Chasing the Likelies The first 'Top 100' class settles in for life at Midd

Author: Joseph Bergan and Thomas Brant

Keeping up with the Ivy League?

For many students at the College, programs like paying for visitation trips for the Top 100 students spell the downfall of the liberal arts. Last spring, Dean of Admissions Robert Clagett had to field many questions about the program and it's effects on the school. But last spring, Clagett pointed out that the program is not unique.

"Many colleges have these programs," he said. "Carleton does and so do other colleges that are a little farther away from major metropolitan areas, like Middlebury, so it's not at all unusual. It's actually been going on for quite a while."

In fact, instead of keeping up with Ivy League schools, the program is more on line with keeping up with other small liberal arts schools who have lured prospective students with free trips for decades.


Hamilton College

Dean of Admissions at Hamilton College Monica Inzer said her school does not have a formal program like Middlebury's but does occasionally offer students trips to campus.

"There are times that the Hamilton Admission Office offers 'travel scholarships' for select groups to come to visit our campus - sometimes to decide whether or not to apply, and sometimes for targeted admitted groups," she wrote in an e-mail last spring. "We assess our needs each year and make decisions according to our enrollment priorities."


Wesleyan University

Although students are concerned with Middlebury's increasing corporate identity, (see the new logo), they should take a breath of calm knowing that Wesleyan University, the small university that puts the "liberal" in the liberal arts - has the same program.

Cliff Thornton, associate dean of admissions at Wesleyan University, said his office regularly pays for students to visit campus. Every spring, Wesleyan invites around 50 students to its campus, and in the fall, around 100.

"We look for students that are outside the Northeast, haven't visited the university and had no direct contact with us," Thornton said. "We've been doing it for almost two decades."