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I know a girl who was considering Wesleyan "because, you know like Santogold went there."
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<p>The funny thing about this is that, unlike lots of the other famous Wes bands, Santogold didn't really like it here (she went into NYC every weekend). </p>
<p>Good luck everyone!</p>
<p>My guess is that Obama's speech kind of put a spotlight on wes and more people considered it as their option</p>
<p>On the bright side, I'm seeing Neil Young and Wilco on December 15th, so whether celebrating or mourning, I'll be doing it in style.</p>
<p>Now that's an awesome concert to be going to!</p>
<p>I'll be seeing the Broadway revival of "All My Sons" a few days later, so that'll act either as a cherry on a perfect week or the whole damn sundae to cheer me up. Arthur Miller is often my go-to playwright when I'm feeling down because his plays make me realize that it can be much, much worse.</p>
<p>Is it sad that I actually have a "go-to playwright?"</p>
<p>its not sad, its very Wes</p>
<p>I'm applying EDI as well. I think that a lot of normally underqualified people were encouraged to apply when they saw last year's commencement speaker paired with an almost 30% acceptance rate and relatively easy application. At least I hope so. I doubt that the EDI pool is teeming with superstars who decided to "settle" for Wes and make a safe bet on getting in.</p>
<p>I was banking on the drop in USNews rankings to make it an easier year; so much for that.</p>
<p>I think in addition to the possibilities of Obama and Wes bands making the school more visible, it's relatively high acceptance rate (26-27%) compared to the other top LACs made it more attractive...</p>
<p>I hope you guys are right!!</p>
<p>Why <em>do</em> you think Wes has a higher acceptance rate, btw? I always found that kind of weird.</p>
<p>Wes has about the same visibility has the other LACs... (middlebury, amherst, williams, bowdoin, ect) but is larger than all of them. Wes gets slightly more apps than the others, but in the case of Wes vs. amherst, for example, Wes has a 50% larger student body. so, they must admit a lot more students, even though they are only getting maybe 10-20% more apps.</p>
<p>Ah that makes sense.</p>
<p>I wouldn't be too worried, guys. Wesleyan's stats have remained relatively stable over time. If you were qualified enough to get in last year, you'll still probably get in this year.</p>
<p>And, even if you don't - almost everyone I know from high school is pretty happy at wherever you ended up. It seems like the worst thing in the world right now, but it'll be good :)</p>
<p>ALSO, people who are just applying for silly reasons (i.e. "omg santogold/mgmt!" or "omg obama!" or "ooh 30% acceptance rate, I don't know anything about wes compared to williams/vassar/etc. but I may as well try it") will have their applications seen through. Wesleyan takes a holistic approach to applications, and a good personal essay that demonstrates a good fit with the school will go a long way.</p>
<p>but...
considering that Wes has no Why Wes essay...
how will the admission officers tell which applicant has more interest in the school itself
rather than all other factors?</p>
<p>well for ED, of course, the fact that they are applying ED indicates a strong interest in the school (regardless of reason).</p>
<p>for RD, that's something the admission officers must glean from the application. however, if there was a Why Wes essay, I would think a majority of the apps would have a coherent argument, hence its absence from the application</p>
<p>(IMO of course)</p>