Wesleyan University Top Questions

Here's your chance: Say anything about your college!

Matt

Wesleyan is a community of well-rounded individuals who are all dedicated to serving the greater community. While some may say that a liberal arts eductaion is worthless, wesleyan defies any such claims. Wesleyan offers a wide variety of classes, but what really distinguishes Wesleyan from other schools I considered is the quality of the poeple--everyone here at Wesleyan is motivated, open-minded, diverse in his/her own way, and ready to tackle the challenges of academics while still allowing time to have fun and serve the Middletown community through tutoring or over a hundred other volunteer programs.

Tsuyoshi

Wesleyan University is unique in its strong emphasis of a progressive agenda that includes a student body that declares education beyond the classroom.

Seung

Wesleyan is very liberal and you will get to see gay/lesbian/queer students. You can also experience gender-neutral bathrooms, and Bend-It at Beckham (cross-dressing dance night(?) during orientation). There are many opportunities to do ANYTHING you want. You can roll down Foss-Hill which is a great experience. There are many great things about Wesleyan and I don't want to spoil anything so what else can I say, but come visit and see for yourself!

Brenna

It has a small liberal campus with high quality professors and diverse extra-curriculars.

Liz

Freshman year can be rough. Co-ed dorms are a strange adjustment, and can be VERY distracting. I would recommend having a roommate freshman year, but not two, and not zero. I would also recommend living in a single-sex dorm. But if you can handle social distractions and still get all your work done, power to you! Live wherever you want.

Heather

The people who go here and the atmosphere.

Catherine

This was my first choice school, and I applied ED. I would say though, that the general feel on campus is much more liberal and friendly than the other school I was considering.

Diego

The unique classes, intelligent professors, hipsters, the history of the school, and how liberal it is. Also Wesleyan is known for being very cutting edge.

nathan

It's very liberal and it's in a small town.

Marguerite

Wesleyan is a little utopia that accepts all differences and points of view. Any person could find a place here.

Ryan

When I received my bright red acceptance letter folder my face turned the same color because of my excitement. I still feel the same way about this school.

Alex

A junior discusses whether Wes was his first choice and what he wishes he'd known before coming.

Alex

A first year discusses whether Wes was her first choice and what she wishes she had known prior to coming here

Alex

A junior discusses if Wesleyan was his first choice for college and what he wishes he had known before he got there.

Alex

Two juniors discuss what they thought about Wes before coming and what they wish they had known before coming.

Elise

I walked on campus and just knew that I wanted to go here, no matter what. There is an energy here that I love and that forces me to question every thing I do, inside and outside the classroom, and it is a needed learning process that continues beyond studies and into social functions and political activism.

Rachel

You can dressed in the morning and know that someone out there will look more ridiculous than you.

Eric

There is no other place like Wesleyan, and when I go I will be a sad day

Kate

In the next section, when you ask about gender - never just give a Wesleyan student two options.

Kendall

theres a big hill in the middle of campus that unites the students literally and spiritually. its great for mudsliding.

Reese

we're weird, but it's a good weird. Don't pay attention to the first, second, or third things you hear. It's after that the stuff matters. If you know what you want, and it looks like it's hear, you can probably find it. If you don't have any idea what you want, and don't care to figure out, might want to mosey another direction. I love the place, or maybe it's mostly the people. either one works. night night

Ryan

The town can be scary, because sometimes there is violence in communities near the school, but it's still fairly safe. Walking can be a little rough because a lot of drivers in the area are a little reckless. The dining provider isn't very vegetarian friendly, if you don't want to gain a lot of weight, but there are ways around it. Also, the art department is really disorganized, so if you think there's a chance you'll want to study art, you'll need Drawing I, 2 levels of a chosen field of art, and 1 art history class by the end of sophomore year, so don't hesitate. It's easy to want to take a lot of stuff, but don't spread yourself too thin. It's good to pick classes based on the workload in the syllabus. Don't take 4 classes that are reading/writing intensive and nothing with tests. Balancing classes with tests and classes with papers is a really good idea.

Elizabeth

Not a good environment for everyone, and the winter is incredibly bleak. Also, a lot of crime in the community and on campus. I've had my house broken into twice. The police in middletown don't like us much either, and recently broke up a house party with dogs and tear gas. They try not to tell you this when you're applying, but community relations outside of the arts community are terrible.

Harper

I'm glad I decided to attend Wesleyan.

Michelle

Wesleyan is definitely the place for me. I think if I had to pick one word to describe a Wesleyan student, it would be caring. They care about everything-- the environment, genocide, children, politics, technology, and most importantly, each other. I love Wesleyan so much because of the people I have met there and how much we all care for each other and look out for one another. It's definitely a great place to be.

Jessie

I despise the Boogie Club and their random appearances in the ST Lab at 2 in the morning while I'm trying to write a paper. Big shout out to Dave the burger guy. He's by far the most positive thing on campus.

Daniel

Come to Wesleyan. It is glorious.

Jesse

Two words: Foss Hill...you'll be glad you came here.

Becca

Wesleyan is not a big state school--very few students go to football games, there are fewer options for courses or potential majors, and we do not have as much money as the larger universities. However, I really do think that most students could be successful at Wesleyan, and have a really amazing experience.

Ben

Wesleyan combines serious intellectual pursuits with a quirky and independent student body. This combination leads to tensions that may never be fully resolved, but it also creates a dynamic, exciting atmosphere that I feel truly fortunate to have experienced.

Jamie

As long as you're open minded and intellectually curious you'll fit in here. My hometown was incredibly close-minded and conservative, so it was a bit of a culture shock coming here, but now that I'm there I can't imagine spending the next four years anywhere else.

Ana

The food is SSSSSSOOOOO expensive.

Leah

Just because I didn't mention it before, the housing situation is great at Wesleyan. Over your four years here, you get to move up from a dorm to a program house to an apartment, and finally to a senior woodframe house. We students complain, but we really have it good.

Nico

i took the time to write how god fucking awful this place is. thankfully i have moved on and gotten jobs that are completely unrelated to my degree and use absolutely nothing that i "learned" in college.. what i am saying is, i have a fucking life, and i STILL took the time to write this shit in the hopes of sparing some poor soul a shitty decision to go to this fucking school. before you go to wesleyan, consider asking, and seeing if u can get a straight answer: what is the minority retention rate? what is the minority job placement rate? what the hell happened with the cross burning in 2003 and why was the kid able to sue his way back in? why did the only black dean "resign" after she expelled the kid who sued his way back in for burning the cross on foss hill? why is it so hard to get out of the excessively expensive meal plan? why is it so hard to get out of the excessively expensive housing plan? why do middletown residents hate wesleyan and wesleyan students so much? why is it that the public safety announcements only announce the race of "attackers and thieves" when the suspects are african american males? why is the school brochure covered with ethnic faces but when u get to campus theres all 10 of us on campus? why are the majority of ethnic students at wesleyan so fucking pissed all the time? why is malcolm x house no longer a safe space for students of color? why the fuck do white kids crash the qpoc (queer people of color) meetings? by what percentage does the tuition rise every year? (hint: when i entered it was 28k/yr.. when i graduated it was 52k/yr) why does the financial aid office refer you to sally mae, which has much higher interest rates than the rest of the market, and fail to inform you that wesleyan gets a kickback on the interest rate the same way a used car salesman does? why does wesleyan with hold your transcript after you have graduated if you still owe money to your student loans, which are independent of them? especially when you need the transcripts to apply for grants and scholarships that would allow you to pay the money you owe in the first place? seriously wtf. how many students know the names of the staff on campus? stop someone and ask them who so and so thats mopping the floor is named and see if they fucking know.. if they do ill give you my diploma! oh wait its useless and you cant even wipe ur ass with it either!

Tristan

Not bad. The most important part, the academics, is a definite plus. The people are generally smart and interesting. The social scene is a bit of a let down. Not much independence is gained but still a pretty good college to attend.

Jill

lots of these kids are rich northeasterns but don't let that scare you! there's a niche for everyone here!

Mike

Fuck I'm almost done here and I have to say I've enjoyed my time here but I feel pretty much done with all this. I've made some of the closest friendships I've ever had here but at the same time people can be pretty insufferable sometimes. Don't go here if you don't want to be around people who question every single thing in society (and this is coming from a Philo major). I'm excepting a lot of liberal ideas here, which are the one thing people here are pretty dogmatic about, but in general people here can't just go with the flow and accept life the way that it is. I suppose that's the hallmark of what progressivism is, so if that's your bag this might be the perfect school for you. But I have to say people can definitely be dicks here. For instance a while back a guy wrote some relatively controversial Wespeaks that espoused some fairly conservative/libertarian/Ayn Rand-y/racially-questionable ideas. People disagreed with him, of course, and that's fine, I disagreed with him, too. But then he was at this party this one time and the hosts were like, "You need to leave." What the shit is that?! Wesleyan is supposed to be about tolerance and diversity, but people here think they can make an exception for people who break their notions of tolerance and diversity. But unfortunately this means a lot of average Americans would feel unwelcome here because their opinions would be considered intolerant by the average Wesleyanite. Now I don't want to say that this is everybody here, but the lunatic fringe is definitely pretty prevalent here and it's creepy.

Kelly

Some students have been jumped, some property damage occurs, some students don't really care, the administration occasionally lacks simple logic in dealing with particular student issues (usually academic, but also social), but where none of this ever could possibly happen--go there, and good luck. Wesleyan is a safe and vibrant place, if that is a concern, and the academics are particularly excellent.

Joanna

Housing and food are both pretty great.

Peter

kids aren't that hardcore about drugs here. there's the stigma that Wes has for being a pot school, and sure it's available almost whenever and wherever you want, but it doesn't take away from social life. it's not intimidating and kids are aggressive about it - it's there if you want it but there's no judgement passed for accepting or declining. drinking is still pretty big, but also not necessary to have a good time or to make friends. other drugs are available but at least slightly more underground. either way, i don't consider myself a big user and i don't think it affects my lifestyle much at all

Lauren

I love that Wesleyan is so anti-heteronormative. I really do. And I've learned so much about the spectrum of sexualities and gender continuum. But as someone who falls on the heterosexual end of the continuum, Wesleyan "dating" scene can be frustrating. If you can find a straight man, he's usually not the type to take you on actual dates. If you're looking for traditional, I wouldn't come here.

William

While tries to portray its self as a liberal extremist progressive school. To some extent this is true. But, during my year here I found that the radical, daring, exciting political/ social involvement which Wes boasted in the past has died down. Now Wes seems to be filled with an apathetic student body. Most students are more interested in video games or NFL stats, than the war in Iraq or helping the poor. Also, there is continual conflict between Middletown residents and Wesleyan Students. It is not uncommon for fights to occur between the two.

Jacon

I started a Homebrewing Club and got a bunch of money from the school. Some people will tell you that the administration is really lame (and they have a point - sometimes it feels like the new president, Michael Roth, is trying to take the weirdness out of Wesleyan), but the fact that I got money for this club is a strong argument in their favor. If you consider yourself a connoisseur of fine beer, Wesleyan is the place to be.

Maryann

Come to Wes! We love everyone!

Dan

Although my experience at Wesleyan has not been stellar, at least it's helped me to really become someone that I'm proud of. They exposed me to everything I'm not, and have made me comfortable standing up for my own beliefs (although they tend to be contra-Wesleyan fueled). In retrospect, I wish I had gone to a larger school that offered a wider range of courses with a wider range of diversity.

Evan

Be careful of the political mindset at Wesleyan.

Blake

Although Wesleyan is the best liberal arts situation I can imagine, I still advocate that, unless you are getting SUBSTANTIAL financial aid, you should take the 160,000-170,000 and not go to college, or at least, not anytime soon. I took two of six years off from high school graduation to college graduation, and I learned exponentially more, spending exponentially less.

Alicia

Come to Wes!

Harper

You should watch the movie PCU before coming...the first week at the tech can be a shock with most people wanting to transfer...but the feeling passes and wes becomes great

Wes Lady

Wes is AMAZING! If you're a kind, cool, smart person who likes fun, then Wes is the place for you.