College of St. Joseph's

An extremely small school with only about 260 undergrads. Everyone here will know your name; other students, faculty, the president and even the cafeteria staff! Students live in 2 converted motel buildings which are very ugly on the outside but normal looking dorm-type suites inside. Tuition is guaranteed all 4 years, nearly everyone who applies gets accepted, there are no classes on Fridays and Killington Mountain is nearby. Education, Psychology and Business are their most popular majors, but interesting choices include sports management and substance abuse counseling. The opportunity to play sports at the D2 NAIA level is also a plus.

Castleton State

One of the few state colleges in Vermont, Casleton is, in many ways, like SUNY Cortland or Springfield College. All have as popular majors choices like Phys Ed, Athletic Training, and Exercise Science. Castleton will be starting a football team, marching band, and cheerleading next year. Easier to get in to and much smaller than Cortland, less expensive and a nicer town than Springfield but with less impressive facilities. Skiing is nearby and they have a varsity team. Nursing and music are interesting major options but communications and business are more popular choices.

Green Mountain

Less than 800 students go here. The focus and overall theme of the school is the environment. There are many majors related to or having 'Environmental' in the title. Right along with that, sustainability is another emphasis. There is a working farm with livestock on campus. Outdoor Education/ Adventure Recreation is another cool and popular major. Music performance groups are also big here. It's a place for outdoorsy types. Skiing, camping, hiking, biking are typical activities for most of the students.

Middlebury

Perhaps the most beautiful campus in all of Vermont, and also the most selective admissions criteria, Middlebury is known for it's outstanding faculty and strong Liberal Arts curriculum. There is both a golf course and ski slope adjacent to campus and the athletic program is very strong at the D3 level. Most students go on to graduate school after graduation and most study abroad during their junior year.
Their calender is known as 4-1-4 with the 1 class in the middle takn during January.
Your advisor here will know you. Partly because there are only about 2300 students, but mainly because he or she will also teach your freshman seminar.
Because so many juniors are studying abroad second semester, many applicants are offered February admission, rather than the traditional Fall entrance.

Vermont Technical Institute

The main campus of VTI is in Randolph, Vt.- a very rural area. The school offers both Associates and Bachelors Degrees in a small variety of technical fields such as engineering, diesel & auto mechanics, construction, as well as health care fields and equine studies. Only about 1100 students attend the Randolph campus, half of them commute, and many of the residents go home on weekends, so it's probably very quiet here on Saturdays and Sundays. I see Cobleskill as a big competitor for students, but for students who would like to be a bit further from home, VTI might be worth a look.

Norwich

Located in a more remote part of Vermont, Norwich is a private military school. In fact, 60% of all students are in there corps of cadets. Many, but not all, will eventually receive the ROTC scholarship and/or enlist in the military. However, there are 40% of students here not in the corps. Called civilian students, they too live by the honor code and have the traits of leadership and character stressed to them. Nearly 2/3 male, the students here have opportunities to enroll in very much in demand majors such as engineering, architecture, phys ed, athletic training, nursing, and computer security. There is also a communicatio major with ties to ESPN for internships. The placement rate for most majors is extremely high.

St. Michael's

Just outside of Burlington, St. Mike's is another small private liberal arts & sciences college with about 2000 students. Almost everyone lives in the very nice residence halls on this very lovely campus. Since most kids are from states other than Vermont, there are lots of peers to do things with on the weekends. Skiing possibilities are very nearby as is the lake and many other outdoor activities. The athletic facilities are quite nice as well. Classes here are small usually, volunteerism is big. Two religion classes are required. Many students study abroad at some point. D2 sports.