Academics
Green Mountain College, located in Poultney, Vermont, is a small, private, liberal arts college in the Vermont countryside. One of the goals of Green Mountain is its active focus on sustainability and teaching all of their incoming students to live “responsibly” as global citizens. In fact, the college has a set of thirty-seven credit, core classes known as the Environmental Liberal Arts, which combines a liberal arts education with a strong focus on the environment. With most students saying that their class sizes “are usually around fifteen to thirty students,” they really feel like they get to know their professors “not only as academic instructors, but as people,” and most rave that they really bond with a majority of their teachers, saying they “haven’t really met any professor that I can’t connect with in some way.” Since a lot of professors get to really know their students, most students say they have no problem getting personal letters from professors when they are “ready to apply for a job/ internship/graduate school, because they know…you and what you’ve done with your time here.” The students love that the school promotes a great education with a focus on teaching students how to be themselves “while learning in dynamic and hands-on ways”; this comes through an emphasis that an education doesn’t just come from a classroom, but from real world experience as well.
Student Body
The student population at Green Mountain College likes to think of itself as a “very tight-knit community,” with a “typical” student being “very outgoing [and] friendly.” Many students here “want to make a positive impact on the world in some way or another,” especially in the area of sustainability. Though many students agree that certainly a certain type of student attends Green Mountain, it’s hard to nail down that typical student description. One student clarifies that there are “no [frat] bros, no sorority girls,” but explains that the vast majority are happy to live “amongst other weird, happy, wonderful people while learning about sustainability,” which is clear in the projects that students take on for the betterment of campus. Students led the way in preparing and funding an engineering study for the college’s biomass plant and recently built a solar powered garage that houses an electric vehicle.
Campus Life
Being located in the Vermont country, Green Mountain College offers its students a great experience for those who love to experience nature. Its location at the foot of the Green Mountains makes it ideal for students who enjoy spending their free time “skiing, snowboarding, camping, [and] hiking.” Incoming freshman and transfer students can register for one of the pre-orientation “Wilderness Challenges,” where these new people bond together over a five day adventure focused on such activities as rock-climbing, canoeing, and yoga. During the school year, the student run College Programming Board does “a great job with providing concerts and other events on campus” for those wishing to stay nearby. The college isn’t located right next to a big city, so many make their own fun on campus. Students also say that there are options to get away such as “a few charming…restaurants on Main Street,” but in general, “there is not much to do around town.” However, for those students who are willing to take a drive, the ski resort town of Killington is nearby—about forty minutes away—which students call “a huge plus.”
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