<p>1] So I've heard that it's not very difficult for Wes students to visit NYC even without a car, what about Boston? I'm an international student, and I'm very much a noob at this thing; one of my best friends will be attending Boston U so I wanted to check if it's easy enough to go (by bus? train? hmm? I don't know) visit her.. maybe a couple of times a semester?</p>
<p>2] Apparently Wes students don't get along too well with the administration? True or no?</p>
<p>3] How focused/dedicated are professors on undergrad teaching, taking into account the presence of graduate students/programs? </p>
<p>4] I actually just sort of got in from the waitlist, and am waiting for the financial aid package. I'd sent in my deposit to Mount Holyoke College and was already all set on attending.. Here are a couple of things that are making me hold on to MHC:</p>
<p>.. Five-College Consortium.
.. I think I'll fit in very well with the rest of the students. I'm completely laidback, not that much into partying but would welcome it every once in a while, kind of shy and awkward, non-hipster (haha), not as weird or quirky, and a little on the (politically) apathetic side. Not to say I won't find other people like me in Wes, but it's just that.. I've heard.. you know.. stuff.</p>
<p>I could write practically a whole dissertation about my Wes/MoHo dilemma, but I shall spare you guys the agony. So, has anyone got any opinions? </p>
<p>Come to Wes. They're waiting for you, "down girl". ;) Seriously, there's an Amtrak station fifteen minutes away (there are car services and rides to and from all the time.) From there, you have the entire Northeast corridor at your disposal.</p>
<p>Hahaha, I bet they are! It's "gonna be craaaaazy".</p>
<p>Thanks, that sounds great. Oh and if you (and anyone else?) could maybe just comment re: #2, 3 and possibly 4, that would be really very nice of you.</p>
<p>2) there's a healthy amount of shall we say -- skepticism -- on both sides. Generally speaking, the faculty set the tone and are regarded as gods in their own right. Middletown and central Connecticut have their virtues (and, vices) but are not exactly media focal points. All of which leaves the students with precious little to cut their activist teeth on except the administration which is just there to make sure everything runs well and to raise money. Some of the biggest controversies of the past three to four years, have frankly IMHO had the whiff of tempests in a teapot.</p>
<p>3) wesleyan is probably the only university in the world where graduate students take a backseat to undergraduates. they're basically there to run the labs. I doubt they even grade papers. Musicology is a whole story unto itself, but, my understanding is that they really add depth to the department in ways that only benefit undergraduates.</p>
<p>4) OMG, why is this even a debate? Come let Wesleyan students poke and prod you and make you feel awkward (HA!). Why should Amherst students have all the fun? :D</p>
<p>Wes is totally worth it. Like, really. The location is great - visiting Boston or NYC is not that hard at all, and Wesleyan (like Connecticut as a whole) has an interesting mixed Boston/NYC major metro area loyalty conundrum.</p>
<p>There is a definite focus on the undergraduates here. That is not even something to worry about. While we are a university, it's just... yeah, this isn't even worth talking about. Profs are totally devoted to the undergraduates.</p>
<p>As for the administration... it's complicated. There's a new President this year, Michael Roth, who people seem to mostly like so far (though there have been a few issues, certainly). Students and the administration clash sometimes, but it's rarely too problematic. Some parts of the administration are more there than others - ResLife is generally very good, except for the Zonker Harris Day fiasco.</p>
<p>It sounds like you've been reading Wesleying, so I guess you're down (no pun intended) with what Wes is like student life wise.</p>
<p>Also, Wesleyan is very awkward, but in a weirdly satisfying way. Don't worry - there's a fun geek population here, which is simultaneously awkward but also awesome (and not really looked down upon by the rest of campus). In fact, awkward people are far more appreciated here than almost anywhere else I've been. There's certainly an existent hipster crowd, but even the geeks and the hipsters get along well - and plenty of people have tons of mutual friends at both Eclectic and Alpha Delt, if you know what I mean. So basically, I wouldn't worry about the social thing. Wesleyan is totally awesome. Is it too late for you to visit? Well, i guess so, since most people are leaving campus tomorrow.. meh :(</p>
<p>Good luck! definitely come to wesleyan. almost everyone here loves it.</p>
<p>Mostly seconded what madjoy said, except for the administration bit. I think ResLife is by far the WORST part of Wes bureaucracy. And the awkward. I don't think that Wesleyan people are very awkward, in general. This is probably just the difference between different social circles, but I would definitely not say that the whole school is awkward, or that that's even the main social dynamic.</p>
<p>But yes, come here.</p>
<p>Friends I have that go to 5-College schools actually don't end up going to the other ones very often, and almost never take classes because the scheduling is such a hassle (and the commute). So while I think that sounds great on paper, the reality is a little different.</p>
<p>for q #3: wesleyan is a liberal arts college that happens to have some graduate programs. the undergrad teaching is just as you would find at bowdoin, middlebury, etc... but we also have grad programs, so some of the lab TAs happen to be graduate students, which is awesome:)</p>
<p>About the 5-co consortium, I just felt like it would offer me a better opportunity to meet students of all shapes/sizes/faces/places and participate in a wider range of activities. I mean with a student population of about a several thousand, I would have more chances of interacting with a significantly diverse group of people (possible even more so, compared to Wesleyan), is that correct?</p>
<p>But of course I'm aware that the system also has its hang-ups, and that it may not necessarily work well for everyone. So.. meh, I don't know.</p>
<p>I won't be able to visit! :( I'm an international student and no tengo dinero for that. But thanks for your feedback, everyone, I'm leaning more and more towards Wes everyday. I have to wait for the financial aid package though, and if it turns out to be better than MoHo's, then I guess it'll make things much clearer.</p>
<p>oldyale and colberTreporT: will PM you. I was informed via email.</p>
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All of which leaves the students with precious little to cut their activist teeth on except the administration which is just there to make sure everything runs well and to raise money. Some of the biggest controversies of the past three to four years, have frankly IMHO had the whiff of tempests in a teapot.
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<p>That's interesting. Do you mean to say that.. some people engage in this whole protest/activism thing only for the sake of.. I don't know, making noise?</p>
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Do you mean to say that.. some people engage in this whole protest/activism thing only for the sake of.. I don't know, making noise?
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<p>I'm not johnwesley, but I don't think the people who are protesting actually think that way. I mean, sometimes I, personally, think that some of the protesting on campus is silly, but I understand that the people doing it take it very seriously and, for the most part, have valid reasons for feeling like they need to protest, even if I don't necessarily agree with their problems or think protesting is the right way to get things changed.</p>
<p>Well,
another way to put it, might be that much of the protesting that goes on is symbolic. That is, in terms of everyday practical significance, the items being protested may not change daily life much. However, the issues they represent are important. For instance, the language used in an institutional document may subtly reproduce racism. Changing that language won't impact the everyday lives of most students very much, but it <em>is</em> important, because of what it represents.</p>
<p>No, I don't think people demonstrate "just to make noise" -- at least, I wouldn't phrase it that way. Rather, I think that living on a small campus in a small city magnifies minor differences. It's the same reason the Middletown Police Department deems it necessary to send K9 units to quell a block party: Wesleyan's the only show in town. It's truly ironic that MPD spends all of that money on equipment and training in riot control and the only time it gets used is to shut down parties. :/</p>
<p>i should definitely think that the police using their dogs to BITE STUDENTS to break up a f-ing BLOCK PARTY is a "cause for concern", at least on the part of any rational and/or sentient being. you'd think all these cops would be better employed catching bad guys, as opposed to using drunken college seniors celebrating their graduation from wesleyan as punching (and biting?) bags. i guess they get scared of the murderers and drug dealers every now and again and decide setting their dogs on a bunch of defenseless college students is a good way to release stress. it's understandable, right?</p>
<p>krongman: I think they meant should it make a prospective student hesitate to come to Wes, not should it be a cause for concern as in “was something wrong with this situation.” It was obviously a bad situation and reveals that something IS wrong with the MPD and/or its relationship to Wes, but it is the only incident of nearly this scale, and the administration seems committed to working on the schools relationship with the MPD (I mean, we’ll see how that goes next year, but I don’t think students OR alum will let them drop the ball on this).</p>
<p>Just my 2 cents. I certainly don’t think it should deter anyone from considering Wes just as strongly as they did before.</p>
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I think they meant should it make a prospective student hesitate to come to Wes
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<p>Yup, precisely what I meant.</p>
<p>Thing is, I've come across so many different reactions to this incident, like some people are downright outraged, while others don't think it's that big a deal, et al., so for us outsiders, it's a little difficult to come up with a proper.. response/opinion. At least that's what I'm thinking right now.</p>