Has Middlebury College released essay prompts for the 2026-2027 application cycle? No, and they don’t intend to! That’s right, Middlebury does not require supplemental essay prompts for applicants to the Class of 2031. Nothing probing the applicant’s knowledge of Middlebury’s many academic and extracurricular offerings, nothing attempting to get to know the applicant and their personal relationship to Middlebury, nada, zilch, zero. 

And what do we at Ivy Coach make of this dearth of supplemental material? We’ve never been known to hold our tongue when we feel something is amiss in how an elite college conducts its admissions practices, and we certainly do have some choice words for the Middlebury admissions office.

Middlebury College’s Essay Topics for the Class of 2031, Or Lack Thereof!

Typically, colleges of Middlebury’s caliber ask at least one supplemental question to get to know their applicants better and separate the wheat from the chaff, or those who actually know a thing or two about the college to which they’re applying from those who don’t. But Middlebury has instead opted to go the easy route by not asking any such question. And why might they make this decision? To drive down the acceptance rate, of course! When students, lazy students at that, see that they don’t have to submit any additional materials to apply to a school as good as Middlebury, they send in droves of applications. Middlebury’s acceptance rate is thus driven down, and its US News ranking is consequently driven up!

Wait, Ivy Coach, are you saying this is all a ploy on Middlebury’s part to boost its US News ranking? Is it really all a numbers game? Yes, yes, we do dare to say as much. And by the looks of Middlebury’s dwindling acceptance rate in recent years, it’s a ploy that appears to be working. So Middlebury admissions officers are happy, students are happy, what’s the problem?

The Price of No Supplemental Essay Prompts: Dwindling Diversity

The acceptance rate isn’t the only thing that has dwindled in recent years at this private liberal arts college. As Best Colleges reports, for the Class of 2028, “Among liberal arts colleges, Middlebury reported that 26% of new students are people of color, down from 35% last year.” A 9% drop in students of color? That might sound troubling, but what does that have to do with whether Middlebury has supplemental essay questions?

We’re glad you asked! In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Affirmative Action in 2023, many colleges opted to take advantage of the Roberts Loophole, which allows applicants to circumvent the ruling by detailing their racial identity and associated experiences in supplemental essays. This approach involves introducing questions specifically designed to invoke the Roberts Loophole. Middlebury was not one such school, and the data showing declines in diversity support this.

Moreover, diversity of thought suffers when schools decline to get to know their admitted students before sending out acceptance letters. Curating a well-balanced cohort of students with diverse backgrounds and viewpoints is a key responsibility of the admissions officer. When you don’t screen for such diversity via supplemental essays, these metrics of a healthy incoming class suffer. 

But even if such diversity wasn’t a priority, Middlebury would still benefit from screening applicants for their knowledge of Middlebury specifics, including the activities, traditions, and opportunities they intend to take advantage of once on campus. Without asking applicants to flex their understanding of Why College specifics, Middlebury is likely to end up with a relatively uninspired class that might not make the most of the gift of admission and their time on campus. If they want a class comprised of rejected Dartmouth applicants, this is the way. If they don’t, they’ll need to change course.

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Your Middlebury Admission

Still, Middlebury might be the school of your dreams, and you still ought to put your best foot forward to optimize your case for admission.

If you’re interested in Ivy Coach’s help optimizing your case for admission to Middlebury by presenting a strategic application, fill out our complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch to outline our college counseling services for seniors led by our team of former elite college admissions officers.