I need reasons to go or not to go to Wesleyan

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wesleyan University
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<p>I'm having trouble deciding between Wesleyan and UC Berkeley and I'm also waiting on Tufts, Columbia, and Stanford. What makes Wesleyan more appealing than the others? I'm interested in the sciences (applied as a biochemistry major) and I was informed that Wesleyan receives high funding for their science program. I also heard that even freshman can do research with professors, which is impossible to do if one attends a large school like Cal. So what are the classes like? Do science classes take a liberal arts approach? Would a science major have a good chance of thriving there or is Wesleyan a better school for liberal arts majors? How well does Wesleyan prepare one for graduate school in the sciences, medicine, or engineering?</p>

<p>Oh and how is the social life? Do people tend to stay on campus? What is there to do in Middletown and what is it like? I visited last summer and the town looked pretty depressing - no offense. (I'm from Berkeley, CA so I'm used to living in a more dynamic and diverse community)</p>

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<p>I’ll post a little about myself in case it helps you:</p>

<ul>
<li>Asian female</li>
<li>Lower/Middle middle-class background with immigrant parents</li>
<li>Interest in the sciences</li>
<li>Hobbies include music, visual arts, reading</li>
<li>My high school is relatively small (1200 students) so I’m a little tired of always being around the same group(s) of people</li>
<li>I like and am used to diversity. My high school has about ~40% white, ~33% asian. I hate to say it, but I’m not sure what percentage black and latino students we have, but I see quite a few. We also have many mixed-race students.</li>
<li>I don’t want to be lost in large classes and I don’t want to be over-exposed in tiny discussion classes</li>
<li>I prefer cities and active suburbs to quiet suburbs and rural areas</li>
<li>Not a party person at all. I enjoy sports every now and then but I’m not a big fan…</li>
<li>I want freedom to change majors because I still haven’t decided what I want to do later on in life</li>
</ul>

<p>Would Wesleyan be a good fit?</p>

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<p>Wes is truly the best of all worlds when it comes to science. you can easily do research as a freshman, we have a few (emphasis on few) graduate students, so the level of research is very high, but Wesleyan is a LAC so it’s all about the undergrads. I’m not sure what you mean by science classes in a liberal arts approach, but the professors are excellent and you’re expected to take non-science classes (no requirements for this, though, just expectations). the departments are all tight- science at Wes is great, all in all. </p>

<p>Wes features some of the best acceptance rates to grad school in the country. I have a senior friend who applied for graduate research in biochem- she was accepted to Columbia and Tufts and was waiting on Harvard. </p>

<p>everyone stays on campus during the weekend, which makes for many things to do. not much to do in Middletown, but there are many great restaurants that students frequent. the CT countryside is nearby and places like Wadsworth Falls and Walden Pond are visited during warm months. Lyman Orchards is a huge apple orchard- good in the fall.</p>

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<p>man just read some of the other threads (wes vs vassar vs chicago, “ask anything about student life”, etc). that would be a good place to start finding out about social life. </p>

<p>so you probably won’t get in to either columbia or stanford, back in the day i was waitlisted at various ivies too, so you’re probably looking at wes vs berkeley vs tufts</p>

<p>In relation to us versus Tufts, well, the student bodies are very different. More on this in preceding threads. </p>

<p>Us vs. Berkeley…Don’t know much about it, but class sizes would seem to come in to play </p>

<p>there’s barely anything to do in middletown; apart from Bar Night on Wednesday (which is mainly attended by seniors) there isn’t any nightlife in town. i mean there’s a couple restaurants and a movie theater but nothing in the way of clubs or concert venues. </p>

<p>nobody that I know explores the surrounding country much either ; there’s not a great deal to do in central CT. </p>

<p>thus social life centers around whatever there is to do on campus. That can be a good and a bad thing. </p>

<p>Bad: Not New York City (no urban center with associated cultural/entertainment venues nearby); social environment = pretty cliquey (it’s hard to just go to random parties and have fun because most people at parties seem to already know each other; this is a problem at all small schools though)</p>

<p>Good: Seeing roughly the same people around at places - you’re not lost in a sea of anonymous human beings; lots to do on campus usually, easy to find parties to go to; lots of bands/music acts come to play at eclectic/psi u/bacon (well, girl talk), and some of them are excellent</p>

<p>It’s not bad, but if you’re from a big city, I can’t help but think that it would be excruciatingly painful to spend 6 months a year at Wesleyan. Then again I would say that about all the NESCAC schools, Dartmouth, Cornell, etc…any college out in the country. So Wesleyan’s isolation is not particularly bad; in fact there seems to be more to do here on a regular basis than at Bowdoin, where I overnighted and almost went.</p>

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<p>You sound like you’d be great for Wes.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Interest in the sciences: I’m not a science person, but I’m jealous of people who are who have discovered Wes, because it’s by far the best liberal arts college for the sciences. When I visited there were tons of undergrads doing research and publishing with professors. Amazing! Wes gets funding from the National Science Foundation or something too, I’ve heard. Science majors definitely thrive at Wesleyan.</p></li>
<li><p>Hobbies include music, visual arts, reading: One quick look at the WesAdmits group on Facebook will show that these three are all extremely popular, along with things like TV and baking and acting. Music, art, and reading are probably the most commonly mentioned hobbies, actually.</p></li>
<li><p>My high school is relatively small (1200 students) so I’m a little tired of always being around the same group(s) of people: Wesleyan is bigger than the average liberal arts college, but still small enough to feel like a community. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like the size.</p></li>
<li><p>I like and am used to diversity. My high school has about ~40% white, ~33% asian. I hate to say it, but I’m not sure what percentage black and latino students we have, but I see quite a few. We also have many mixed-race students: Wesleyan is extremely diverse – it’s one of the reasons I picked it.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t want to be lost in large classes and I don’t want to be over-exposed in tiny discussion classes: I think you’re more likely to be “over exposed” than “lost” at Wes, but I think most people find the small environment encouraging and stimulating, not scary. And there are bigger classes too, especially intro science courses and things.</p></li>
<li><p>I prefer cities and active suburbs to quiet suburbs and rural areas: Wes is in a small city, but it’s not a “cute little college town” or anything – it’s a working class city. Relatively quiet, but there are places to go (tons of restaurants, movie theater, roller rink, laser tag, orchards nearby). And New York and Boston are 2 hrs away each! Campus life is extremely vibrant and busy though, so don’t worry about boredom. I personally like a little bit of a smaller city – the college has more of a presence than it would if you were in Boston or something. You can go into a restaurant in town and see other students and stuff… Feels nice to me. It can’t possibly be true that if you’re from a big city it would be painful to spend time at Wesleyan – Wesleyan is known for having a student population from cities (particularly New York), unlike more suburban liberal arts colleges.</p></li>
<li><p>Not a party person at all. I enjoy sports every now and then but I’m not a big fan…: I don’t party either. Come to Wes and chill with me :).
Seriously, something I liked about Wes was that I heard that while some students party (will be the case at every school except BYU), some also don’t, and there was no social division between partiers and non-partiers, unlike what I heard at a lot of other places. There is no lack of non-party things to do: A film series, Iron Chef competitions, performances, lectures, poetry readings, etc… I was looking for a school where I could avoid the whole drunk party scene and still enjoy myself, and Wesleyan qualified.</p></li>
<li><p>I want freedom to change majors because I still haven’t decided what I want to do later on in life: I don’t know about this much, but there are lots and lots of students who want to explore EVERYTHING and can’t decide yet. Wes has lots of double majors too, which can be a help. Also, Wesleyan’s lack of a core curriculum will definitely help you explore different fields and get a sense of what it is you want to do.</p></li>
<li><p>Definitely do NOT worry about grad school acceptance rates at Wes.</p></li>
<li><p>Something I have a feeling you may like: Wesleyan has program houses, which are like themed residences, and the science one is called “Delta G”, as kind of a science pun on sororities which it is emphatically not. (Delta G = Change in energy or something… I wouldn’t know). If you Google it, there’s an article about it from the student newspaper.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Good luck choosing!! I hope you pick Wes :slight_smile:
And sorry if this post was incoherent or rambly… It’s late.</p>