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Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

Acceptance rate drops to 15.7%, lowest in years

<span class="photocreditinline"><a href="https://middleburycampus.com/staff_profile/abigail-chang/">Abigail Chang</a></span><br />Applications surged to a record high as the college piloted a test-optional policy.
Abigail Chang
Applications surged to a record high as the college piloted a test-optional policy.

Middlebury’s acceptance rate dipped almost 10 percentage points to 15.7% from last year’s irregular 24%, marking its lowest point in public record; the acceptance rate for the regular decision round was 13.3%. Nearly 1,900 students received offers of admission out of a record-breaking pool of 11,908 — a 30% jump in applications compared to the year before.

Middlebury was not alone in seeing a larger-than-normal applicant pool this year. Peer institutions also saw a significant hike: Amherst saw a 32% increase and Colby broke its own record from last year with a 13% increase. Applications to Colgate more than doubled.

Of those admitted, 47% are students of color — a nine percentage-point increase from the previous year. Hailing from 91 countries, 13% of accepted applicants are international students. More than a third of those accepted are first generation students.

This is the first class admitted while the college pilots a three-year test-optional policy; nearly half of all applicants did not submit ACT or SAT scores with their application.

The college anticipates that roughly 720 students will matriculate next year — 620 in the fall and 100 in February.


Abigail Chang

Abigail Chang ’23 (she/her) is the Editor in Chief.  

She previously served as a managing editor, Senior News Editor, News Editor and co-host of The Campus' weekly news radio show.  

Chang is majoring in English and minoring in linguistics. She is a member of the Media Portrayals of Minorities Project, a Middlebury lab that uses computer-assisted and human coding techniques to analyze bulk newspaper data.  

Throughout last year, Chang worked on source diversity and content audits for different media properties as an intern for Impact Architects LLC. Chang spent summer 2021 in Vermont, working as a general assignment reporter for statewide digital newspaper VTDigger.  Chang is also a member of the Middlebury Paradiddles, an a cappella group.


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