Being rejected Early Decision from Middlebury stings. Yes, it’s a super competitive school, but you didn’t apply thinking that you’d be rejected. Using your Early Decision I for Middlebury was probably a measured choice. You thought hard about it, and it didn’t work out how it was supposed to. What you do next will determine whether you move into a dorm at a dream school in the fall.
First, though, let’s talk about Middlebury ED. Middlebury offers Early Decision I, Early Decision II, and Regular Decision avenues for admission. Most students who apply to Middlebury apply RD, but it’s been reported that a large percentage of students who get in apply ED.
The overall acceptance rate for the Class of 2028 was 12%. Half of those accepted students chose to attend. How does this relate to ED and EDII, though? Middlebury wants a higher yield rate, so they are prioritizing acceptances that they can count on — which means ED. For the Class of 2028, 11% of all applicants applied in the two ED rounds, a nearly 5% increase. That same year, RD applications actually decreased, which tells us that more applicants are prioritizing ED as well. Middlebury admitted 425 students ED I for the Class of 2028. A year later, the overall acceptance rate actually went up slightly, hitting 13.9%.
All this matters not because you’ll be going to Middlebury — that ship has sailed — but because it can help us make sense of what may have gone awry with your application such that we can correct for it moving forward. So, let’s look forward.
We help students get into dream schools, even after rejection. Learn more.
Step One: Take a Break
First, you need to slow down. We mean this very seriously. After a rejection ED, it’s normal to want to plow forward. Unfortunately, this can actually lead to less than your best work. It’s important to process what may have happened with Middlebury and to recover from the disappointment before you dig back in. So, go for a long walk. Watch a fun movie. Have a long conversation over coffee with a good friend. And when the rejection doesn’t sting as much and you are excited for the possibilities the future holds, it’s time to get back to work.
Step Two: Strategize
We can’t tell you precisely why Middlebury rejected your ED application. The most obvious answer, though, is that you were a mis-match academically.
Testing data has been spotty from Middlebury, as they’ve continued to pilot test-optional admissions. Only about half of applicants have been submitting scores, which means that scores that they receive are typically high. You don’t, after all, submit lower scores if you don’t have to, so it’s hard to know what the actual threshold for scores at Middlebury might be. However, if you submitted an SAT under 1500 or ACT under 34, that may have been part of the problem.
Middlebury doesn’t report the average GPA for admitted students, but they do expect students to excel academically in high-level courses. If you have a very strong GPA, but didn’t take advanced courses, or have a lower GPA with harder courses on your transcript, both of those could have been reasons that Middlebury decided to pass on your application.
Of course, if you have the grades and the scores, and have taken advanced courses, there was something else that went wrong. Typically, we find the answer in the writing. It isn’t that there is an activity you didn’t do or an award you didn’t win. Instead, the problem was in how you told your story. The bad news is that you can’t fix this for Middlebury, but you can fix it going forward.
Before you start supplements, though, you need to finalize your list. It’s possible that you had a back-up list set, or maybe you really thought you wouldn’t have to apply anywhere else. Either way, you need to make sure that your list is properly balanced given your profile as an applicant. Schools that you thought were targets may really be reaches, and having an expert weigh in can be extremely helpful in figuring out a selection of safety, target, and reach options.
Step Three: Essays
Once you have your college list, it’s time to write. Yes, you did a lot of work for Middlebury. Now it is time to honor that effort, and release it. You should be starting from the beginning — yes, even your college essay.
Strong college writing does more than describe what you’ve done so far and are dreaming of for the future. All that is important and good, but you need to also bring the reader into your world and make them feel connected to you as a human.
Application readers spend a lot of time in their heads. They need to move quickly and make decisions definitively. We want to make the readers slow down and to begin reading from their hearts. If you can pull this off, it drastically increases your chances of admission because the reader will be looking for reasons to say yes rather than reasons to say no.
The best way of pulling this off is by telling compelling personal stories that connect your passions to your experiences in school or beyond the classroom. Be specific, use vivid language, and don’t shy away from bold stylistic choices, like dialog.
Step Four: Ask For Help
The last step is to ask an expert. We can’t offer advice that is specific to your profile as an applicant here, but we can if you reach out. Having a guide in this process changes the game, making reaches accessible with the right approach. You can also ask a trusted teacher or school advisor for advice on your next steps, but remember that something does need to change. Sending the same application you used for Middlebury to your RD schools, or even an ED II option, is not a strong way of ensuring a different result.
An ED rejection is frustrating, but it isn’t the end of your journey. Really, you are at just the beginning. Seize this as an opportunity instead of getting overwhelmed.
Bouncing back after an ED rejection requires a strong strategy. Get yours.