Wesleyan is on my son’s very short list (to commit, he’s already been accepted). All on the list great and roughly comparable in terms of academics, reputation, size, region, etc. His decision is largely coming down to student culture, vibe, etc. He’s the opposite of judgmental so he cool if there are all kinds of people (in fact that’s a plus for him), but he does want to know if he’ll find a thriving group that like similar things to his high school friends. He’s not athletic, not a drinker, not into drugs, non-political (he cringes as phrases like “safe spaces”), non-confrontational, somewhat introverted. His friends tend to unwind playing Wii games, watching movies, etc. He keeps busy with classes and extracurriculars but isn’t obsessive with studies. He neither works TOO hard or plays TOO hard.
So can someone be not glued to his studies on the one hand but not into hard partying or political activism and into nerdy/geeky recreational activities find his people at Wes?
As I’ve mentioned in other posts, my junior daughter is considering Wes, though even with recruitment it may be out of her range academically. We’ll see in a few months after her junior year pre-read.
We have a close family friend whose daughter attends Wes as a freshman. She’s my daughter’s best friend. This kid has a chronic illness (T1 diabetes), does not drink or smoke, studies hard but has a life (varsity rower) and is more of a math/science than a politically active kid.
All I can say is that she is extremely happy there. Loves it. Being around that kind of political activism and involvement is healthy at a young age, especially, in my opinion, for those not inclined toward those activities. It makes them think about things they don’t normally think about. The debate about political correctness and censorship and tolerance and related debates rage at Wes right now. Is that bad? Not in my book.
Again, this kid sounds like your kid, except that she’s an athlete. But other than that, she fits the bill of a kid who doesn’t seem like the stereotypical Wes kid. She is really happy and thriving according to her parents and according to my daughter, who talks to her at least four or five times a week.
I also have a kid who is somewhat apolitical but very happy. If he plays a sport, he’ll have an instant group of friends. I encourage him to do an overnight and meet as many people as possible.