<p>I'm hoping some current Wesleyan students can offer some guidance here. My daughter is estatic to have received an early write -- she hasn't cured cancer or won an Oscar lately, so wow! -- but would attending Wesfest be the best way to experience the "real" Wesleyan? Or would visiting another date in April give her a truer sense of the day-to-day life/learning/culture/etc. of this great school? Thanks in advance for your help!</p>
<p>Good question. Wesfest is probably the surest way for her to fall in luv with the place; she will meet lots of prospectives like herself and student hosts (themselves not much more than frosh, usually.) She'll have a great time. But, yea, there are lots of weekends when Eclectic will not have a live band playing til midnight, or when Foss Hill will not be loaded cheek by jowl with blissed-out kids. Factor in all the rainy days in April, and that most nights of the week you can hear a pin drop along High Street. She may have to get by with (heaven forbid!) just a house party or two, to get a real flavor of what campus life is like.</p>
<p>Well, there are parties going on every weekend, but not like there are during Wesfest. While Wesfest isn't the most representative night of the "real Wesleyan", I wouldn't say that it's un-representative - just super-representative. What I mean is, everything that normally happens at Wesleyan happens - there's just more of it. As a prefrosh, it's hard to access all that's going on on-campus on a normal night, because it's harder to know what's going on where and when. You'll miss events that as a student you might have gone to. But Wesfest makes it very easy and accessible to find the events that are most suitable for your interests - and, you get to meet a lot of other prospective students as well, which gives you a better idea what the student body is like. I highly recommend going to Wesfest - as a senior, I'm still really good friends with a bunch of people I met at Wesfest and of my 4 housemates, I met 2 of them there. (The other two didn't go to Wesfest - so don't worry, if you don't go, you'll still make friends when you get here!) If you couldn't tell, I highly recommend attending Wesfest. It's not essential, and it's certainly a more-exciting-than-typical weekend, but in my opinion it's still the best way to experience Wesleyan and see if it's the school for you.</p>
<p>Either way, make sure you stay overnight with a student and don't just come for the day, and don't just stay in a hotel room.</p>
<p>I'm just a prefrosh, but I have heard that WesFest is like Wesleyan CONCENTRATED. All the events, social and otherwise, in rapid-fire craziness. People generally <em>do</em> get a sense of the character of the school, though maybe not the pace of it.</p>
<p>So you guys would recommend doing an overnight for Wesfest? I'm from California and my mom hasn't even seen where I'm going to school yet. :) Do you recommend going by myself to WesFest and maybe having her come a few days later so she can see the school afterwards?</p>
<p>There are events for parents like student and parent panels, special tours of the film center, library, and Freshmen housing options, and FA drop in hours. Its a really great experience for the students and the parents that come along. WesFest definitely helps undecided students and skeptical parents(from personal experience) So i think it would be fine if your mom came during Wesfest, but she could have a separate agenda from your own, so you could experience student life.</p>
<p>Wesfest is absolutely worth attending, for parents as well as students. For those who already know Wes is their first choice, it's a great introduction to the place. For those unsure, it's a great help in the decision. And prospective students definitely should arrange to stay overnight in the dorms rather than in a hotel.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice :)</p>