Wesleyan University vs. UW-Madison vs. Hendrix college

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey all,</p>

<p>So after all the waiting and anticipation, I have finally found out what schools have accepted me. I got into Wesleyan, UW-Madison, and Hendrix, and got waitlisted at Pomona (denied at CMC, Duke, and Middlebury). I have not visited Wesleyan, but it seems like a larger version of my high school, except all the students are intelligent. It's extremely liberal, full of activists, and from what I've heard all the students are genuinely happy and nice. Of course it has the prestige, but I'm not really interested in that. What I am interested in is majoring in economics, and from the research that I've done, it appears that Wesleyan's econ department is tops in the nation for liberal arts colleges. The negative is how much it would cost--It's $38,000 a year, which my family can pay (barely), but I would probably not be able to travel abroad or take any trips, which is fine, but it's a consideration. </p>

<p>I visited Hendrix, and it seems like a really nice place, but in the class I attended, the intellectual level of the students was not what I was looking for; however, this was an intro class, so I am sure there are many smart students there. I'm also concerned that it might be harder to go to grad school to further my studies in economics if I go to Hendrix over Wesleyan. Hendrix would cost about $11,000 a year. </p>

<p>I have lived in Madison all of my life, so I don't really want to stay here, but UW offers a great education at a good price. I also don't really want a big state school experience, but I know their economics department is very good and I could get into a good graduate school. </p>

<p>Anyways, thanks for reading all of this, and I would truly appreciate any input.</p>

2

<p>Bump. Is it worth paying 4x more for Wesleyan than Hendrix? I have pretty much eliminated UW at this point</p>

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<p>hendrix is a great school. I would probably go to hendrix</p>

4

<p>I assume Hendrix is a local school? If Hendrix is local, no way I would go there over Wisconsin. Wesleyan is more of a wild card if $$$ becomes an issue…</p>

5

<p>Eliminating Madison is silly. Its the best option the cost of Wesleyan is ridiculous and Hendrix offers an inferior education. This is where parents need to step in.</p>

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<p>The OP applied to six private colleges; ze got into two. Wesleyan is the best one.</p>

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<p>WiscoKid, your strategy was thin in the middle. You overlooked moderately selective LACs with merit money (“match” schools like Grinnell, Oberlin, Macalester, Whitman, or Kenyon). Nevertheless, you’ve been accepted by 3 good schools. </p>

<p>You could try to persuade Wesleyan to increase your aid. Show them what Hendrix has offered. That might not move them, especially if most of the Hendrix package is merit aid. If most of it is need-based, perhaps Wesleyan missed something and would reconsider.</p>

<p>If Wesleyan does not budge, and if you’re determined to rule out Wisconsin (a very good state university), then try Hendrix for a year. If you find it’s not what you wanted, transfer. Even if you don’t get a good aid package as a transfer, you’ll have saved quite a bit compared to a year at Wesleyan. Get excellent grades, do something interesting, and apply to a broader range of schools. Or you might find yourself very satisfied with Hendrix , in which case you’ll be saving a bundle for study abroad or grad school. Hendrix is a good alternative for middle-income students who are priced out of the most selective schools, but who still want a small, private college with solid academics.</p>

<p>Hendrix does have a very high admit rate, but by average SAT scores it’s comparable to UT Austin, Holy Cross, or West Point. A high percentage of Hendrix students go on to graduate and professional schools. For science PhDs per capita, it ranks with Berkeley, Dartmouth, and William & Mary.</p>

<p>[Top</a> 50 Schools That Produce Science PhDs - CBS MoneyWatch.com](<a href=“MoneyWatch: Financial news, world finance and market news, your money, product recalls updated daily - CBS News”>MoneyWatch: Financial news, world finance and market news, your money, product recalls updated daily - CBS News)</p>

1 Like
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<p>Hendrix is ranked #81 per US News. West Point is #16, Holy Cross is #32, UT-Austin #45 Not nearly the same league.</p>

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<p>Go to Madison, live on campus, invest the money you saved.</p>

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<p>^^agreed. If the object is to save money, the OP should go to their financial safety, not their academic safety.</p>

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<p>Not to mention a Top 10 econ dept. whose four recent senior hires all came from great programs at Penn, Umich, Texas, and Northwestern.</p>

<p>[Recruiting</a> the Best | University of Wisconsin Foundation](<a href=“http://www.supportuw.org/stories/feature/recruiting-the-best/]Recruiting”>Recruiting the Best | University of Wisconsin Foundation)</p>

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<p>US News also listed Hendrix as the #1 “Up-and-coming Liberal Arts College” in 2010. Check out its student qualifications. Check out post-graduate outcomes (salary expectations, graduate/professional school enrollments, PhD completions). Hendrix graduates do o.k. for themselves. It’s one thing to see strong outcomes from schools that cherry-pick the top 20% from large applicant pools. It’s a little more surprising from a school that admits 80% or more. Not that I’d necessarily choose it over Wisconsin, but if you want a LAC, at $11K/year you could do much worse.</p>

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<p>If Hendrix is that good, then why bother transfering? C’mon, it’s clear that $11,000 a year is no bargain if the OP is not challenged by his classes and is already plotting to leave after freshman year. Perhaps, this is one of those situations where a gap year might be in order?</p>

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<p>What good will a gap year do for this kid?
I saw UW, as well. What is in state tuition?</p>

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<p>It would give him time to put things into perspective. If this were a one-on-one choice between UW and Wesleyan, the latter would probably win. But, obviously, the $11,000 price tag for Hendrix is giving the OP a fit of buyer’s remorse. It’s like driving off the BMW lot (where you bargained and got a pretty good price) and passing someone driving a Jetta. Of course, it’s going to give you pause.</p>

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<p>WiscoKid -</p>

<p>Run the numbers for the three offers that you have on the table through this calculator: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Advanced Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid) Then sit down with your parents and talk with them about just exactly what the differences in cost mean. If you still aren’t particularly happy with the three options that you have, ask your parents what they think about taking a Gap Year. I’m with jw on this one. I think it would give you time to come up with a list that you are happier with.</p>

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<p>I faced a similar decision between Claremont McKenna and Hendrix. As an economics major, the size of Hendrix’s department gave me some pause but that’s literally the only negative aspect I’ve found. The aid is amazing, the people are incredible, admissions was so warm and friendly. I’m sending in my deposit this week.</p>

<p>Their econ department seems to be really strong in meta-analysis research (definitely available to undergrads), and I’ve seen some really interesting interdisciplinary majors involving economics (in fact a large amount of all ID majors involve econ). </p>

<p>Hendrix Class of 2015 page link: <a href=“https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hendrix-College-Class-of-2015/207585269269852?ref=ts[/url]”>https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hendrix-College-Class-of-2015/207585269269852?ref=ts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>So I’ve done some thinking, and I’m going to still consider UW. My dad and mom have completely different views on this issue–my dad keeps saying that Wesleyan is a superior school, and that the finances “will work them self out.” It looks like we can pay for the school, but I would still be taking on $3,500 in subsidized loans every year, and it would take all of our resources that we have saved for college. I’m worried that I won’t have money left for grad school, but my dad keeps telling me that if I do well at a great school like Wesleyan, I will be able to get into a good grad school with a big scholarship. </p>

<p>My mom says that undergraduate school is worth going into debt over, and that UW and Hendrix are both great schools. She wants me to have resources left over for grad school and for summer & spring vacations and activities.</p>

<p>My personal thoughts for each school:</p>

<p>Wesleyan: Top notch liberal arts school with amazing opportunities. I visited this past weekend & really fell in love with it. The students were all extremely nice, open, intelligent, and just fun to hang out with. The econ department is one of the best in the country, and the CSS is really appealing. It is extremely expensive, and I don’t know if an undergraduate degree is worth the money. $38,000/year with loans, $41,500/year without.</p>

<p>UW: Big state school a mile and a half away from my house. Great academics, but large intro classes taught by TAs. It seems like there are a lot of partiers, a lot of studiers, but not a lot of moderation (could be wrong, it’s just an observation from having lived in Madison for a long time. Not a big issue though). I can get into a good grad school coming out, but it will be hard to stand out in the large crowd. $22,000/year.</p>

<p>Hendrix: Small and up and coming school in Arkansas. Not as well known and very high acceptance rate. Academics seem pretty good, but there are not as many econ classes as I would like. They do get their students into grad schools though, but it seems like only one or two a year go to top notch grad schools. It’s the cheapest of the schools at about $11,000 a year with loans, or $14,500 without. </p>

<p>Other thoughts?</p>

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<p>Large intro classes at UW are not taught by TAs. Most are taught by faculty with the TAs heading the small discussion section of 20 or so. All the intro to econ level classes are done that way. Econ majors are encouraged to take the intro class Econ 111. Quite challenging and taught by former teacher of the year as a grad student/TA at Penn and "
Winner of the Honored Instructor Award University of Wisconsin-Madison, December 2010" </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.econ.wisc.edu/~apenta/econ111_fall2010_syllabus.pdf[/url]”>http://www.econ.wisc.edu/~apenta/econ111_fall2010_syllabus.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>What TA’s do teach are the small intro to communications and lower level (100s) math classes and intro to foreign language classes-- so they can keep class size down to 20-25 so there is individual attention in these basic classes.</p>

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<p>Wesleyan would be the choice if you have better aid. Although “my dad keeps telling me that if I do well at a great school like Wesleyan, I will be able to get into a good grad school with a big scholarship” - that is true, assuming the economy doesn’t continue to tank and depending upon what TYPE of grad program you are pursuing. Professional schools (Med Law MBA, etc) do not give out money en masse. If you are thinking a PhD program than it is possible, but it is getting more and more competitive.</p>

<p>Personally, I think mom is right. You have a GREAT university (Wisconsin) in your backyard. If you lived in North Dakota or Montana than I would say Wesleyan, but Wisconsin is on par with any of the top publics (Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, Virginia, UNC) Plus, why take on the extra stress financially? If you do well at Wisconsin you will get into any program for grad school.</p>