year. Among those who did borrow, the average was $5,749 in that academic year.
Do not read too much into it. The fact that most students did not use a federal loan does not tell us how the others managed: they may have had scholarships or grants, employment, family savings, or another type of debt not captured by this report. And that average of $5,749 does not include PLUS loans that parents sometimes take out, bank debt, or credit card debt. Nor is it the total debt with which a student graduates after several years. That number is not in this report.
Middlebury also offers a prepaid tuition plan and an installment payment plan, in case either helps organize the family budget.
Housing, athletics, the library, and other support
Middlebury has its own housing. It does not require all first-time students to live there, although that does not mean no program has that specific requirement for your child. The reported maximum capacity of institutional housing is 2,682 students. It also offers meal plans with a fixed number of meals per week under its largest plan. Before removing room and board from the budget on the assumption that “it is already taken care of,” request this year’s exact rate in writing and ask whether there is a waiting list for housing.
If your child is interested in ROTC, Middlebury reported only the Army branch. Navy and Air Force are not marked. Their not being marked does not mean participation is impossible, but if your child is interested in another branch, ask directly, including whether the program is taken on this campus or another one.
In athletics, Middlebury competes at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA. The report confirms membership for football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field, but it does not specify the division or whether athletic scholarships are available. If athletics are part of your child’s plan, ask the coach of the specific team directly, in writing.
The library has employed staff, physical and digital collections, and interlibrary loan, with annual expenditures exceeding the government’s reporting threshold of $100,000. On paper, it is a complete operation; personalized assistance and loan turnaround times are things to ask about during the visit.
As for distance education, Middlebury offers it at the undergraduate and graduate levels, but in the most recent count, zero undergraduate students took their entire course load through distance education. All took at least one in-person class. And the institution explicitly reported that it does not offer a complete program in which all required courses can be completed through distance education. If this matters to your child for any reason, confirm it with the exact program in mind.
Finally, Middlebury reports combined academic and career counseling services, student employment, placement services for graduates, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, and a published address for services for students with disabilities.
How likely your child is to stay and graduate
Here, Middlebury shows some of the highest figures in this entire report, and it is worth understanding them correctly.
Of the cohort that entered in the fall of 2022, 94 out of every 100 were still enrolled here or had already graduated one year later. Compared with similar schools, Middlebury is among those that retain the most students. This number combines two different groups—those still enrolled and those who have already graduated—without separating them, so it is not the same as a final graduation rate.
As for graduation: among students who entered in 2017 as full-time bachelor’s-degree-seeking students, 93 out of every 100 graduated within six years. In concrete numbers, 587 out of 634. At four years, the figure falls to 71 out of every 100, twenty-two percentage points lower. Those twenty-two points matter in a very concrete way: four years is the period most families have budgeted for. Before signing anything, ask in writing how long your child’s program typically takes, how required courses are scheduled, and how the total cost would change if a fifth year became necessary.
Compared with similar schools, Middlebury is among those that graduate the largest share of their students.
And finally, looking at eight years: of a cohort that entered in 2015-16, 92 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school as of August 2023. Among students who received a Pell Grant, the figure was 90 out of every 100, a difference of only two percentage points. This places Middlebury among the schools of its type that graduate the most students within that period.
I need to tell you this with the same clarity with which I gave you the figure: none of this predicts what will happen to your child. These are data from a specific cohort, at a specific time, at this school. What they do tell you, without exaggerating or minimizing, is that the historical norm at Middlebury has been for the people who enroll to stay and finish. That is real information, and it is also only one part of the picture.
Putting the pieces together
You have now seen what Middlebury College is, according to its own reports to the federal government: a small, highly selective school populated mostly by students from out of state, with a sticker price among the highest in the country, but also with a marked difference between what lower-income and higher-income families pay. You have seen that almost no one here uses federal loans, that most of those who enroll stay, and that nearly all eventually graduate.
None of these numbers decides whether Middlebury is the right school for your child. That depends on two other pieces this article cannot give you: what your child wants to study and what they have built so far, and what your family can realistically pay and is willing to pay once you have the financial aid letter in hand.
If you live far from Vermont, start discussing the move as a real part of the plan. If your child has not yet written a serious essay, now is the time to start, because it is not optional here.
What I can tell you is this: you now know this piece of the puzzle thoroughly, without guessing and without anyone making it sound better or worse than it is. Put it together with the other two pieces, and a real plan can emerge.
The information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and the United States Department of Education, with data corresponding primarily to the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent Middlebury College or any government agency; this article is independent informational material.