<p>I've been there twice now; doesn't seem like a lot of fun. How do Wesleyan students keep themselves entertained?</p>
<p>On a different note, where do students fly in and out of? Is it easy to get to the airport?</p>
<p>On the second question: Hartford. I believe it's a 30-minute ride.</p>
<p>It may not be Princeton, NJ; it may not even be Northampton, MA, but, Middletown's relatively low crime rate and stable downtown neighborhoods have afforded Wesleyan students something few other LACs have: a social life that exists on a truly domestic scale, outside of traditional dorms; that doesn't depend on frat houses. House parties rule at Wesleyan. The trick is to gather a circle of friends who by junior or senior year together have enough housing points to command one of the hundred or so university owned houses and voila: instant salon! The system has worked so well that Wesleyan has had to rein in the number of students eligible for "wood frames" due to noise complaints from actual Middletown citizens. The plan is to eventually build sturdier versions of these houses with room for 24 students each and to cluster them together in designated, student-friendly blocks.</p>
<p>I'm not a Wesleyan student but the campus is pretty close to my house and I've played against Middletown High School many times in sports. Middletown is a pretty middle-class town, i think it used to be a mill town. Although it defintely isn't new york city there are lots of different ethnic restauarants and little shops. If you want a mall you will have to go about 20-30 minutes away to west hartford. when i visited my guide said that students sometimes go to new haven, which i think is about 25 minutes to the south. New haven is defintely a city that seems to be getting better compared to Hartford, which is about 25-30 minutes north, which goes downhill more each day.</p>
<p>The airport students fly in and out of is Bradley, which is actually located in Windsor Locks, although on the tickets it will always say Hartford/Springfield. Windsor Locks is about 15 minutes north of Hartford.</p>
<p>I live right down the road from New Haven. It is actually about 40 to 50 minutes away depending on the traffic, but still pretty close.:)</p>
<p>oops sorry the times are all approximate, i know new haven is about an hour from my house and thats it :)</p>
<p>Middletown really isn't as "boring" as people make it out to be. I picked Wesleyan over NYU and while I realize the allure of being in a major metropolis is powerful, when it comes down to it I just don't believe college students are really going to take advantage of the unique opportunities only available in a metropolis. I mean, how often does the average student go to the opera, to Broadway shows, to heinously expensive restaurants, etc.? Perhaps I don't really understand because I grew up in a city roughly the size of Middletown and really loved it there, so it doesn't incongruous to be here. Besides, you only spend 4 years on a residential college campus, and you have your whole life to live in large cities.</p>
<p>My only complaint with the size of Middletown is that the mass transit options aren't very good. We don't have a train station, so you need to someway find your way to Meriden or New Haven to get connections to most mass transit options (though we do have a bus station)</p>
<p>Ditto Xmatt. Wes and Middletown are just fine.</p>
<p>I found this footnote to the announcement of a frat party this weekend rather amusing:</p>
<p>"N.B.:
If you aren't a Wesleyan student and want to come to the concert, you'll need to find some Wes student to bring you, and we'll take the student's ID at the door. We will also be enforcing capacity for the space, which is 205 people. Don't try to find a way in other than the front door, it won't work."</p>
<p>Eclectic, right? I have a friend who basically made it his mission last year to sneak into every Eclectic party/concert through the back door without paying or presenting his ID. As luck would have it, he got a horrible room lottery pick and got stuck as a boarder in Eclectic, so now he has no problem sneaking into the parties...</p>
<p>Alpha Delt. But, thanks to ur post, Matt, I can hear the sound of back doors locking all over Middletown.:)</p>
<p>what do wes kids call themselves? i mean the UCLAers are bruins, the Cornell ppl are cornellians, so what are we?</p>
<p>one more question: do we get to stay in the dorm during easter break and the other holidays? i heard that there're schools in the US that kick students outa their dorms during holidays and they would have to find somewhere to stay during the week or 2</p>
<p>Jurily - There are many possibilities here: the school mascot is the Cardinal. Sports teams are often referred to as "the Cards". I've also heard of older alum from the 1950s who refer to themselves as Old Cards. More popular perhaps, is the use of "Wes" as a prefix to just about everything from the lacross team ("Weslax") to the crew team ("Wescrew".) I suppose when it comes down to the general population, "Wesfolk" or "Wespeople" covers just about everyone. :) </p>
<p>As for the dorms - you paid for them - they're your's until the end of the school year. The cafeteria may close over Easter break, but, at least you have a roof over your head.</p>
<p>They do kick people out during semester break (Dec. 20-ish to Jan 20-ish), but they're open the rest of the time. I think "Weskids" is the preferred nomenclature. I also know some people who'd prefer to eschew the Cardinal as our mascot and go back to the being the Fighting Methodists, since that would be hilarious.</p>
<p>thz guys! fighting methodists!! id love that lol</p>
<p>certain threads should be dusted off from time to time. this one is a classic.</p>
<p>My son and I visited Middletown a couple months ago -- after having not seen it for years -- and were very pleasantly surprised by the changes. Although it was perfectly fine a decade ago, it now seems to offer a lot more, including a multiplex movie theater, many ethnic restaurants and coffee shops. The new children's museum is quite attractive, too. One reason son decided to apply to Wes was because he liked the mix of real-people and college-people stuff in the town. He pronounced some other LAC towns as too "cutesy" and "unreal."</p>
<p>^My D who went there said the exact same thing! :)</p>
<p>and unlike a lot of smaller LACs, downtown is a very quick walk!</p>