Plan Your Summer

 See “Prepare for your Language School” for departure dates and times specific to your program.

Shuttle bus service is available from Burlington International Airport to the Middlebury College campus on official arrival dates only. Tickets may be purchased here.

Please click here for a comprehensive list of available public and private transportation options to help in planning your transportation to campus. Of the private taxis and shuttles listed, we can recommend Jessica’s Vital Transit.

Driving directions are available here. Campus maps are available here.

If you are interested in potential ride shares, you should check the Language Schools Facebook Page.

The Arrival Center is located at Axinn Center at Starr Library, Old Chapel Road, Middlebury VT 05753 (campus maps are available here).

Arrival Center Dates and Times:

Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian 8-Week Programs – Friday, June 24, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

French, German and Spanish 7-Week Programs – Friday, July 1, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All Hebrew Programs – Friday, July 1, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Abenaki 2-Week Program – Friday, July 1, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Chinese French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish 6-Week Programs – Tuesday, July 5, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

If you cannot arrive during the scheduled Arrival Center hours, you should plan to arrive the day before and book lodging off campus at your own expense, then come to campus on your arrival date for check-in.

For current information on Covid-19 procedures and requirements, see the College’s Covid-19 Updates page and the Campus Status page. Check these pages frequently, especially closer to your arrival date, as information can change in response to local conditions.

Information on local lodging is available at: http://www.middlebury.edu/admissions/visit/lodging.

In case of emergency or lockout on the Middlebury campus, call Middlebury College Public Safety at (802) 443-5911. Please save this number as a contact on your cell phone.

Information on the Language Pledge is here.

 The Language Schools are intensive and may require that you work harder than you ever have before in an academic setting. In one summer session, you will have completed the equivalent of a full academic year of language study. You will spend full weekday mornings in class, with many additional hours of preparation, homework, and in-language cocurricular activities. When relaxing, you will still be in the company of students, teachers, and staff, where the required means of communication is your language of study.

Language Schools’ students come from a wide variety of institutions and backgrounds both in the United States and abroad, representing a spectrum of ages, interests, and backgrounds as well as varying levels of language proficiency. Middlebury requires all members of the summer community – students, faculty, and staff, whatever their ‘home culture’ –  to demonstrate mutual respect and tolerance for each other regardless of origin or background. This is essential to creating a community of inclusion with bonds of trust in a supportive context both in and out of the classroom, particularly under the stressful envelope of learning and living another language and culture.

Tolerance and mutual respect can help tremendously to establish a sense of community within each individual School and across campus. Middlebury encourages, and even demands, cooperation. Learning represents a communal ef­fort; you should expect to employ your talents to the benefit of fellow students, just as you will benefit from their talents. Middlebury is unique in the opportunity it offers to learn language by speaking it on a daily basis with fellow students and the faculty in a variety of formal and informal contexts.

Vermont is lovely in the summer, and there are many attractions in and around Middlebury, but please keep in mind that the Language Schools is not a place for vacationing. Keeping up with the pace requires considerable physical, intellectual, and psychological stamina.

Upon arrival, students sign the Language Pledge, promising to speak exclusively in the target language. By adhering to the Pledge, your grasp of both written and spoken language will develop efficiently and effectively. For this reason, the Pledge is strictly enforced. Any student who consistently and will­fully violates it may be asked to withdraw, forfeiting both course credit and tuition refund.

The Language Schools are dedicated to the creation of a serious program for the serious student. Within that framework, we offer myriad opportunities to socialize, interact, and create long-lasting connections and friendships. We look forward to welcoming you this summer!

Students should wait until they have received their official placement before purchasing textbooks. Official placements for 8 and 7-week sessions are generally posted Sunday morning of arrival weekend for your program. Graduate students in some programs will register for their courses prior to arrival. Your graduate school assistant director will inform you of course registration procedures. The assistant director for your school will send you information on how to order your textbooks.

Regular Bookstore hours during Language Schools are Monday-Friday 8:30-5. More information about the Bookstore is available at http://bookstore.middlebury.edu/home.

 Check here for a list of things you need to bring with you and items that are not permitted.

The weather in Vermont during the summer is usually warm and pleasant during the day and cooler in the evening, but we are likely to experience a week or two of temperatures in the nineties accompanied by very high humidity and rain showers. Attire at Middlebury tends to be casual, but you may wish to be prepared for a small number of special events requiring nicer clothing. (banquets, special events).  A few items you may consider bringing with you to campus are: tennis racquet, yoga mat, soccer cleats and other sporting equipment.

See “Prepare for your Language School” for additional suggested items for your School.

Students are housed in both single and double rooms. We are unable to inform you of your specific room assignment before you arrive on campus. On your arrival date, you will be able to see your housing assignment and door code here, only after you have checked in with your school at the arrival center. Use your full Middlebury email address and password to enter the housing portal.  The Technology Helpdesk can assist with login issues; refer to the Helpdesk website for contact details.

All students live on campus in residence halls organized by language. Once admitted, students complete an “Enrollment Form” to provide information about study, sleep, and lifestyle preferences in order to be appropriately matched with roommates, hall-mates or suite-mates. We do not guarantee that we can accommodate your specific housing requests, but the assistant directors for each school work with students on an individual basis to ensure their housing is appropriate to their needs.

The Language Schools do not have facilities to accommodate spouses, domestic partners, dependents, friends, or pets. Dorms are not set up to accommodate families, and no guests are allowed to visit overnight.

Most of the housing on the Middlebury campus is not air-conditioned. We install window air conditioners in the hottest spaces, typically the upper floors of large dorm buildings, prior to the student arrival dates. We recommend bringing a fan since you will not know in advance whether your room is air-conditioned and rooms are not equipped with fans.

Most faculty and staff also live in the dorms and all of them dine regularly with students. They are a dedicated team and they are available and eager to be of assistance to you both in and out of class, at work and at play.  At the same time, it would be unfair for any one student to make unreasonable demands of their time. Consequently, the Language Schools cannot accommodate requests for special tutoring or individual instruction in work outside the regular curriculum.

As you will be living in relatively close quarters, noise can easily become a problem. We ask that you be respectful of your neighbors’ study and sleep habits.  If you know that you are a particularly sensitive sleeper, please bring appropriate items (such as earplugs and/or white noise machines) to help with your adjustment to living in the dorms.

Your assistant director will share the dining schedule for your school with you. Information on dining procedures and policies is available here.

Information regarding laundry facilities on campus can be found here.

Desabrais Laundry & Dry-cleaning (802.388.3458) at 1232 Exchange St. has 29 coin-operated washers for public use and offers wash and fold service, and tailor services.

Due to the short term of the Language Schools’ session, it is recommended that you notify individual senders of your temporary address, rather than forwarding all of your mail through the United States Postal Service. Both packages and letter mail may be picked up at the Student Mail Center in the McCullough Student Center.

The mailing address for all students who are not Middlebury College undergraduates is:

Your name (i.e. Jane Smith)

LS Student
14 Old Chapel Rd
Middlebury, VT 05753

The Mail Center recommends using UPS if a signature is required to track or insure the contents of a package. If you receive a package, you will receive an email to your Middlebury College email address after it has been processed. You will not be notified if you receive letter mail. The window hours are Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. You will be required to show your Middlebury ID card.

Please note: The College cannot accept packages that arrive before the beginning of the session. First class mail and packages will be returned to sender after your departure from Middlebury. Newspapers, magazines, and junk mail will be recycled.

Outgoing Mail

You may purchase stamps at the College Bookstore or at the MiddExpress Store. In addition, the Middlebury Post office is located on 10 Main St. for larger packages or extra services.

The Mailing Services office in the Freeman International Center (FIC) is the central shipping point for UPS. Students, faculty, and staff may ship personal packages from this office Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. You must have a credit card with you in order to process any type of shipment. Cash and checks are not accepted. The Mailing Service office will not accept any packages one week prior to or any time after the designated final shipping date.

Students should use the following instructions to set up direct deposit for their refund. If students do not set up direct deposit, refund checks from Student Financial Services will be sent to the Mail Center. You will need to check your student account in BannerWeb to see when your refund has been issued. You will not be notified either by Student Financial Services or the Mail Center that you have a refund check to pick up.

Information on phones in student housing is available here. 

If you are planning to bring a vehicle to the Middlebury College campus this summer, you must register your vehicle with the Department of Public Safety and have a valid permit to park on campus. All summer program faculty, staff and students must register their vehicle for the summer term, regardless of whether or not the vehicle has been registered during previous summers or academic terms.

Summer program student parking permit fees increase if not purchased before June 22, 2022.

Information regarding ADA placards and Medical Permits is located on the Permits and Registration page.

Information on where students can park is here.

If you have any problems with the parking portal, please contact parking@middlebury.edu.

Please be sure to thoroughly review this checklist before you leave campus at the end of the summer. You may also find information regarding UPS shipping Information to be useful as you plan your departure.

Tickets for shuttle buses from Middlebury to the Burlington Airport may be purchased here. All buses will leave from Adirondack Circle. You are responsible for being at Adirondack Circle at least 20 minutes prior to departure to allow for loading luggage. Bus drivers will not wait if you are late.

Information on Language Schools Commencement, including ordering regalia, for students who will be receiving degrees in summer 2022 is available here. 

Click here for information regarding access to your final grades or here to request a copy of your transcript.