<p>Reading this thread, I will say that Wes needs no defending, nor does Middletown. Wesleyan is a wildly popular destination for matriculating college students. I think it’s fair to say the environment will suit some, not others. Those who have wanted Wes have been so passionate in their connection, that I don’t think I’ve seen a more enthusiastic bunch of kids.</p>
<p>So many people have complained that Williamstown is so remote with nothing to do and looked quizzically at my son for attending. Some don’t like how Route 2 bisects the school. </p>
<p>Neither were an issue for my S. </p>
<p>The right environment for the right kid what we hope for. If the admissions lottery steers a kid onto a different path, we hope all these kids are adaptable enough to adjust to different circumstances and can grow to accommodate them.</p>
<p>gervie: the tunnels aren’t exactly normal Wes living space (and that grafitti has been built up over generations – or at least it had until they painted over the tunnels, which upset a lot of people). I agree it’s not pretty, but it’s part of Wes culture, and not indicative of how the rest of the dorms are treated. </p>
<p>In general, I agree with mythmom: different environments are for different people, and I’d be the last person to claim Middletown is perfect or the right place for everyone. I was just confused by Gibby’s experience because it feels so out of the norm – Middletown definitely has its bad spots, but I’ve never felt unsafe in any area during the day. And I agree with froshdad that it is nothing like the bad areas of cities that have bad areas. And I spent a lot of time wandering around it taking pictures for my photo class (including a lot of time on the North End). </p>
<p>Also, froshdad, I didn’t know about St. Vincent DePaul Place. Cool! You learn something new everyday.</p>
<p>I have visited Wesleyan and Middletown several times over the past five years starting when oldest D was there for a JHU/CTY program as a sophomore in high school, then when she visited the school twice (she is at Brown now) and twice with S who will be a freshman at Wes this fall, and none of us never had a bad reaction to Middletown. We like the real town feel to Middletown, understanding that there are “bad” parts of town, and that some caution is warranted, especially at night. We like the part of Main Street that is just down the hill from campus. We have had great meals at a few restaurants there, and walked around at night feeling completely safe. Like any urban campus (we felt a little uneasy visiting Yale in New Haven), there are occasionally crime incidents involving town residents. But that is something I am not really worried about.</p>
<p>S has already signed up for community service outing during Orientation with the North End Action Team.</p>
<p>We live in “idyllic rural New England” so my kids were not interested in a similar prep school-type setting.</p>
<p>It occurs to me that this isn’t an unusual experience. A lot of really good schools are surrounded by blighted areas. some of the best schools in the country are in really sketchy neighborhoods. I’m thinking Columbia, Penn, Wes, Yale, Vassar - all of them are in towns or neighborhoods that are in pretty bad shape. Even in the next tier of school you have Trinity in Hartford, Colby in Waterville, Providence College, Conn College in New London - these aren’t ideallic towns you send postcards from. These colleges are all in some ways in conflict with the surrounding working and lower class towns (or at least their local neighborhoods) in which they reside. Sometimes there is an honest resentment of the rich, mostly white kids who make up the student body. Sometimes there is an elitist attitude given off by the students that causes friction between town and gown.</p>
<p>Most of the time, if the students are friendly and open with the people in the town, the town is happy to have the students as customers and residents for 9 months a year. The businesses and residents of the town are usually cognizant of the fact that the college adds significant resources, without which the town would be poorer, so as long as the students aren’t obnoxious and rude the local businesses welcome them back every year.</p>
<p>There is a bit more crime in these areas than the students are likely used to. Part of this is that the students largely come from low crime neighborhoods and as a result they aren’t as aware of their surroundings as the typical city dweller. This makes them easy prey for the criminal. Also, kids from upper class neighborhoods tend to leave their stuff unwatched and unlocked, so stuff walks.</p>
<p>An important point to note: Most of the theft that occurs on all of these campuses is student on student. The city residents are rarely involved.</p>
<p>So, what am I trying to say? I guess if your choice is between, say, Princeton and Wes, Princeton is a much nicer town, so that could play into the decision. But let’s say your son is choosing between Wes, Vassar, Conn and Colby. Waterville and Colby do NOT get along. New London is decrepit. And Poughkeepsie is just as big a hole as Middletown is. So I’d go with the best fit and not worry so much about the town.</p>
<p>I mean, when visiting colleges, I always say to trust your gut. If your son’s gut was saying that this wasn’t the place for him, trust it.</p>
<p>That said, I’m also puzzled by the reaction and Middletown’s “run-down”-ness. I just graduated, and now I live next to Columbia University in NYC. Like Wesleyan, the immediate area surrounding Columbia is all very nice and “polished” for the upper-middle-class students to feel comfortable. But walk a few blocks north and east, and you get into territory that’s decidedly unpolished (though, in my opinion, still a fun and nice place to be - but again, I guess I’m not the sort of person who prefers the polished). At Wesleyan, it’s similar but not nearly as extreme as Columbia. There are parts of town that aren’t upper middle class and where upper middle class kids may feel uncomfortable. There are poor people walking around, and the police don’t immediately chase them away for being poor (most of the time). But I can’t think of anyplace that Wes students regularly go that I’d describe as “run-down” - even the north end of Main St.</p>
<p>Johnwesley, you forgot to add Eli Cannon’s to that list Yum.</p>
<p>CORRECTION: Wes does merit an honorable mention right underneath Brown @ #1:
“Honorable-mention limousine-liberal institutions: Duke, Reed, Oberlin, Wesleyan, Bard, RISD.” however, nothing quite like #7.</p>
<p>“(I personally was more put off by some of the perfectly manicured, super-quaint college towns I visited–different strokes ).”</p>
<p>I’m with Weskid on this. Also from NYC, I consider myself somewhat of an expert on the cuteness of small towns. Some of my favorites are Damariscotta, Maine, and Saratoga Springs, NY. We have visited Wesleyan three or four times and have eaten and walked around in town. I thought Middletown was especially cute, and just the right size for a college town. I love that it is so close to campus. I didn’t notice anything that would suggest that it is “run down.” It looks real, and not like a showplace.</p>
<p>It is this little thing I noticed.
I have collected selective LACs bulletin /catalogue and now have pile of them stack high serving as a night table.
Wes is the only one says on its spine where the school is located.
Wesleyan university catalog, Middletown, Connecticut/ 2008-2009
It is either Wes is very proud of Middletown or dont wanna mixed up with other Wesleyans galore. I want to believe that it is former.</p>
<p>It will be funny if they all start saying like, “Williams, never William and Mary”
" Wellesley, not Wes " " Trinity, not that one we are better" Haverford, not Harvard nor Swat plan B Wake Forest, not Lake Swarth not Skid-more
Save tree or money, less and less schools are making chunky hard copy of bulletins, so no worry.</p>
<p>A lot of prospective students and their parents are surprised to see downtown. It’s not exactly a quaint, leafy college town like, say, Williamstown or Wellesley or, an upper class suburb like Greenwich or Lake Forest where many of the Wes students grew up. This can be a shocking wake up call.</p>
<p>But neither is it a dangerous, crime-riddled city populated by fearsome homeless people. It’s the real world. It has great restaurants, stores, cafes, churches, historic New England buildings, car repair shops, hardware stores, churches, a historic synagogue, and other businesses. There are also some empty storefronts. More so during this recession. There are also homeless people. Homeless people are not by definition dangerous. Living away from a sheltered upper class suburb can be educational. Isn’t this what college is all about? The biggest danger to most Wes students comes not from seeing poverty, but from not looking both ways when crossing the street.</p>
<p>Interesting NYTimes article that summarizes the whole aspect of sharing the national spotlight with one of the country’s most progressive campuses, from the town’s point of view:
Yum.</p>