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Colleges and Universities A-Z College of Wooster
1

Hi everyone! I am a current College of Wooster student, and really wanted to start this forum for any prospective student and family who wants to know more about Wooster. There is a great deal of info that I wish I knew about the school before I came here and I want to share what I know with others! Feel free to ask away about any aspect of the school that you want to know more about. I am going to be as honest as possible about my experiences so that you can get an honest viewpoint of the school!

Ask away!

MODERATOR’S NOTE: Anyone is free to ask or answer questions in this thread.

2

If you could turn back the clock - would you still pick Wooster?

3

Hi! If I could turn back the clock, I would have still picked Wooster, but likely without the certainty that I had when I initially picked where I would be attending. Some of the main aspects that drew me to Wooster were the Sophomore Research and the overall community of the campus, which many glaring aspects of those things have not lived up to how they were advertised to prospective students. However, when I compare what Wooster has over the other places I applied to and could have attended instead, Wooster was one of the best of the options that I could have picked. Hope my comment makes sense and hope it helped!

4

Hi there. My daughter is an accepted, prospective freshman. Unfortunately we will probably have to visit over spring break. Ugh. Will there by anyone around she could talk too, besides taking the tour. Things she should be sure to check out? Also what is the party scene like there. And how respectful is the discussion around issues of politics, feminism etc. Does anyone make new friends after the first year? or do people settle in and stay.

5

Hi! If the times you are visiting during your daughter’s spring break lines up with the dates of Wooster’s spring break, unfortunately it is likely that there won’t be too many people to talk to, but if not I would think that you would be able to talk with (this I am unsure about, maybe contact someone in admissions when planning a visit to plan ahead for a meeting with someone?). The party scene is much more than the school advertises it as. I personally am very introverted and not a partier at all, and I have seen that big or small parties (including alcohol in most instances) are a major source of entertainment if you want to have fun on the weekends. This is difficult for students from what I have seen because there are fewer, equally as “fun” options available for students like me who are not interested in that as well as a large portion of the student body who is under the legal drinking age (like myself), as well as that campus security (and school policy in general) is EXTREMELY strict on cracking down on any party where alcohol is involved. The environment for the discussion on issues of politics, feminism, etc. is extremely accepting and welcoming, and from my experiences, students and faculty are very respectful and willing to discuss these topics. As a sophomore, I have found that many people tend to find a friend group very quickly and often stick with them, leaving others like me who have a hard time meeting new people and making friends like me in the dust… While I have slowly been able to make a small handful of friends this year via classes and outside activities, most people in my year already sort of had a friend group. However, many of those people with the pre-existing friend groups are often welcoming for you to join them and are not too often extremely exclusive. Maybe it is because many students who go here are from Ohio and previously somewhat knew each other? I am not from Ohio and didn’t know anyone coming to Wooster, and found that sort of as a disadvantage coming in and meeting new people.

6

Let’s clear up some misunderstandings… (mom of a Wooster Senior here).

The majority of students at Wooster are NOT from Ohio, and the admissions office has students who work as tour guides and admissions interns over spring break so you should be able to speak with a student. However, since schedules vary, I do recommend that you confirm with admissions in advance.

7

I am sorry if my comment came off as putting off “wrong” information. I was just speaking from my experiences interacting with other students. This is my first time writing on any type of forum, especially with writing about college and giving advice that might in some ways impact someone’s decision process, and wouldn’t intentionally put out info that I thought was misleading

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Total enrollment (2018): 2,000

54% women, 46% men
20% U.S. students of color
15% international
31% Ohio, 69% non-Ohio
43 states and 59 countries represented

https://www.wooster.edu/about/facts/

9

Also a current Woo student here, but just wanted to add that I have had a completely different experience regarding friends, social scene, etc.

@AFM as someone who knows many people who work for admissions, I can guarantee that your daughter will have people to talk to if she comes over spring break because they make sure students can be there at all times to assist everyone.

As for the party scene, I spoke about this on my own thread but though it is prevalent, it is not the most popular thing on weekends nor is it the only thing for students to do on weekends. The school makes sure to have events during the week and weekend to ensure that students are entertained, and if a student is still not satisfied, they always have the opportunity to join the student activities board to have a say. Last weekend there was the annual Winter Gala, open to all students, where there was food, music, a photo booth and more. This weekend there is an International Food Festival, also open to all students, which will include students making a variety of dishes that represent them and their cultures. Yes, people party and people drink, but I do not think it is the only option here at Woo to have a good time.

In regards to friend groups and making friends, people are almost always more than happy and open to make more friends, as it is a smaller campus. I find it hard to not have a person to recognize and be able to at least have a small chat with on your way to class or in the dining hall, simply because we have so many interactions with everyone. Through the 120+ clubs and classes, everyone has a group to find, but also groups to expand. The students at Woo I find are also to be very approachable and welcoming, so making friends is possible with the right amount of effort, but obviously it depends on how comfortable and social a person is.

Finally, I am from Ohio. I never had been to OH, known anyone from OH or knew of anyone who had been to Wooster before attending. Though you will meet passionate Ohioans, it is very obvious that not everyone knew each other before school and that not everyone is from Ohio; and it is not something that I found to isolate me. There are only about 5-7 people from my state (yes, really) but I find that all students put aside where they are from when socializing initially. I’ve met people from Alaska, Utah, China, Vietnam, Italy, etc. There are people from everywhere.

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Hi all, Thank you for all the input, including from goldretriever21. It can be challenging to put yourself out there and I was interested in your experience as well as the others who spoke up.

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Obviously everyone can have very different experiences that greatly vary in their nature and quality. I, obviously, would not want to demean other students’ experiences here at Wooster as well as de-legitimize facts about the school that I wasn’t fully aware/knowledgeable about, and I was just sharing my perspective and experiences on the social scene, friends, etc. (which have been a pretty mixed bag), and am trying to base what I say both from what I have seen and from what I have heard from students I know. I will also try and direct any questions that I can’t answer (like the admissions question) to a place or person that I know can answer.

12

Hi!

I was accepted at the College of Wooster for 2019 fall. I was offered a good scholarship amount so I was thinking about going there.

I will definitely live on-campus for my freshman year. But, I would like to choose the off-campus option for the next three years due to financial problem. However, I heard that Wooster has a strong policy which encourages students to live on-campus for all years. I am also aware that even if the school allows students to move off-campus, they reduce financial aid.

I just want to know what percentage of students live off-campus and how did they get permission? Is there any convenient housing outside of the campus? Even if I have permission to move off-campus, how much average the school will cut my financial aid?

Thank you.

13

Wooster is officially a residential college, which means all students live on campus all four years. They do make exceptions for students who live in town (meaning their families live in town). There are some “off campus” housing options for upperclassmen (program houses and apartments that are owned and managed by the college, located on the perimeter or within a few blocks of the school), but those are still considered part of residence life.

You should call residence life and financial aid to ask these questions.

14

Thank you so much.

15

Hi! Adding to what @janjmom said, while there are the exceptions for students living off campus, most of the “convenient” housing is on campus (I have found that the convenience mainly lies in proximity to things on campus like academic buildings, campus dining options, and the school’s athletic center if you are an athlete, especially when it gets extremely cold, snowy, and icy in the winter months), mainly in the dorms, in order to really encourage students to live on campus all 4 years. However, if you are able to get approved for the off-campus housing, there would likely be a greater chance in finding better quality housing, as with upperclassmen dorms it is a hit or miss with their quality (there are some much nicer ones like Armington (which is getting a full renovation and the 2019-2020 year will be the first year of it open with those updates), Stevenson, and Brush halls, while there are some ones that aren’t bad but definitely need to be updated such as Bissman, Holden, and Douglass halls). If you want more info or advice on the residence halls to make the best decision for housing I can try my best!

16

Thank you so much for your answer.

17

To what extent would you agree/disagree with these statements made in Wooster reviews:

  1. If you are not a liberal extremist, perhaps reconsider. I remember being taunted by peers and professors alike for a middle of the road political stance.
  2. The administration is extremely liberally biased and focuses too much on US politics than our role as college students. The campus claims to be diverse but does not accept conservative students whatsoever.
18

Hi!

  1. I would definitely agree with this statement. While I would identify my beliefs as being liberal, I have very often found that I am not NEARLY “liberal enough” in the eyes of many other students. While I personally have never been taunted/bullied for not leaning towards liberal extremist, it is clear that I am looked down upon in some ways for not being extremely liberal. In my experience, that type condescending nature has come from other students and luckily never from professors (with the professors I have had so far, they have actually been the much more accepting ones of not-liberal extreme beliefs).

Further, something that I have noticed with the “liberal extremist or nothing” ideas that are present here is that some of those types of students are much less willing to listen to the views of students who are middle of the road with their politics or who are conservative leaning. Personally, I believe that even though I may not agree with your political beliefs, you should always still be given the chance to voice your opinions in a safe environment and not be constantly viewed as “wrong”, which unfortunately not always the mindset of students here.

  1. I would also agree with this statement. I wouldn’t necessarily say that the administration is focused too much on US politics, but occasionally I have found that in some instances they prioritize putting up the image of being a very politically correct college (being PC is still important) over other actions that could be taken that would actually help the students more than putting up that image. However, while I wouldn’t say that the college doesn’t accept conservative students at all, there are definitely MUCH fewer outlets and opportunities for conservative students to be able to have a presence on campus and much fewer safe spaces for them to voice their opinions compared to the same types of outlets and opportunities available for liberal students.