<p>We have grad students in most (all?) of the sciences (including psyc), plus we have a REALLY good gradute ethnomusicology program.</p>
<p>hence why wesleyan's sciences are top-notch for a LAC... they are grad-level with the utmost undergrad focus</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification, Weskid. Anything else I should know about Vassar/Wes as I delay my decision?</p>
<p>wesleyan is significantly more prestigious among older people because of its Little Three membership</p>
<p>Heh, that's funny. I'd also heard there was more drug use at Vassar, but that could be based on the one-two people I know there who... skew the data a little... But I can't think of any friends I know who smoke a few times a week. My friends who smoke "regularly" smoke maybe once a month. Although I would say the majority of people I know have tried it at least once, mostly out of curiosity's sake. Still, there's really <em>no pressure</em>. I can't stress that enough. People at Wes are very respectful about other's personal decisions.</p>
<p>maxliving, what are you thinking of studying? That might make a difference :)</p>
<p>One think about wesleyan that I love is... Foss Hill. It might seem like not the most important factor, but if it's coming down to little things... The community at Wesleyan is so Wes-loving and happy, and having this giant Foss Hill right in the middle of campus cements that. In nicer weather, it's the place to hang out and watch a baseball game, and in snowy or icy weather, it's ideal for sledding. I just feel like this fosters community more, and just... I don't know. I'm biased. I just love Wesleyan, and I really want other people to, too.</p>
<p>Also, 1190 mentioned that Carleton had 10 townhouses for students - and 29 other college-owned houses, many student-interest themed. I'd like to note how that compares to Wes, which has 4 1-person, 21 2-person, 31 3-person, 52 4-person, 41 5-person, and 4 6-person houses. (This is in addition to more being constructed currently) (that's a total of 153 houses - significantly more than the 10 Carleton has). We also have 26 program houses (which are shared interest themed houses - and many of which have very high housing capacities). So even with Wesleyan being considerably bigger than Carleton, a far higher proportion of students are able to actually wind up in houses. Additionally, we have really nice apartments that house most of the junior class (complete with own kitchen, bathroom, common room, private bedrooms, etc.).</p>
<p>I'm thinking of studying Economics/Poli-Sci/Government (I'd be interested in applying to CSS) and possibly Computer Science.</p>
<p>Well, if you're interested in CSS, that might be a major reason to pick Wes. CSS is an awesome program for those who like it, and can't be found elsewhere (if you have any questions about CSS, please ask—I’m not in it, but two of my closest friends are). In general, our econ and gov departments are good.</p>
<p>Our comp-science department is small, but I know two people who graduated from it last year and a) were happy with their experience and b) landed good programming jobs right out of college. Again, the program is small and doesn’t have a TON of classes and has very few majors, but that also means that if you’re a major it’s very easy to stand out and get a lot of faculty attention. Unless Vassar has a strength in comp sci that I don't know about, I imagine the programs will be similar. </p>
<p>Anyway, other than the CSS thing, I think it comes down to personal gut feeling. I liked Wes more than Vassar because of the slightly bigger size, the more open campus, the gender balance, and the amazing film department. I applied here ED and never looked back (to Vassar or any other school, including my second choice, Brown). It’s amazing! (Plus I agree with Mad…Foss Hill = best thing ever).</p>
<p>About CSS:
1) I heard it's a ton of work. How true is this?
2) What do you have to do to get in?
3) Does it essentially rule out the possibility of a double-major?</p>
<p>this is for mad:
<a href="http://www.wesleyanargus.com/images/20080422-05.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://www.wesleyanargus.com/images/20080422-05.jpg</a></p>
<p>Maxliving:</p>
<p>On CSS:</p>
<p>a) Well, it is known as the college of suicide sophomores for a reason. Sophomore year, you take two CSS tutorials at a time (one on social theory, I think, and then cycling through history, philosophy and econ for the other one) plus one other class (all are pass/fail). For the CSS tutorials, there are HUGE amounts of reading, plus a 5 page paper due every Friday in one tutorial (on the reading for that week), and sometimes a smaller assignment (3 page paper or quiz) on Mondays for the other one. Then at the end of the year there are comps (which cover EVERYTHING you learned that year and require TONS of studying). </p>
<p>That said, the rest of the years are normal, and all of my friends LOVE the work they are doing as sophomore CSS majors. And it’s still possible to have a social life and such. Plus CSS kids really bond during sophomore year—I’m jealous of how well they all get along.</p>
<p>b) There is an application near the end of freshmen year (I think it requires and essay and some teacher recs, plus your transcript). and there is an interview. This year almost 60 people applied for the 30 or so spots in the major, but normally it isn’t that competitive—last year only like 35 people applied, and there normally aren’t more than 40 or so applicants. No one knows what happened this year, but at this point it seems like it is just a fluke. </p>
<p>C) It definitely wouldn’t be too hard to get a double with another social science, since other than sophomore seminars and a senior seminar, CSS just requires classes in other social sciences anyway. It would be harder to major in something else (like CS), but if you planned well, and especially if you did a lot towards the second major during freshmen year it would be doable, as far as I can tell. Doubling with CSS would really cut down on the number of elective (ie. non-major) classes you could take, though.</p>
<p>CSS is a cool idea, even if you don't end up doing it. I applied and was waitlisted (a controversial decision ;) but am going to end up basically constructing their program out of Wes' regular curriculum. The difference is I'll be taking less Euro-centric, less-theoretical more-practical, larger-number-of-students classes. CSS is an awesome program and I'm kinda bummed I didn't get in, but the social sciences at Wes are incredibly strong and diverse. I know, because I'm going to double in Gov and History and a few Econs in there. If you just plan your courses out as opposed to taking a lots of random classes in things you don't anticipate majoring in (which, frankly, I had no interest in doing) you should have no problem constructing a coherent course of interdisciplinary/cross-disciplinary study that will give you a very rigorous background in whatever you want. You won't get the camaraderie of CSS. You will, however, be forced to work just as hard (I'm taking 5 classes, possibly 6 if a drop/add comes through, and all graded) IF YOU SO DESIRE. So don't worry if you don't get into CSS, come to Wes anyway, because the fact that we're double the size of Amherst and Williams (I think) makes our social science departments vastly more diverse than those places. Also, they're less Euro-centric in general, because our larger number of faculty specialize in a larger number of subjects, like Bruce Masters, who's an international authority on the Ottoman Empire.</p>
<p>As for CSS: if you want to double in anything, including history/gov/econ, you're going to be really strapped for electives, because pretty much all your non-CSS courses are going to have to go to your other major. My advice would be to just take a bunch of courses in CompuSci and note that on the resume you send to prospective employers. It'll all show up on your transcript, so they'll end up seeing your interest in CS anyway.</p>
<p>Thanks Weskid and krongman. I may end up just doing a social science major, like gov or econ. I'm almost 100% sure I'm coming to Wes, so I'll use freshman year to figure out what I'll do.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your responses, they all have been great help. I've chosen to go to Vassar College next year, just wanted to let you guys know.</p>
<p>Congrats, Chagilsma. you've made a fine choice. :)</p>