I go to Wesleyan University (the CT one) and I don’t like it. I’ve actually wanted to transfer from the moment I arrived but a combination of procrastination and hope led me to not complete the common app. I’m giving it another semester and then, if I’m still miserable, I’ll transfer (and I’ll start the CA earlier this time).
So I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for where to transfer to. My dream school was Oberlin but my parents wanted me to “aim higher” - their idea of a better school is a more selective one. Whatever. I’m not bitter. It still seems like paradise to me but a) I have too many friends there and b) I’m concerned about the distance (I’m from New York). So it’s still an option but I’d like other options, too.
I’m looking for liberal arts schools similar to Oberlin with NO greek life and very little emphasis on athletics (one of the many problems I have with Wes). I know it’s hard to differentiate between LACs but I want something more artsy and liberal than Wes. I’d also like a school where I can major in Environmental Studies without having to double major.
Some quick stats:
HS GPA 94
SAT 2260
AP Scholar with Distinction, Nat’l Honor Society, Nat’l Merit Scholarship Commended Student
College GPA 3.5 (first semester, hopefully better once second semester grades come in)
I know it’s a little ridiculous to transfer from one LAC to another, but I know I need to be at a LAC - this just isn’t the right one for me. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Reed College has no athletics/no greek life and is supposedly more liberal than any other school. It’s less prestigious than Wes and I think they prefer sophomore transfers. You can major in environmental studies.
I go to Grinnell, which is supposed to be common to Oberlin. We have less of music scene that Oberlin although we may be more liberal. We have no greek life and boring D III athletics. Environmental Studies is a concentration, you’d probably major in Bio.
Haverford seems to have an environmental studies minor, not a major. Also a liberal LAC.
Can you identify more about what you dislike about Wesleyan? It seems that carefully identifying those factors will help determine what makes most sense as a next step.
A few other thoughts.
NO school is paradise.
I've heard many people consider Oberlin quite similar to Wesleyan. Can't verify that, just noting.
College of the Atlantic is a safety for you. Hendrix is another possibility if you really want to transfer.
I agree with Carleton, would add Macalester. If you’re a girl, Bryn Mawr?
Sarah Lawrence? Liberal, solid academics, no football, env’t studies major, close to home. Not as competitive in terms of admission as Wesleyan but if you’re truly miserable…
Do you get financial aid from Wes?? If so, do NOT cut ties with Wes UNTIL you’ve seen an acceptable FA pkg from any new school. Transfers often get lousy aid, so unless your parents will pay, transferring may be unaffordable.
On paper Wes has many of the tings you want…Division 3 sports, an artsy atmosphere, small Greek life. So, I’d be hesitant about transferring unless you visit the intended school and see if it really has a better “vibe” for you. My nephew went to Wes and considered Oberlin to be a very similar school. Reed might be one school to consider or (if female) perhaps one of the top women’s colleges. But I agree with the above post, if you need merit aid you should be careful because transfers typically don’t get great financial packages.
A lot of schools don’t admit transfers for Spring semester. Oberlin does though. I agree it sounds great for you.
Vassar does too, don’t know about environmental whatever.
I’d say if you apply to Vassar, Oberlin or Haverford you’d be moving one degree in your desired direction. Reed, two degrees. Neither Haverford or Vassar are artsy however, at least as an overriding description. Other colleges suggested on this thread (e.g., Sarah Lawrence) depart from Wesleyan even further, but perhaps that degree of change would come with unanticipated effects.
If I were you I’d consider larger schools too though. To me, the strongest aspects of LACs are the smaller intro courses. You already got that benefit. The weakest part is often the smaller number of advanced courses once you get into your major and specific sub-fields of interest. Why not skip the weak link? Once you’re switching, you might as well switch to get yourself the best situaton academically in your field. While also accommodating your other issues.
A larger school may have greek life. But, as upperclassman, if the greeks are all living in their fraternities and you arent, you may have little to do with those people. Particularly if they aren’t highly represented in your major. And the school may have sports, but in a large school varsity athletes may represent a vanishingly small portion of the student body. What proportion of both of these groups are likely majoring in environmental studies? My guess, not a ton. So they likely won’t represent highly in your major classes. At a large school you find people you like and hang with them, Like in life.
At some schools like this one many upperclassmen do not live in the dorns, so you would potentially have more control over who you live with.
If frat members and athletes are not much represented in either your classes, your living situation or your social circle, then their mere physical existence should not be all that objectionable to you. Other than philosophically or something.
@merc81 Vassar is actually rather artsy from what I’ve heard in that many students are involved in the arts and have a certain counterculture vibe. Also many people admitted to Wes are admitted to Vassar, although the schools are rather disparate in my opinion they seem similar on paper. Vassar’s campus is AMAZING. The architecture is phenomenal and the campus is pretty big (1000 acres or so) for a small school.
I think Wesleyan is actually more like a lot of the schools mentioned - Carleton, Vassar, Oberlin, Haverford, etc. - than it is different.
Haverford and Bryn Mawr do not have an Environmental Studies major just a minor, although that will probably change in the near future, but not soon enough for the OP.
The alternatives offered above sound pretty good. Ironically, S3 wants to visit Wes but I thought it not athletic enough. It took me four visits to find the athletes at Vassar. Have you discussed this with friends, family and counselors?
Wesleyan is the least jock-ey of the NESCAC schools. I’d be surprised if 25% of the student body participates in varsity sports (as opposed to, 40 to 50% at Amherst and Williams.) Agree that if the OP is unhappy with that level of engagement, she will probably be unhappy at Haverford, too.
All these LACs have a fairly high percentage of athletes just by definition. They are small schools and they field a lot of teams. Wesleyan is a little bigger so the percentage is smaller. Athletes at these schools aren’t boneheads, at least the majority aren’t.
