Sadly, there are many things I'd change about Middlebury, but I'll start with the broadest: Middlebury tends toward the dull side. I wouldn't call it outright boring, but it just feels a bit too...safe. It feels exactly like what you'd expect when you hear "New England liberal arts college," without much of a unique spin on the concept. There's a general lack of creativity in the way people lead their lives that's depressing to me. Many students seem kind of lulled into a rhythm of J. Crew and Keystone Light and library cubicles. I mean, if there's a theme party, most assume other people will dress up, so it's okay if they're in the minority that doesn't, and then no one has gotten into costume because they all thought the same thing, and then it's just a keg party. Or take environmentalism, supposedly this really vital, unique aspect of the school: actually, it's largely the same people in all the environmental groups. Many students are vaguely conscious about the environment, but it's not something they're concerned with, and if someone throws out a bunch of paper, few students here would move the paper to the recycling bin. The college just plays it all up to attract applicants and donations; the reality is a lot less progressive. No matter its administration's efforts, Middlebury is, in a lot of ways, just like its similarly prestigious competitors in the US News & World Report rankings race.
At about 2500 students, Middlebury's size puts it in a weird limbo where there's not really much of a community in the sense of everyone being aware of one another, but you can't escape and live your own, independent life. Still, 2500 is nice because it means there's always someone new to meet, but you recognize a lot of faces. And the Feb program brings in about 90 new kids each February, and these are typically the coolest, most interesting kids on campus.
Middlebury, VT is a very small, very quaint town with a low crime rate, lots of great restaurants, and...not much else. There's about five stores on Main Street that sell Vermont-shaped bottles of maple syrup. Exploring the area is rewarding -- hikes, swimming holes, weird antique stores and more abound -- check out the Meat Shack sometime! And, it's beautiful beautiful beautiful here! With the Green Mountains to the east and the Adirondacks to the west, the views are incredible in all four seasons. The campus itself is quite lovely as well -- the matching stone buildings feel very quaint and collegiate, although, unfortunately, for every Chateau there's a Davis Family Library. If pastoral beauty isn't doing it for you, Burlington is just 45 minutes away and is a small metropolis with shopping, food, music, movies, and so on. If you're still not satisfied, Boston and Montreal are popular weekend getaways for the lucky few with cars.
When I tell people I go to Middlebury, they usually ask, "Where's that? Is it a good school?" if they don't know it, or if they do, "Oh, that's a great school! What language do you take?" School pride here definitely exists -- many Middlebury students LOVE Middlebury. But it shows up more in their choice of sweatshirts than in the attendance of sports games. Except for Quidditch. Everyone is so proud (!!!) that we invented Muggle Quidditch and that we've never lost a game. This is discussed fairly frequently.
The most frequent complaints come from students who are used to warm weather who are enduring January in Vermont.