<p>Hello!</p>
<p>I was accepted as a spring transfer to both Wesleyan and Cornell U. I am coming from a tiny liberal arts school (Macalester) and am majoring in Bio. I am premed as well. I was wondering which school is better terms of academics in sciences, research opportunities, and quality of life. I know wes has a reputation of being more laid back and fun whereas cornell is far more preprofessional and intense. How true are these stereotypes???</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I would say it depends what you mean by “laid back”. People at Wes are maybe more relaxed in that they aren’t motivated by a toxically competitive environment but people are definitely intense, self-motivated students who are primarily driven by academic passion more so than preprofessionally-oriented goals.</p>
<p>In terms of science research opportunities, Wesleyan is quite possibly the best SLAC in the country for undergrad research. The student co-publishing rate (i.e. how many papers with student co-authors listed are published out of Wes) is 47%, almost twice the national average, and of students who get involved in research (which is not hard to do) something like 70-80% get published by the time they graduate. Wes supposedly even has the most lab space per student in the country. Basically, you have many of the resources of a research university, but available mainly to undergrads in the intimate environment of a SLAC, due to Wesleyan’s technical status as a university, but with a grad student population of 200-300. </p>
<p>Quality of life at Wes is pretty great. Very much a work hard/play hard kinda school (though isn’t every school, at least purportedly?) with a really strong sense of community due to its size. Location halfway between NYC and Boston means interesting speakers, performers, bands, etc. coming through a fair amount. Decent food too, if that’s part of your quality of life consideration.</p>
<p>As a current Wes student who never looked at Cornell in my college process, I can’t really give you much of a fair comparison, but I think Wes lines up pretty well with your interests. Also, I did look at Macalester as a HS senior, and it’s definitely similar in terms of SLAC feel, though I felt Wes was a little bit bigger, more exciting, and had a more intellectually stimulated/stimulating student body (hence why I chose Wes over Mac). Still, give each a fair look, visit if at all possible, and best of luck with your transfer process!</p>
<p>The good thing is that both schools offer very different environments, so you should pick whichever appeals the most to you. Why don’t you visit both schools and see which you prefer?</p>
<p>Both are great schools, so you should choose whichever fits your personality best.</p>
<p>For Pre-med/academia go to Wesleyan. If you want something in Finance go to Cornell.</p>
<p>Why are you transferring from Mac? I’m curious. If the small size has anything to do with it, consider that Wes has around 3200 and Cornell around 14000 undergrad or 22000 total. That’s a pretty big difference.</p>