<p>I got into Wes RD and right now it’s between Vassar and Wesleyan. I’ll be visiting Wesleyan on Friday and if I like what I see, I’ll attend WesFest. I just have some general questions about Wes…</p>
<li><p>How many classes does one take per semester at Wes? (is it different for science majors???)</p></li>
<li><p>Is there a main campus green where all the students lay around on nice days? I guess I have this vision of collegiate life and this main green is an integral part of that vision. </p></li>
<li><p>How’s the workload?</p></li>
<li><p>Are there super-cool hipsters on campus? Are they prevalent?
hahaha</p></li>
<li><p>Do most freshmen get placed in the frosh dorm or are they spread throughout? (… if i go i want to live in WestCo)</p></li>
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<li><p>Most people take 4 classes a semester. I believe it is the same for science students, but they also have labs on top of regular classes. Though they do get some credit for labs, so maybe it would be possible to take less classes if you’re taking a lab? I don’t know…<em>is hoplessly un-science-y</em></p></li>
<li><p>Yes! Foss Hill! Sure, it’s a hill, not a traditional campus green, but it serves the same purpose, and I’m pretty sure it will fit your image of college well. Plus hill = sledding in winter and giant slip and slides when it’s warm! Foss Hill is the greatest. </p></li>
<li><p>This depends on the classes you’re taking. I’m only a freshmen, but so far I’ve found that the workload is certainly not light, but rarely completely overwhelming. There are always a couple of weeks in a semester when somehow you seem to have a paper in every class, and of course reading week (a week without classes before finals) is really intense, but on average the workload is manageable, especially if you don’t procrastinate (a problem I’ve been working on). But again, this depends on your classes and major.</p></li>
<li><p>There are definitly hipsters (<em>coughWestCoandEclecticcough</em>). Whether they are super-cool is in the eye of the beholder… ;)</p></li>
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<p>But seriously, the hipster and hippy contingents are certainly very present if you want them. That said, they are not as all prevailing as the stereotypes would have you think. Quirky would be a much better summation of the student body as a whole…quirky in lots of different ways!</p>
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<li>There are two Freshmen-only dorms, Clark and Fauver Frosh, with about 160 or so Freshmen in each. Beyond that Freshmen live in mixed year dorms (the Nicks and the Butts, which are mainly Fresh/Soph) or one of two program houses, 200 Church or Westco, which are both mixed year as well.<br></li>
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<p>So I guess the answer is that over half of the class is in a mixed year dorm, though a fair number are in one of the two Freshmen only dorms. I’ve heard rumors that next year Freshmen won’t be able to rank their dorm preferences, though you will still be able to request 200 Church and WestCo (though that may be wrong entirely…)</p>
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<li><p>4 classes a semester. if you take labs, they're usually on top of the 4 classes, but it's not unheard of to take 3 classes and 1 or 2 labs. 5 classes is doable and not as rare as you'd think, but much tougher. we science kids are just the same as everyone else, though most science people i know try to have at least one non-science class per semester to spice things up.</p></li>
<li><p>foss hill. it's like the beach, but looking over the sports field and college row instead of water. it's not a quad, per se, but it is so, so nice. on sunny days you can find practically the entire school out on the hill, flying kites, reading, playing frisbee, walking dogs.</p></li>
<li><p>depends on the classes you take. there's very little homework, but come exam time, you'll feel the pressure. i'd imagine it's like that at every school. however, almost everyone's weekends are free and the atmosphere is VERY non-competitive.</p></li>
<li><p>i guess? i don't know how to answer this. there are misshapes hipsters, hipsters that look like they were pulled off the streets of amsterdam, hipsters that are itching for an 80s revival... but def. not everyone is a hipster, or a hippie, for that matter. it's very hard to stereotype the student body. just come check us out.</p></li>
<li><p>frosh are placed in one of 7 dorms: westco, hewitt, nicholson, butterfields, fauver, clark, or 200 church. weskid pretty much has got it nailed.</p></li>
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<li><p>What everyone else said. 4 academic classes a semester is standard, but you can do more if you do extra classes that don't require much outside preparation (music, dance, gym, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>foss hill kicks the pants off any other college's "quad" or main green area. it's a HILL. enough said. </p></li>
<li><p>serious but not going to kill you. you can have a life, for sure. doing sports or having serious involvement in particular activities or clubs will make it feel a lot more pressed. it's not swarthmore or uchicago, but it's also not hampshire, if that helps at all. wes kids value their fun, but are at the same time quite serious about academics.</p></li>
<li><p>you will see a lot of skinny jeans. and a lot of normal jeans. whatever.</p></li>
<li><p>see other people's answers....</p></li>
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