Does this sound like Wesleyan?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wesleyan University
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<p>Hey. I had a post up that got lost but I had some great responses that were really helping me narrow down my choices & think about the schools I could fall in love with & apply to. So I’m re-writing!</p>

<p>I’m a sophomore at a university in the northeast majoring in English Lit (minors in History & Classical Civilization). While I don’t hate it I definitely feel it’s not the school for me, somewhat in terms of academics but definitely in terms of atmosphere & student body.</p>

<p>I’m not a big partyer/drinker & this school is! I’d love a school where the students’ interests vary, they attend on-campus events in high numbers, and also like going to the movies/day trip/hanging out with friends. I would also love to meet more people like me: non-apathetic, interested in learning & friendly. </p>

<p>I’d love to be heavily involved in 2-3 EC’s (esp. student events). I feel that this school not only has few EC’s to choose from but they’re not varied or well-attended. I’m not bothered about sports.</p>

<p>While academics come first for me, I don’t want to go crazy & spend 10 hrs a night on homework! I do want small classes (generally), great class discussions & personal attention from professors, although this doesn’t mean I’d like a school with only 1000 students. I’d also like to take classes outside my major such as Marketing, Design (Graphic, web etc.), Philosophy etc. However I know a lot of schools I’m interested in don’t offer Marketing; I’d sacrifice that for the ‘perfect’ school & just take summer classes.</p>

<p>The schools I’m researching right now are: Dartmouth (great transfer program but too much partying?), Haverford (great academics but too small?), Middlebury (great English dept. but too outdoorsy?), Brown (can design own curriculum, first choice at the moment), Trinity College (don’t know enough about it but has been recommended to me), Williams (good academics, friendly students, don’t know much else), Amherst (good academics, but not sure it’s a fit for me), Boston University (has Marketing classes, good location for travel & internships, not sure about student-body), WESLEYAN (sounds a bit like Brown in terms of atmosphere). Yes, it sounds like I'm Goldilocks.</p>

<p>My stats, if it’ll help:
HS-
Full IB program in England. 6, 5, 5, in highers
1200 old SAT- did very well on Verbal, terribly on Math cos I’m beyond bad at it
Lit and Writing SAT II- 700 & 640
Some EC’s but not a great deal but it was a non-American school in England</p>

<p>College-
3.81 GPA. Dean’s List all 3 semesters. 4.0 GPA in major
In honors program
In honors English
Heavily involved in 2 EC’s, in a couple more
Great teacher recs</p>

<p>If anyone could offer any insight on the schools, comments or suggestions I would appreciate it so much. Thanks!!</p>

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<p>Does <em>anyone</em> have anything to say about Wesleyan & me? It's definitely a top choice for me (Brown, Middlebury, Haverford & Wesleyan are the ones I'm seriously into). Anything on the atmosphere, student body, social life/interests of students.....anything! Thanks!</p>

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<p>I think part of the difficulty is that it is hard to translate any of our Wesleyan experiences into what it might be like for a transfer student. I mean, even Ecape couldn't make up her mind after two campus visits and dozens of replies from the regulars here. So, it's a little frustrating.</p>

<p>My sense is that you are a tad on the shy and introverted side and that chances are, 90% of your success or failure here will depend on who you meet and become friends with during transfer orientation.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the honest response John. I'm totally not looking for anyone to make up my mind for me. But for me to be able to choose where I'd prefer to go, I need info outside the websites & brochures (which all look great!). And yes, unfortunately I can't get much first-hand info from transfers themselves (which is I prefer info from sophomores and up cos they tend to know the school a little better than freshmen). </p>

<p>Yes, I am a "tad on the shy/introverted side" however I am friendly and always ask questions to get to know people; I am by no means loud and extremely outgoing. Making friends is not so much the problem as making the right friends who have interests outside of drinking.</p>

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<p>Okay, that being understood, here's the deal: that poster on the Williams site who answered that Wesleyan was a combination of Williams' academics and Brown's social life, had it about right. Like the folk at Williams, you will spend most nights keeping up with your reading assignments and whatever else requires keeping up a skill (lifting weights, jogging, music practice, theater rehearsals, etc.) Then, around the middle of the week you'll notice more and more people studying with their doors propped open, almost like they're waiting for an excuse to take a break. There are tons of things to do on the spur of the moment; there is no strict beginning (or end) to the weekend.</p>

<p>Unlike Williams, and more like Brown, you won't need a car to go to a movie or to hang out with ordinary people; bars, restaurants (some quite good) and a cineplex are all within walking distance of campus. Also, like Brown, frats and varsity sports are pretty much ignored -- unless they're giving a major league party. Middle East political debates draw more spectators than baseball and crew combined.</p>

<p>Also, like Brown you will need to pay attention to your surroundings late at night. Middletown is a blue collar town with very little crime. But, most of the responsible adult population is in bed by 10:00 which leaves the streets eerily quiet at night and pretty much abandoned to the <21 population which includes local high schoolers as well as Wesleyan students. Incidents involving "townies" being escorted from parties and left to stew on the sidewalks around campus happen every year.</p>

<p>But, mostly I would agree that there is a delicate hierarchy of New England colleges that divides roughly between the outdoorsy types (Dartmouth, Williams, Middlebury and Bowdoin) and Brown, Wesleyan, Vassar and Bates, the more hipster driven ones. Amherst is generally considered sort of blah (by both sides.)</p>

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<p>I'm a mom of a Wes grad who transfered as a soph. I'll leave the describing of life there to JW, who did a great job from all I've seen and heard, and just stick to telling you that Wes is a very friendly place for a transfer. my D was one of about 60 transfers when she arrived. They had an extensive orientation, some combined with the frosh, but much just for them. She felt at home and made friends right away, though she is a tad on the shy side. Three of her best friends were also transfers, but she also has very good friends who started there, both from her class and from the class that were freshmen when she arrived. Overall, the thing that mattered most was that there was a critical mass of transfers which gave her a great start in fitting into the social scene.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much both of you! I keep hearing great things about Middlebury but I still think Wesleyan is gonna creep above it just because of who I am rather than Midd itself. Being a part of a transfer group is very important to me, as I think that's how I'd make friends straight away.</p>

<p>Would you say most people are involved on on-campus events and/or are in a club? Is there a club that plans events for students?</p>

<p>What about the morals of the Wesleyan student body? The school I'm at now doesn't even have an honor code, let alone honor!</p>

<p>Garland: would you be able to say any more about your daughter's own experienc leaving one college and getting into another?</p>

<p>Thanks!! :)</p>

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<p>Wesleyan has an honor code and violations of the code are heard by the Honor Board, which is composed of 4 students. I'm on the board... we only had about 8 cases last semester, so most people take academic honesty pretty seriously.</p>

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<p>Sure, but tell me more spefically what you'd like to know.</p>

<p>In general, she left the school she was at because the students were not really into academics for its own sake, just doing what they needed to do to get ahead. And because it had a very mindless, fratparty culture which she did not fit into. </p>

<p>Despite these things, transfering was not easy for her--she really was frightened she'd feel just as out of place at a new school. Finally, she realized that the idea of going back to the first one was making her almost physically ill. So when she got the Wes acceptance, it made the decision easy.</p>

<p>She was extremely nervous about going to Wes in the fall, terrified that she'd find that there is nowhere she fits in. It took about two seconds to realize that she was at a very different place, with very different students. She never looked back, and had a wonderful experience there.</p>

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<p>Garland, that's exactly why I want to leave the school I'm at. Even though I've had opportunities because I care more about academics I'd rather go to a school where the majority of the students feel the same as I do, even if that means sacrificing my GPA slightly. </p>

<p>What kinds of things does your daughter do in her spare time? Are students involved in campus life? What does she think of her professors (friendly, challenging, accessible...)? I'm guessing she transferred as a sophomore (I'll be a junior); how were her stats/essays? That's what I'm really worried about- how to set myself apart!</p>

<p>Thanks :)</p>

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<p>Well, she's a grad now. When she was there, she was involved in some political groups and some musical ones. She also did intramural sports.</p>

<p>She really liked her profs. Almost always, she did find them friendly and accessible. </p>

<p>She had pretty high stats as a transfer (soph yr, as you surmised). 1470 SAT, and a 4.0 at the first college. As far as her essay, well, I thought it was pretty good--can't say what the adcoms thought. She wrote about feeling compelled to throw herself into things, and described two weekends at her winter break, one spent protesting the 2000 inaugeration, the next working with our church in a homeless shelter. She has a creative flair, and I think it was a pretty good read (but then, I'm her mother:))</p>

<p>And, I should add, though she did get involved with some of the activisty stuff, she has close transfer friends who did not, and still loved it there.</p>

<p>Best wishes, I hope it works out well for you!</p>

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<p>Thanks very much garland, you've been a great help!! It looks like it's going to be Wesleyan out of Wes, Midd and Haverford! :)</p>

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<p>Glad to be of help!!!</p>