Passage A

Middlebury College

     Middlebury College, located in Middlebury, Vermont, is one of New England's leading small, residential liberal arts colleges. It offers students a broad curriculum embracing the arts, humanities, literature, foreign languages, social sciences, and natural sciences. In addition, the College's 350-acre campus has been said to be "among the prettiest in the world." 

     Middlebury believes that the purpose of the liberal arts curriculum is to give every student a detailed knowledge of at least one subject, and to correlate this with a broad understanding of the liberal arts. To achieve this objective, students are required to work intensively in one or more departments, while also completing electives in fields outside of their specialization. All students must complete a major, a first-year seminar, a college writing course, and two units of physical education.

     Middlebury's undergraduate program is greatly enriched by its other programs. Every summer, the main campus is devoted completely to the study of eight foreign languages and cultures. At the same time, at the nearby Bread Loaf campus, the Bread Loaf School of English is in session. 

     Currently, there are 2,265 students enrolled at Middlebury, of whom 12% are members of minority groups, and 95% are from out of state. By the year 2005, the College plans to increase the size of its student body to around 2,350. Middlebury's full-time faculty of 218 is also expected to increase to nearly 250 by that time, enabling the College to further deepen and strengthen its academic programs. 

     And to better serve this enlarged community, Middlebury is in the process of constructing major new facilities. In addition to a new hockey rink and a new science center, planned capital projects include an expansion and renovation of Starr Library, new dining facilities, expanded student activities space, new student residence halls, and a new humanities center. 

Passage B

Bowdoin College

     Bowdoin College's beautiful 110-acre campus is located in Brunswick, Maine. Brunswick, one of New England's most attractive college towns, is just 42 kilometers from Maine's largest city of Portland, and a two-hour drive from Boston.

     The alma mater of literary giants Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Bowdoin has undergone significant changes in recent years. The College now boasts two new, state-of-the-art science facilities and new residential halls. It has gradually phased out its fraternities and sororities, and instituted a new College House system designed to promote interaction among diverse groups of students. 

     Bowdoin currently enrolls 1,608 students, of whom 13% are members of minority groups, and 82% come from out of state. The school has a full-time faculty of 113, for a student/faculty ratio of 10:1.

     Bowdoin's general distribution requirements ensure that all graduates gain a strong foundation in humanities and the arts, natural sciences and math, social sciences, and non-Eurocentric studies. At the same time, Bowdoin is unusual among liberal arts colleges because its strongest programs are in the sciences. Self-designed and double majors have become increasingly popular among Bowdoin undergraduates, and about 80% of juniors and seniors conduct independent study programs with faculty members. Students can also elect unusual research opportunities, such as participation in Arctic archaeological research in Labrador or ecological research in the Bay of Fundy, Canada.

     During the nonacademic portion of the year, Bowdoin opens its doors to people from all walks of life. Bowdoin College Summer Programs consist of educational seminars, professional conferences, sports clinics, specialized workshops, and occasional social events, and they attract several thousand people to the College each summer. 

Passage C

Colgate University

      Colgate University is located in the village of Hamilton, at the northern end of the Chenango Valley, in upstate New York. Its 515 acres of campus begin at the village edge on the valley floor and rise to a forested hill. 

      Colgate currently enrolls 2,866 students, of whom 68% come from outside of New York State, and 14% are members of minority groups. Its full-time faculty of 230 gives Colgate a student/faculty ratio of 11:1. 

      Colgate is currently in the process of expanding and renovating its campus. Case Library was recently renovated, new housing has been built, and a social sciences academic building, cultural center, and fitness center have been added. Residence hall renovation continues, and a new academic facility for the arts is under construction.

     Colgate offers 50 undergraduate concentrations (majors), in four academic divisions: Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences, and University Studies. Competency must be demonstrated in a foreign or classical language, and in English composition. First-year students enroll in a first-year seminar during the fall term.

     In addition, Colgate offers a small graduate program leading to the Master of Arts (M.A.) in several academic fields, and the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) degree. 

     During the summer, Colgate encourages its students to take part in one of the many  research projects being carried out on campus. Each year, more than 100 Colgate undergraduates receive summer research assistantships, enabling them to work full-time on research or scholarly projects in close collaboration with faculty members. Typical research appointments are for eight- to ten-week periods. During this time, partially subsidized on-campus housing is available, and special academic and recreational events enhance this scholarly community at Colgate.

-The End-