Hey Guys, I need help. I’ve got to pick an ED2 school and I’m really torn. I like all three of these schools for different reasons and was wondering what your guys opinions were. I want top notch education with an active vibrant social life. Thanks so much!!!
I am a high school student in Winston-Salem, and there is not much to do around here outside of Wake’s campus. You might not care about that though. From what my friends have told me, Wake does have a very active social scene.
I don’t really know anything about Emory and Wesleyan though.
Great national university, great LAC and a great medium sized university.
Exactly circuitrider, I’m torn because they all have their own strengths. I don’t want to sound shallow or superficial but is Wesleyan equal to Emory as far a prestige and ability to get a job after graduation?
Wesleyan has a very different vibe than the other two. Are you a hipster, preppy, mainstream? All 3 are great academically, but I think they attract different kinds of students.
I think so. Are you from the South? Do you want to settle there after you graduate? Certain “white shoe” law firms are going to favor local universities. Other professions, like medicine, won’t care where you did your undergraduate work. OTOH, if you want to settle in New York or Boston, your chances at internships increase by going to Wesleyan. Depending on your interests, you can always go to a great university for grad school, but, generally speaking, the best time to attend a small liberal arts college would be right now.
You’ll get an excellent education at all three, but Wake is the clear winner as far as social scene - thanks to having major NCAA Division I athletics as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Emory and Wesleyan are both Division III schools that are pretty much irrelevant as far as sports go. Wesleyan has a meager football program that only plays other small LACs, and Emory doesn’t even have a football team.
Even if one couldn’t care less about going to the games, Division I football and basketball help provide a very good social scene at Wake.
Of course, there are also plenty of social activities for those who aren’t interested in sports.
Wake doesn’t have the best or most exciting social scene in the country, but it’s a pretty good one and better than Emory and Wesleyan.
Wesleyan tends to have a broader curriculum in some ways (such as in geosciences and, I believe in contrast to WF, astronomy) than your other choices. It would also be your generally toughest admit.
Regarding immediate employment prospects, US News does include starting salary data now, and lists Emory first from this group, followed by WF.
Overall, though, Wesleyan offers a discernable array of qualities (as well as a not insignificant NESCAC-type atmosphere) that should not be under-regarded.
This is getting into the weeds a bit, but, yes, of the three choices you’ve narrowed your list down to, Wesleyan is probably the place to beat.
One of the things that gives Wesleyan its distinctive quality is the high number of performing and visual artists who choose to attend; it makes the social scene a little livelier than its DIII athletic status might indicate. Live music, dance and theater are pretty much weekend staples. OTOH, at ~10%, the arts majors naturally are going to depress Wesleyan’s starting salary data. Suffice it to say, you will find both future business types as well as future actors, writers and directors at Wesleyan:
Really comes down to area of study and feel. Our S attends Wake and he would tell you it’s a combination of really smart and social kids. Academics definitely come first, but there is a vibrant social scene connected to parties, sports and community service (they actually do quite a bit in this area). Very much a community feel as they require everyone to live on campus for three years. That makes for a very lively, active campus scene. Greek life is big (about half), but they don’t have residential houses, and again, must live on campus for three years, so everyone is basically living together. Tons of performing arts on campus.
WInston Salem itself is a cool town (230k population). Pretty artsy and lots of microbrews! Going through a resurgence.
Wesleyan is going to be much more liberal and metro/hipster than either Emory or WF. In terms of ‘prestige’ it is really a function of your future career path and where you settle down. If you stay in the South people are going to know WF and Emory probably better than Wesleyan and the latter is true in the NorthEast or CA for instance. If you want to do film, theater or art Wesleyan is going to have better name recognition and if you plan to go to graduate school in the natural sciences Wesleyan will also be perceived as a better school. Intellectually you will find more challenge at Wesleyan than at either of the other two. Parties at Wesleyan are going to be somewhat more eclectic and ‘weird’ than you will find at the other two which will be more mainstream beer drinking and sports watching type of parties. WF and Emory have a good overlap and there are many kids that try and choose between these two schools as they have a somewhat homogenous type of student body. Wesleyan is a far outlier to comparison in terms of student body political views/ societal views and intellectual focus. Have you visited all three schools? Trying to gauge what you like on websites or forums like this is no substitute for visiting and staying overnight. If you had stayed overnight at all three you would have your answer very quickly and definitively.
I know nothing about Wesleyan but @Regulus7 seems to have that handled well. It sounds similar to William & Mary. I mention that only because that’s where feel comes in. My S did the admitted students day at both W&M and Wake and they couldn’t have been more different. Very eclectic vs. mainstream. Think birkenstock crowd vs. football watch parties for away games. Over generalization, but…Both are great but you probably have a preference.
sp: discernible.
Thanks for all the responses everyone. I am pretty sure I want to do business, but I also wouldn’t rule out med school. Primary concern is which school top companies will come to recruit from/ good med schools will accept from. I want the best combination of social life and education. And no I do not plan on settling down in the south.
“I want the best combination of social life and education.” ~ TryHard44
Then it’s Wake all the way.
Wesleyan is in Middletown Ct., a small city of less than 50,000 and declining - Wake is in the thriving city of Winston-Salem NC, population approx. 250,000 and growing. Winston has the clear advantage in terms of more shopping centers, restaurants, night clubs, movie theatres, etcetera. Winston also has considerably milder and more pleasant winters.
Besides being the only one with major NCAA Division I sports, Wake/Winston-Salem is also an excellent choice for the “artsy” student with little interest in sports:
"Winston-Salem is often referred to as the “City of the Arts”,[44] partly because it created the first arts council in the United States, founded in 1949, and because of the local art schools and attractions. These include the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Twin City Stage, Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance, the Piedmont Opera Theater, the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Stevens Center for the Performing Arts, the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, the Hanesbrands Theater, and the Sawtooth Center for Visual Arts. The city’s Arts District is centered around Sixth and Trade Streets, where there are many galleries and workshops; nearby is also the ARTivity on the Green art park, established by Art for Art’s Sake.
It is also home to the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA), a nationally known art center, as well as the Reynolda House Museum of American Art (the restored 1917 mansion built by the founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company[45] and now affiliated with Wake Forest University), displays a premiere collection of American art. The city plays host to the National Black Theatre Festival, the RiverRun International Film Festival and the Reynolda Film Festival. Winston-Salem is also the home of the Art-o-mat and houses nine of them throughout the city. The city is also home to Carolina Music Ways, a grassroots arts organization focusing on the area’s diverse, interconnected music traditions, including bluegrass, blues, jazz, gospel, old-time stringband, and Moravian music. Once a year the city is also the home of the Heavy Rebel Weekender music festival, featuring over 70 bands, primarily rockabilly, punk and honky tonk, over three days."
Source: Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston-Salem,_North_Carolina
@rickle1, Wesleyan and W&M have very different personalities - I think Princeton Review does a good job of describing each. As was previously stated, all are great schools, but with very different strengths - IMHO.
Middletown is far from being in decline. People who say that usually haven’t set foot in the place in forty years. Granted it’s not very big, but, neither is Wesleyan. It’s a large town with a pleasant rivrfront that serves as a favorite watering hole for surrounding villages for miles around; The perpendicular parking spaces downtown are full long after sunset. FWIW, it has a fraction of the poverty rate of Winston-Salem:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middletown,_Connecticut
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As I stated, I can’t speak to Wesleyan. My comparison to W&M was simply based it being an “intellectual” school with a “quirky” student body (whatever that means). In the case of W&M it means non rah rah, non big sports and all the enthusiasm that comes with it. Happy kids happy doing their thing, whatever it happens to be.
I don’t think you should apply ED 2 to any of these schools if you don’t have a clear favorite.