<p>I'm going to apply early to either Amherst or Wes, I just don't know which one. If anyone could compare the two (people, social life, academics),or tell me something special about Wes to make my decision a bit easier it would be really appreciated.</p>
<p>I'm sure there are others more qualified to answer this question, but I'll give it a try. I'll be a freshman at Wes (I move in tomorrow!) this year and one of my best friends will be at Amherst. Another will be at Williams. We've got a little rivalry brewing.</p>
<p>The People</p>
<p>While the Little Three (Williams, Amherst, Wesleyan) are compared a lot to one another, Wesleyan is a lot more like Swarthmore. The Wesleyan student body is often described as one of the most diverse, ethnically and interest-wise. One knock on Wesleyan is that everybody you'll find is a hardcore liberal. Wesleyan is a very open-minded campus, that is very conducive to discussion and debate, whether it is political or not. A handful of Wesleyan students are considered "hippie-ish" and the overall feeling you get from Wes, compared to Amherst and Williams, in particular is "artsy." That, of course, isn't a reflection of the entire student body. I went to a NYC private school and I'll be playing varsity sports at Wes. The point is...there are so many different kinds of people at Wes. I'd describe the Wesleyan student body is accepting, open-minded, friendly, and driven.
I can't speak as thoroughly for Amherst, but I'll talk about what I know.
The overall feeling I get from Amherst is a bit more of a homogenous student body. Amherst is similar to Williams in that most of their students are pretty well-rounded. I don't want to make generalizations but it seems like they're all pretty athletic, intelligent, and friendly. Amherst is a smaller school than Wes, but I'd think that the same open-mindedness happens at Amherst, as well. Wes, of course, is probably more liberal and more accepting of more "radical" perspectives. </p>
<p>The Social Life (Wes)</p>
<p>What I've heard about Wes is that there is always something happening. The variety of extracurricular activities and whatnot at Wes is definitely a reflection of the diverse student body. I remember when I first visited Wesleyan (after being accepted), thinking "wow, this is what college is supposed to look like." What I saw was a vibrant community, of so many different types of people, who were all really happy to be there. The visit definitely sealed the deal for me, over schools like Tufts, Georgetown, etc. In addition, I don't think anyone can feel truly out of place at Wes. There was a time when I was skeptical, that I had made the wrong choice, thinking I wouldn't feel comfortable at Wes. But I think I'll find my place at Wes. </p>
<p>Academics (Wes)</p>
<p>I haven't taken any classes yet, but a couple of things I can infer about Wes is the quality of teaching and the diversity of the curriculum. If you didn't know, Wes has no core curriculum. Rather, there are General Education Requirements, which are loosely divided into 3 categories (I believe they're Mathematics and Science, Humanities, and Social Sciences...something like that). I think this is a great strength of Wes, as it allows students to spread their interests, as well as focus on what they want to pursue, after, I think sophomore year. </p>
<p>there's so much more I could write, but I'm in the middle of last minute packing, pretty much. I hope someone else comes on and writes on Wes's behalf. Good luck with your choice.</p>
<p>Thanks, that was reallllly helpful. If you find some more time, I'd really appreciate listening to more =)</p>
<p>I think another window into some of the differences between Amherst and Wesleyan was their response to the Academic Revolution of the 1950s and 1960s. The end of World War Two convinced most of academia that major changes were necessary if American science was to become an effective weapon in the Cold War; departments would have to be expanded; specialties would have to multiply; and, the entire teaching profession would have to become professionalized to a degree that was unprecedented.</p>
<p>Small liberal arts colleges were put into a particular bind because so much of what people valued about them <em>was</em> their didacticism; it wasn't what they taught so much as the kinds of people who did the teaching and the values they conveyed, not the least of which were that teaching and learning were their own reward.</p>
<p>Amherst's response was, quite self-consciously, to become a feeder school for the larger graduate and professional schools where, ostensibly, whatever voids were left in an Amherst education would be filled by the likes of HYP and Stanford. It was an honorable choice and one to which many a competitor would aspire over the years.</p>
<p>Wesleyan's response was, to the extent possible, to remain a vibrant, primary experience for every student whether they aspired to graduate school or not: they enrolled a small number of doctoral candidates so that science faculty could weave cutting edge research into their teaching; they encouraged even junior humanities faculty to create innovative courses and to take sabbaticals so that they could write and contribute to the general intellectual fervor of the campus; and, finally, they encouraged participation in the arts, a field that doesn't require "finishing" per se, and often taught by people without doctoral degrees. It's also a place where Amherst lags to this day.
The results are a tribute to liberal arts education everywhere; Amherst, Wesleyan, Williams, Swarthmore, and Pomona and a score of other small national treasures are vital places of learning in their own right even in an age of bogus magazine polls and rankings; people still flock to them for their uniqueness, their range and their delicately balanced sense of communities. IMO, you can't go wrong choosing either of these fine national institutions.</p>
<p>I'll agree with Chris that the visit is what did it for me. I was deciding whether to apply early decision to Yale, Brown, or Wesleyan (Yale and Brown probably being more long-shots), and I visited all three. I <em>highly</em> recommend doing an overnight visit, or at least sitting in on a class or two, before deciding which one to apply early to.</p>
<p>But, when I went to Wesleyan, it just had everything I wanted. The atmosphere was right - it was just like the "college" atmosphere I'd always dreamed of, with intellectuals discussing their philosophy class over dinner, diverse and sophisticated and open-minded and just NICE students, a very "campus" feel with a great grassy hill in the center, lots of interesting courses in the course catalog. I also compared schools by their college newspaper - the Wesleyan Argus just felt friendly and like it was owned by the students and was designed FOR the students, while at other schools it seemed more like they were trying to win some sort of journalistic reward, but no one read it.</p>
<p>So... it's really up to you, and just which you feel you "click" more with. I didn't apply to Amherst because of the slightly more "preppy" feel (not for me, a Jewish near-New-Yorker) and because it seemed more competitive academically as opposed to intellectual. I realize a school can have both, but... it just didn't feel right for me.</p>
<p>And why did you decide to not apply to Brown or Yale?</p>
<p>And why are you crossposting from Swarthmore where you said you were seriously considering to apply early decision?</p>
<p>Specifically, I liked the smaller, close-knit "campus community" feeling. I also just felt more at home when I came here, in terms of the student body. While Brown also has a liberal student body (and Swarthmore too), it just felt a little more... stiff... when I visited. Wesleyan students were so open and friendly, even though I was just a prefrosh. They'd come up and talk to you, and wouldn't do so in a formal I'm-representing-the-school kind of way, but they were just... NICE. I guess that's what I loved about it. The open-minded and extremely friendly and laidback student body.</p>
<p>Umm... I think you should be wary of judging a school too much on the students you meet. For the most part, you will find all types at all schools. (Although there is something to be said about differing %s of different types)</p>
<p>end of the day, wesleyan is more real, intellectual, and vibrant than Amherst. When talking about the top small, quirky, liberal arts schools in this country, most people don't mention amherst and williams because they've tried to become ivies. Wes is more indiviudal, and less about it's repuation by being more about the students. I'd pick wes any day over amherst.</p>