From golden children to first-years

Author: Joseph Bergan and Thomas Brant

Last spring, Middlebury admissions conducted an experiment - fly in 100 stand-out admitted students who may choose another school for one final presentation on why they should choose Middlebury. The College planned to attract "truly fabulous" students following a major increase in application numbers, from roughly 6,200 the year before last to nearly 7,200 last year, and an overall rise in the number of top applicants.

"They are some of the most sought after students in the country," Dean of Admissions Robert Clagett told the faculty last February. "We want to show them what they can do here at Middlebury College."

While these types of recruiting weekends are commonplace at big schools with big-time sports programs, the College admissions office sought out the future Yo-Yo Ma over the future Yao Ming.

The visits were specially tailored to the students' academic interests, and the students had the opportunity to not only meet with faculty members but also with juniors and seniors who were doing research projects in their areas of interest.

Clagett hoped that the College's offer would draw between 50 and 60 students to campus, with the ultimate goal of convincing 30 or more to attend. The College identified the students who would receive the offer through a committee process.

"Twenty-three of the 100 ended up matriculating," said Clagett. Although the program scored high-fives in the admissions office, the student body last spring was underwhelmed.

"I felt like the perception was that we were trying to change the make-up of the student body," said Clagett. "That's not the case at all - these people are the kind of people who have always applied to Midd."

Last year, The Middlebury Campus highlighted four students' weekends as they passed by for a final free look at the College.

Zachary Shuetz '11 was one of these "Top 100" - a colloquialism that has since been bestowed upon these students - and the experience made a big impression on him.

"Prior to the experience, I was not thinking of Middlebury at all," said Shuetz, who now lives in Hadley Hall. "After I came here and everybody seemed really nice, I said, 'I have to go to Middlebury.'"

Schuetz was also accepted at Brandeis University and The University of Connecticut (UConn) and after another look at UConn in the spring, began deciding between Brandeis and Middlebury - but Middlebury had an image problem in Schuetz's home.

"My mom was very much unimpressed with our first tour," said Schuetz. "A person on the tour asked what the drinking scene was like at Middlebury and the tour guide's answer was something along the lines of, 'Oh, it's really cool, you can drink whatever you want and Public Safety won't bother you at all.'"

But after the Top 100 visit, Schuetz was ready to enroll. He has jumped right in to Middlebury's rainbow of extracurriculars, grabbing a piece of every spectrum. Schuetz is a member of the Anime Club and the Pep Band, as well as taking part of some alternative athletics - the Quidditch Club.

"I caught the snitch last week," Schuetz said. He jokingly cites Quidditch as a determining factor for his decision. " When my sister told me last year that Middlebury had a Quidditch team, I was sold."

But what about the drinking culture at Middlebury? Was the tour guide correct in his review of Middlebury's partying scene?

"It seems to be true," said Schuetz of the comment that drinking is pretty rampant. "There was a pervasive smell on my floor that I wasn't expecting."

Students like Schuetz were duly impressed by the College's representation, but many wonder at what cost? Why should the College designate these 100 admitted students?

"The total cost was about the same as a need-based Middlebury grant," said Clagett. "There is zero financial impact on students. When we had the Strategic Plan, the President set up a fund to help fund aspects of the Strategic Plan, including attracting highly qualified students."

Sean Dennison '11 was another of the Top 100 featured in The Campus last spring. Dennison was flown in all the way from Helena, Mont. for another look at Middlebury.

"The only other school I was considering was Macalester College," said Dennison, who plays the violin in the College orchestra.

While some students know about the Top 100 program, it has not made Dennison a big celebrity on campus.

"People know that I was a Top 100, but it's not a huge deal," he said. "They didn't make a special club for us or anything."

For Dennison, the free trip was a big factor in his final decision to matriculate, however he cited other factors higher than a free coach ticket.

"My decision was based more on what I saw on campus - the classes, living in the dorms," he said.

Anne Runkel '11 one of Dennison's good friends from the same high school in Helena was also a Top 100 student who was influenced by the trip to Middlebury.

"It was truthfully the thing that got me to Middlebury," Runkel said. "It was so well-organized but so open that you could go to lectures or classes or just hang out."

Runkel, who was victorious in her bid for her first-year SGA Senate seat, also plays Ultimate Frisbee and is an avid member of the College Democrats. She cites an environmental lecture that introduced her to the community-based approach that the College takes towards academics.

"I could envision myself walking in the dorms and going to classes," Runkel said. "I'm really happy here."

The Top 100 program has received rave reviews from both the students and administrators. The only ones who seem to be left out are the approximately 2,300 other students who never earned the designation - but Clagett is betting the program will continue to benefit the rest of us.

"It's gotten us some fabulous people who will contribute a lot to the College," said Clagett.