Hello. I am currently a graduating senior and am having second guesses about my decision to choose Wesleyan over UVA. I was admitted early action to UVA, but said no because I initially felt that Wesleyan would be a better fit. However, in the wake of this pandemic, I have been having second guesses. I was originally attracted to Wesleyan’s “vibe” when applying, but now am worried about the seemingly one-sided political view of the school (which I am not necessarily opposed to – I just know that the real world is not actually like that and am worried about living in a bubble for the next four years). I am interested in majoring in economics and international Relations + possibly looking into public health. I was mainly worried about UVA’s very preppy vibe, but have looked online and it seems to have a pretty strong economics program. I know that it is too late to make any real changes; however, I feel that given the circumstances of the world right now, it is worth revisiting my decision. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Both UVA and Wesleyan have their own version of bubbles. UVA has the whole elite/Northern Virginia/WashDC-straight-shot-to-government-service bubble. Wesleyan has the NYC/Boston-arts-entertainment-communications-Liberal-Establishment bubble. Pick the one that speaks to you.
Or, pick the one that will stretch you the most. You will get an excellent Economics education at either place. The next Secretary of the Treasury could very possiby be a Wesleyan alum.
Interesting choice of schools. Very different campus vibes. One is definitely on the left side of things while the other is fairly conservative.
The University of Virginia is an outstanding National University especially for your majors. But Wesleyan does well in economics & East Asian studies.
Simplistically speaking, a student fits in at one or the other, in my opinion. There is no on-going cross-admit rivalry between the two schools. So different are they, that my first thought was: Is it even legal for the same person to apply to both schools ?
OP: You made your decision based on fit with the campus culture. If you lean left & do not like preppy, then you probably made the right decision for you.