<p>Ok! Here's the deal: I am seriously considering Wes; its like my #1 choice. I am an international student from China, but has been studying in north america for like the past 4 years. I didn't have the best experience at my high school because there is a serious division between white and asians going on here, and people are extremely competitive about their academics. I really want to go to a college where there isn't a lot of cutthroat competition and minimal discussion of grades. I also REALLY REALLY REALLY want to a have diverse mix of friends, hang out with white, asians, african americans, latinos, you know, just ANYONE. I am very liberal, Im down with gays. I can be quite shy and quiet but become pretty talkative once I know you well. Do you think me and Wes is a fit? Will I be able to make friends from different ethnic backgrounds? Will I be comfortable here?</p>
<p>yes. While a lot of international students (read: asian) tend to stick together, I think because the school offers a lot of programs to get them to know each other before school actually starts, I know that if you make the effort to break out of this group you will be warmly received by a very large group of very diverse students.</p>
<p>Try living in 200 church your first year. It tends to house a higher number of minority students, and i know they all get pretty close.</p>
<p>I definitely think you will be able to have the kind of social experience you want. </p>
<p>At Wes, most people are REALLY friendly, so it’s pretty easy to make friends through your dorm, classes, and especially extracurricular activities. Now, some Asian international students (and students of various ethnicity and religions) chose to focus their actives on their culture – they mainly join cultural groups and/or groups that focus on causes that affect their area of the world, they live in International House or Asian/Asian-American house, etc (just as some Jewish students live in the Bayit and join groups concerning Israel, etc). </p>
<p>But…you don’t HAVE to do that – the people who do do so by choice. If you join random groups about other interests, make lots of friends on your hall, etc. you can have a very diverse set of friends. </p>
<p>I agree that 200 Church might appeal to you – they tend to be VERY diverse and have people from all over the country and the world. And since it’s a small house, they get close.</p>
<p>I visited recently as a “pre-frosh” and during my stay I never met any unfriendly or mean Wesleyan kids. It may be slightly because I was pre-frosh, but at the same time none of the kindness felt forced or uncommon. The kids seemed very accepting and genuine to everyone. It seemed that self-segregation occurred, but the only instances I managed to notice during my few day stay was confined to interest related self-segregation, not ethnicity.</p>
<p>Based on everything you just said, Wesleyan is THE perfect school for you (and I’m not just saying that because I go here). I’m white and in high school all my friends were white, despite the fact that there were a lot of minorities at my school. Here many of my closest friends are of different races. I find that races and ethnicities really mix here.</p>
<p>I’ve also found that while I am learning a lot and being challenged, it is the complete opposite of stressful. I was always really overwhelmed and stressed out in high school over my work. Here the atmosphere is so relaxed and I never hear people discussing their grades. People are more interested in helping each other learn than beating their classmates grade-wise. A lot of people form study groups and I know I have been in a bunch of English/writing classes where the students in the class will organize informal meetings where we workshop each other’s essays/pieces. No grade competition here - we learn a lot, but we also do other things (aka not just spend all our time in the library).</p>
<p>One thing I would disagree with though that other people have been saying is that you should live in 200 Church. While I’m sure 200 Church is a great community and I know people there who love it, they are very self-secluded and are only friends with each other really. If you want to branch out and meet other people, not just minorities like yourself, do not live in 200 Church. There are other ways to connect with minorities if you want to (through various student organizations, etc.). Living in 200 Church seems like it would be very confining for you.</p>