<p>Besides the weather and general surroundings (southern New England weather is milder than Northern New England; Connecticut’s population density is a lot higher than Vermont’s) it may boil down to the preppy factor. Wealthy kids attend both schools; but, I think Wesleyan has a higher non-preppy quotient. There’s more of a mix at Wesleyan. Midd is very big on the environment (so is Wes); Wesleyan is very big on worker’s rights. Academically, you can’t go wrong at either place; Midd is still the “go-to” place for language immersion. Wesleyan faculty are excellent across the board. The intellectual atmosphere at both schools is high; at Wesleyan, it is joined at the hip by a large number performing artists drawn to it’s film, jazz, dance and theater programs. Wesleyan is often described as the most pretentious of the NESCAC colleges; the healthy number of prize winning writers and journalists among its alumni may make it more than a matter of pretense.</p>