<p>Hi guys,
I am an international student from an Asian country and well, when I was applying to schools this year, one of my counselors recommended I apply to Wes despite the fact that I have never heard of it. I did some research and figured that since it was a little Ivy and all, I would apply.
I got into Wesleyan Regular Decision and I applied to about 2 Ivys: Harvard and Brown as well as Williams, UCLA and Stanford. I was rejected by UCLA, Williams and Brown and accepted at Stanford and Harvard. The tuition is really expensive for me, but I got good FA packages from all, pretty much the same actually; and its making my decision of where to go harder.
I already know Stanford and Harvard's reputation as being world-class colleges but I have a fear that if I do go there, the classes will be smaller; the teachers will be grad students and I'll be average. I don't know much about Wesleyan and when I tell people here that I got into Wesleyan, they think I'm stupid because I'm going somewhere that they haven't heard of. I haven't heard much about it even in American newspaper articles that chronicle great lib.arts colleges. I'm not trying to instigate a conflict here, I'm just seriously considering Wesleyan but I keep wondering as to what do colleges/people/grad schools think when they hear the name "Wesleyan"? I heard stuff like its mainly Ivy rejects who end up going to Wesleyan (especially Brown rejects) and that most of the time, its not considered a "serious" college and is looked down upon by neigbouring schools like Yale. Is that true? Is there any bar that could perhaps be drawn to measure where Wesleyan lies in terms of prestige with respect to other unis including the Ivies? I want to seewhich school is a good fit for me (and so far, Wesleyan has one point ahead) but the only thing keeping me back is the fact that no-one has heard of it and that if I want to get a job back in my home country, it will be difficult.
Does anyone know any schools that can be compared to Wes? Or the way other colleges view Wesleyan? That would be a great help!
Thank you so so much,
J</p>
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<p>AAAAHHH,
I know what you;re talking about jinnaka1
No one here knows about Wesleyan either, but its really well respected in America. When I first told people I was going to Wesleyan, they thought I was stupid too, and called it “Westlane” so dont worry. There are just people who don’t know it, but since you’re competing between Harvard, Stanford and Wes, I seriously don’t know. it depends on you and which school you think is the right fit for you because so far your only visible probelm with wes is its name and thats where the other two schools have the biggest leg up</p>
<p>[Search</a> Results: wesleyan](<a href=“http://search.latimes.com/search?q=wesleyan&site=default_collection&entqr=3&output=xml_no_dtd&sort=date%3AD%3AS%3Ad1&client=latimes&ud=1&oe=UTF-8&proxystylesheet=latimes&getfields=thumbnail_small.author.pubdate]Search”>http://search.latimes.com/search?q=wesleyan&site=default_collection&entqr=3&output=xml_no_dtd&sort=date%3AD%3AS%3Ad1&client=latimes&ud=1&oe=UTF-8&proxystylesheet=latimes&getfields=thumbnail_small.author.pubdate)</p>
<p>johnwelsey: after reading some of the articles in the links you’ve posted, I’m soooo PROUD I’m going to WES! 
We’ve got so many achievers!</p>
<p>Go to Harvard. There’s no comparison between Harvard and Wes (not that Wes isn’t a great school).</p>
<p>@JohnWesley: Thank you for the links. this will definitely make my case a lot stronger against my parents, who are rooting for Stanford!
@norolimasfaloth (weird name): yeah, I know about Harvard and Stanford’s name and stuff but I didn’t want to be rash, make a decision to go to Harvard and be miserable. I contemplated how I would probably be at the bottom of my class there and how difficult it is to sort of make a name for yourself. Thats why I applied to Williams and Wesleyan, small liberal arts colleges so that I could be in a comfortable environment. The ONLY thing that is keeping me from joining Wesleyan is the fact that I dont know where it stands in rankings or how people perceve a Wesliyan degree. I don’t trust the US news rankings because they are really fickle.
to tzar09: if only it were that easy but im worried ill make a mistake i regeret.</p>
<p>Wesleyan isn’t a name recognized by anyone off the street, but it is VERY well-respected in the academic world. It is definitely NOT looked down upon by Ivies or other schools – my parents went to Princeton and my mother went to Yale Medical School afterwards, and they are both very proud that I am going to Wesleyan, and brag to all their old classmates about it. My father is now an established professor at a top university, so he knows what kinds of places are respected by graduate schools (he is in charge of admitting graduate students, after all), and he was confident that Wesleyan is an impressive place to have succeeded in.</p>
<p>Here are some <em>objective</em> rankings, if that kind of thing puts your mind at ease: [Top</a> 2000 Ranked Universities for Highest Overall School Score](<a href=“http://www.stateuniversity.com/rank/score_rank.html]Top”>http://www.stateuniversity.com/rank/score_rank.html)</p>
<p>It is definitely true that your friends/neighbors won’t have heard of Wesleyan. If you need household recognition (it’s okay if you do), then don’t choose Wesleyan. But it is absolutely a prestigious school that you should be proud to go to. Greene and Greene’s guide, “Hidden Ivies: Thirty Colleges of Excellence” says that “Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby, Middlebury, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, and Williams” are Little Ivies, schools which it says have “scaled the heights of prestige and selectivity and also turn away thousands of our best and brightest young men and women” (says Wikipedia). Wesleyan is also a member of the Little Three.</p>
<p>Still, I’m not sure I’d choose Wes over Stanford or Harvard if you’re choosing purely based on academic reputation. There are crucial differences between the schools and the students they attract, which you should consider.</p>
<p>Also, I chose Wesleyan <em>over</em> Princeton (in the sense that I applied to Wesleyan early decision, choosing not to take advantage of my Princeton legacy), so Wesleyan is definitely not for Ivy rejects. It’s a liberal arts college – it’s apples and oranges, to an extent. I know people who have chosen Wesleyan over Brown, Yale, and Columbia.</p>
<p>Wesleyan is known as a good school, but there is no comparison in terms of prestige: Stanford and Harvard are in a league of their own (along with Yale, Princeton) and Wesleyan is <em>not</em> as prestigious. Its admissions process is also not as competitive as Stanford and Yale’s.</p>
<p>That said, I don’t think that means the Wesleyan education is any worse than Stanford or Harvard’s, and in many ways, is better. A friend of mine who is a PhD student at Harvard tells me that the PhD students are often thesis advisors for undergraduates; it’s very difficult to do research or get very close to the top-notch faculty at the school. In contrast, I’m doing interesting research projects with three different professors this semester (a psych lab, a social theory senior essay, and quantitative sociological research in education). I can meet with them multiple times per week / as needed to discuss these projects. I will tell you now that this is NOT an experience that you will get as an undergrad at Harvard.</p>
<p>I’m also biased and think the quality of life at Wesleyan is better than what I can imagine almost anywhere else. There’s an amazing student body, a great campus, fantastic music & party scene, a laidback but deeply intellectual atmosphere - it’s pretty much everything you would ask for from a liberal arts college.</p>
<p>But as for your original question - Wesleyan does not have anywhere near the same prestige as Harvard and Stanford. I would say we’re about the same level of prestige as Tufts and Cornell.</p>
<p>Mad - he’s a filmmaker (see, his Class of 2013 post.)</p>
<p>That said, it certainly isn’t looked down upon. While yale is more prestigious, no one from Yale is going to be like “pfffft, Wesleyan.” And employers and graduate schools definitely respect it. Anecdotally, I’ve had great luck in the job search getting interviews and job offers, and just accepted a great job - and my friends who applied to grad schools also have done really well.</p>
<p>Oh - I’m with johnwesley then. If you want to do film, Wesleyan is one of the best places to be (and very prestigious and well-known in the film / Hollywood world).</p>
<p>Also, if you’re interested in astrophysics, we do have an on-campus observatory. Undergrads can get involved in doing research by collecting data there. I worked at the Observatory last semester as one of the “data collectors” - it’s pretty sweet!</p>
<p>Prestige is overrated. It might get you in the door, but not if you haven’t proven yourself otherwise. And, once in the door, it won’t keep you there or help you advance - that’s up to you and your own efforts.</p>
<p>I just wanted to pop in here to say one thing: I’m a first-generation Asian female who just graduated from Wesleyan and now I work at Harvard. Every single research assistant and technician in my division graduated from a NESCAC (Middlebury, Williams, Oberlin, Amherst, and, of course, Wesleyan). I also turned down an Ivy to go to Wesleyan, which my parents weren’t thrilled about, but they ended up just telling people, “Oh, she got into an Ivy, but turned it down”. Ha!</p>
<p>I loved Wesleyan, but if it isn’t for you, then by all means, don’t go. But don’t rule it out just because it’s not Harvard or Stanford. Ultimately, please don’t base your decision on the name recognition of the university. Visit the schools, talk to students, go to a class, and evaluate your choice based on academics, student life, or whatever else is important to you. But remember, no name on a diploma is worth spending four years in a place that will make you miserable. The less happy you are at a school, the less motivated you will be to succeed and the more you’re shortchanging yourself. Also, remember that name recognition in the eyes of the general public can be very, very different from name recognition in the field that you want to go into!</p>
<p>I mean, I’m miserable as all hell here. You might be too. What are you planning on studying? If you’re thinking a film or humanities-type major, you can’t go wrong here. But if you’re thinking social science (government, history, and econ - there’s no Finance classes offered)…I wouldn’t. The environment at a larger, more competitive school would be of more benefit to a potential social scientist than that at Wesleyan, which sucks as ass unless you’re in CSS as far as I can tell.</p>
<p>which would you say, is the more rigorous major @ wesleyan – gov’t or, econ?</p>
<p>MrPimpateer - why do you stay if you are miserable?</p>
<p>That’s not what I have heard, MrPimpateer. Please do not state your jaded views as if they are what most Wes students feel.</p>
<p>MrPimpateer – I’m not sure what is making your experience at Wes miserable, but I have some close friends majoring in social sciences here, and they’re all really happy with their departments. Could you explain how “the environment at a larger, more competitive school would be of more benefit to a potential social scientist”? As people have mentioned, you can actually get involved with research at Wes, which is not the case at larger schools.</p>
<p>Wesleyan is a hippie school- you must be a ■■■■■. </p>
<p>I’d go to Stanford- you may be “average”, but you’re STANFORD average. Now that’s impressive. </p>
<p>Have you seen Stanford’s campus? It’s the closest thing to heaven my friend.</p>