<p>My d visited campus last spring and was turned off by Wheaton. No one she talked with seemed to really like their choice of school. One person on her dorm overnight talked about transferring. Many of the kids in chapel were sleeping and the chapel itself was incredibly boring. However, I still think that Wheaton might be a great place for her. She is a very committed Christian. So here is my question for a current student or recent graduate... what is the school like? What is the atmosphere? Are people living out their faith?</p>
<p>Okay so I'm not a student at Wheaton and I haven't visited the campus but I'll be going there in the fall. Anyway, I'm in this Facebook group for the class of 2013. LOTS of current Wheaton students post on the group and say things completely contrary to what your daughter's impression of Wheaton seems to be. Everyone seems to be SO glad they chose Wheaton and they say that the atmosphere is so warm and friendly and that community is the most important thing at Wheaton. And that they've never made better friends than at Wheaton. etc...</p>
<p>So I'm excited to go there and I'm sad your daughter got this impression! You should maybe have her join the facebook group for the Wheaton class of 2013.</p>
<p>OH and I'm not gonna lie...the general opinion of chapel does seem to be that it is boring. And apparently a lot of students do sleep or study. But I think that if you try you can come away with something from every sermon or whatever that you hear. BUT despite the sleeping in chapel, students DO seem to be genuine about their faith. It must just truly be boring?? haha. Maybe the school shouldn't require it.</p>
<p>I stayed at Wheaton for a few weeks about two years ago for a conference, and I have to say that all of the students I spoke with seemed very enthusiastic about the place. The only complaint they had was that they’d all been told that it was “just outside” Chicago, when in reality it’s something like 40 minutes away. They didn’t seem to have any complaints about the academics, the social life, the religious life, or any of the rest of it.</p>