Qs about Wes from a HS senior!

Colleges & Universities A-Z Wesleyan University
1

<p>So I just discovered that I absolutely love Wesleyan. But, my plan has been to apply RD there and a couple other schools, including my other top choice Smith. Now I don't know what to do. </p>

<p>How much of an advantage does applying EDII give to students?</p>

<p>Should I wait for RD because I have two favorites or to apply EDII to boost my chances of getting into Wes?</p>

<p>Other Qs:</p>

<p>How is the Molecular Biology department (I'd also love to hear about any other science department)? What are the courses/professors like? Are there a lot of research opportunities?</p>

<p>I'm considering premed, but I really have no idea if I want to pursue that path. Has anyone done premed at Wes? How was it? How is the advising/classes?</p>

<p>What is your favorite/least favorite thing about Wesleyan?</p>

<p>How is the housing system?</p>

<p>What is the community like?</p>

<p>I have heard that there's a lot of drugs/drinking at Wes. Is this true? I'm really studious and have no interest in drugs/etc. Would I have a difficult time socially at Wes?</p>

<p>Why did you pick Wesleyan? (why should I?)</p>

<p>Was anyone else deciding between Wes and Smith or transferred btw the two? What are your thoughts on the strengths/weaknesses of the different schools?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>How much of an advantage does applying EDII give to students? The same advantage that applying ED1 gives students—that is to say, a significantly higher acceptance rate (usually in the 40s) due to the commitment to attend.</p>

<p>Should I wait for RD because I have two favorites or to apply EDII to boost my chances of getting into Wes? Depends on whether or not you strongly consider Wes to be your first choice. I can’t answer that for you.</p>

<p>[Sorry, I don’t know much about the Science departments. I’ll skip those questions and let someone more knowledgeable help you.]</p>

<p>What is your favorite thing about Wesleyan? The Wesleyan Film Series. Or maybe Foss Hill.</p>

<p>What is your least favorite thing about Wesleyan? Lack of public transportation to and from Middletown.</p>

<p>How is the housing system? Extremely complicated. But this is good, because there are incredibly varied housing opportunities—dorms, program houses, apartments, woodframe houses for upperclassmen, and more. </p>

<p>What is the community like? Small and often close-knit, but also sometimes fractured by all the different communities on campus.</p>

<p>I’m really studious and have no interest in drugs/etc. Would I have a difficult time socially at Wes? I don’t care for drugs, and I’m extremely happy here. Some people drink and smoke a lot; other people don’t at all, but no one is judgmental. It’s not an issue at all, and it hasn’t made my social experience any less rewarding. Seriously.</p>

<p>Why did you pick Wesleyan? Probably similar reasons why you’re considering it: super strong academics, particularly in my areas of interest; fantastic and unique (and admittedly left-leaning) student body; comfortably small but not tiny size; more interest in the arts than athletics; open curriculum. The usual.</p>

<p>Was anyone else deciding between Wes and Smith or transferred btw the two? Nope. Sorry.</p>

3

<p>I can’t really speak about the science classes, although it’s probably a really good place to do premed because of the open curriculum. apparently there’s more research here than at any other liberal arts college because we have graduate students, but since the graduate students are extremely few it’s easy for undergrads to get involved.</p>

<p>

Favorite thing about Wesleyan: sunsets at Indian Hill, and that I’m never bored.
Least favorite thing about Wesleyan: it’s more mainstream and less economically diverse than I thought it would be.</p>

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I like to call it “pluralistic.”</p>

<p>

I like the housing system overall because there are a lot of choices, and it gives you a lot of independence. </p>

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I sincerely doubt it. but I’d recommend not living in fauver.</p>

<p>

first I went to a CSS class and I’d never seen students so intellectually engaged. then I went to see the feminist pornographer Tristan Taormano speak and she said there was no place like Wes, and I decided to come here.</p>

<p>

being male, I didn’t apply to Smith but I know a lot about it since my best friend goes there and I took classes there in high school.</p>

<p>The housing system is a lot different because Smith has individual houses that mix all four years, but one isn’t better than the other, it just depends on your preference. although Smith’s houses there are really nice, I’m not sure if I would want to live in a dorm room all four years and not have all that much say in what kind of situation I live in–at Wesleyan there are program houses, apartments, and woodframe houses for upperclassmen. this is one of the reasons I didn’t go to Vassar. maybe if you stay over at both schools you could decide which suits you more. </p>

<p>Northampton’s way better than Middletown, but I’ve never really cared about this sort of thing because I don’t have nearly enough time to go to everything I want to do on campus as it is. </p>

<p>the social situation is inherently different simply because one is coed and one is mixed. having to go to Amherst to party is a lot. more people smoke cigarettes more than weed. I would guess that there might be more people that refrain from drinking at Smith, or maybe there’s probably a bit more of a drinking culture at Wes–not to say that there really is one, Wesleyan isn’t really a party school–but no matter how you put it the party scene is definitely different. </p>

<p>If you get into Wesleyan, you’ll get into Smith, so I’d suggest not applying ED if you can’t decide now. You may have a better sense of what you want in April.</p>

4

<p>I would do Regular Decision so that you are not bound in case
for some reason down the road, you find Smith (or some other
college, for that matter) more appealing with factors such as
scholarships etc.</p>