Wesleyan University Top Questions

Students are politically active.

My classmates are extremely intelligent and hardworking.

caring, passionate, driven, friendly, sometimes weird (in a good way), very smart, well-read.

There is an outstanding amount of diversity on every level at Wesleyan - racially, socially, sexually (gender and orientation), religiously, culturally, ethnically In addition there is something beyond tolerance and acceptance on campus, where students are normally genuinely interested in what is different and legitimately willing to learn and understand someone else and where they come from. Four Tables the sexually ambiguous politically active fratty - girls and boys athletes - girls and boys

Wesleyan is extremely open. When I was applying for colleges during high school, the phrase "Diversity University" kept popping up. This has certainly proven true as students of all backgrounds are accepted and respected-- white, black, Hispanic, Asian, lesbian, bisexual, liberal, conservative, rich, poor, West coast, East coast, international. Wes has a reputation for being liberal, and though you are more likely to run into left-minded students, there is still a solid conservative presence on campus. There is a divide among the athletes and the non-athletes, but this has become less pronounced as I've spent more time here and gotten to know more people. It seems that many non-athletes are under the impression that the athletes are just dumb jocks, but this is certainly not the case. Several of Wesleyan's athletic teams consistently rank towards the top of the GPA spectrum within the NESCAC and within all Division III teams.

The general perception about Wesleyan seems to be that we are all liberal. Not everyone is liberal, but most of us are. There's a lot of diversity of thought here, though. There are apoliticals, socialists, libertarians, Green Party members, and plenty of independents. I know a few Republicans as well. Racially, the student body isn't, I think, diverse enough to merit our nickname "Diversity University," but it's much more diverse than my Minnesota public high school. I know a lot of international students. It's nice to get to know people that aren't exactly like me. There is definitely a large contingent of private-school kids from New York and California, but you do meet the odd Midwesterner or Southerner as well. And everyone interacts, regardless of socioeconomic background, race, geography, or worldview. That's one of my favorite things about this place. Also, this is a great place for LGBT people. When I visited Wesleyan last spring, I asked a student if there was a gay-straight alliance. He laughed and told me that "this school is one big gay-straight alliance." If you do not support LGBT rights, you probably do not belong at Wesleyan. Basically, the people here are really intelligent, passionate, and fascinating.

Wesleyan is incredibly diverse racially, ethnically, spiritually, and socioeconomically. Everyone, for the most part, is incredibly accepting of each other. Very conservative people would probably not do too well at Wes, though. For a loving, accepting school, not much love is given out to the Wes Republicans group (it is growing, though). Wes is very LGBT friendly. Socially, I would say you've got the very jock-y athletes as one extreme, and eclectic (the "hipster" society -- they host tons of concerts and the annual "sex party" I'm sure you've all heard about) as the other extreme, but most people fall in the middle. Sometimes these groups think they're isolated and that's why they hate on the other extreme, but if you work to make friends outside of your social group, you'll have them. I played for the varsity soccer team, and while at times I felt like I had to prove I was a "dumb jock," I had a very easy time making friends who aren't athletes by joining other extracurricular activities, and my best friends honestly lean more towards the artsy/hipster side than the athlete side. Religiously, most students aren't religious, and those that are are Jewish or Christian. Our chapel does hold other religious services, though. Because Wes is a small, private liberal arts school, a lot of kids went to prep schools, are wealthy, and can pay full tuition, but a lot of students (I think 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}) are on some form of financial aid. I've never seen financial differences be an issue in friend groups, and this may be because all of your basic needs (housing, food) are included in your tuition and you can't opt out of them. ALSO, and I don't know why Wes gets this rep, but the students are not unattractive. In fact, the students are very attractive and at the very least, dress very well.

Wesleyan is incredibly diverse racially, ethnically, spiritually, and socioeconomically. Everyone, for the most part, is incredibly accepting of each other. Very conservative people would probably not do too well at Wes, though. For a loving, accepting school, not much love is given out to the Wes Republicans group (it is growing, though). Wes is very LGBT friendly. Socially, I would say you've got the very jock-y athletes as one extreme, and eclectic (the "hipster" society -- they host tons of concerts and the annual "sex party" I'm sure you've all heard about) as the other extreme, but most people fall in the middle. Sometimes these groups think they're isolated and that's why they hate on the other extreme, but if you work to make friends outside of your social group, you'll have them. I played for the varsity soccer team, and while at times I felt like I had to prove I was a "dumb jock," I had a very easy time making friends who aren't athletes by joining other extracurricular activities, and my best friends honestly lean more towards the artsy/hipster side than the athlete side. Religiously, most students aren't religious, and those that are are Jewish or Christian. Our chapel does hold other religious services, though. Because Wes is a small, private liberal arts school, a lot of kids went to prep schools, are wealthy, and can pay full tuition, but a lot of students (I think 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}) are on some form of financial aid. I've never seen financial differences be an issue in friend groups, and this may be because all of your basic needs (housing, food) are included in your tuition and you can't opt out of them.

Wesleyan is incredibly diverse racially, ethnically, spiritually, and socioeconomically. Everyone, for the most part, is incredibly accepting of each other. Very conservative people would probably not do too well at Wes, though. For a loving, accepting school, not much love is given out to the Wes Republicans group (it is growing, though). Wes is very LGBT friendly. Socially, I would say you've got the very jock-y athletes as one extreme, and eclectic (the "hipster" society -- they host tons of concerts and the annual "sex party" I'm sure you've all heard about) as the other extreme, but most people fall in the middle. Sometimes these groups think they're isolated and that's why they hate on the other extreme, but if you work to make friends outside of your social group, you'll have them. I played for the varsity soccer team, and while at times I felt like I had to prove I was a "dumb jock," I had a very easy time making friends who aren't athletes by joining other extracurricular activities, and my best friends honestly lean more towards the artsy/hipster side than the athlete side. Religiously, most students aren't religious, and those that are are Jewish or Christian. Our chapel does hold other religious services, though. Because Wes is a small, private liberal arts school, a lot of kids went to prep schools, are wealthy, and can pay full tuition, but a lot of students (I think 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}) are on some form of financial aid. I've never seen financial differences be an issue in friend groups, and this may be because all of your basic needs (housing, food) are included in your tuition and you can't opt out of them.

Wesleyan are the most open-minded, passionate, and caring people I have ever met. The average Wes students juggles with at least 5 activities at a time, hah. Also, The people I've met at Wesleyan CARE SO MUCH. About their learning, about social issues, and most importantly, about each other.

Talented, informed, and training each other to be world-shapers !

My classmates are very intelligent, motivated and friendly.

My classmates were hardworking, creative and opinionated.

I can't define my classmates into one word or put them under a certain category because they are all so different, but your classmates will definitely help you understand why you're at Wesleyan.

Every possible interest group, social class, race, ethnicity and background, in addition to ice cream flavor and sexual orientation is represented in my classmates.

More and more diverse. Flamboyant, outgoing, creative, fun-loving, hard-working, studious. Some kids stick to themselves, but this is not common.

Students at Wesleyan University are intelligent, well-informed, engaging and well, a bit eclectic.

Most students are very hard working.

A student that would feel out of place at Wesleyan would be someone who really hated people in general. There are so many types of people here that I think it would be difficult to not have friends. There are athletes, hipsters, hipster athletes, hermits, and everything in between. I haven't found it that difficult to be friends with people across the social spectrum.

Hot, smart, and awesome

There is just about every type of person there

I think I like Wesleyan's Student Body. I wish some people weren't so ignorant about the world or about what it's like to be poor. I also REALLY WISH people were accepting and respectful of others' religious beliefs. I feel like people are outwardly cutting down those who are religious or believe in God--saying they are stupid or terrible people. I feel like they are so ignorant and skewed in their thinking--to believe that someone is terrible or weird if they follow a religion. I hate that people are just SO VOCAL about randomly cutting down religions---it's hurtful. Also--smoking cigarettes is SO DUMB

There is a lot of racial separation at Wes, even in housing. We are all far-left liberals, and those who are not are not generally too vocal about it. If you're socially conservative, you're not really welcome at Wes.

i do believe wesleyan is diverse because everyone is so unique and has different backgrounds and stories to share with others. many people immediately think of nationalities and skin colors or ethnicities when it comes to diversity but there is more to wes students. there have been kids who were all over the world and never been in one place but then there are kids who grew up in the same rural town for the past 18 years or so etc. some volunteered in places you only see on a map and some started participating in activism after they learned what that meant at wes. there is more about the students and what they can bring together as a student body than just their skin colors.

good people. good people. they like to dance -- a lot. Even when its completely inappropriate, like at a slow blues concert. all kinds of people, who "identify" in a variety of strange ways. wesleyan puts a lot of emphasis on students being able to "identify" however they want, in terms of gender or race or religion or whatever. frankly, i wish people would spend more effort understanding how shallow these kinds of identities are as a means of loving yourself instead of doing the opposite, but whatever. im just saying that at a certain point, its nice to know that theres more to who you are as a human being than just the sum of "identities" that your college has allowed you to label yourself with. but i digress. really, the diversity that this school policy leads to is more of a blessing than a curse.

oh, prospective freshperson, you'll get it all if you want to, and some even if you don't want to. It's like we all one big family with a need for identity recognition (see "stereotypes" response for qualifier: there're plenty of less visible who don't participate in identity groups) What do students wear to class? you're really asking me that. WTF do I care? Unless it's some smoky-hot girl. Then maybe I care. I rock Unionbat cargoes, t-shirt, and a hoody; flip-flops or sneakers. That's the first time I've talked about clothes online. tuition is around $45,000 per year. There're a range of incomes represented, but, for real, there's gotta be an upward skew there.

I love most of my fellow students. Such an interesting array of people, with all sorts of different viewpoints, who always have something to talk about. While the campus is mostly liberal, it isn't purely liberal, and there are people from all over the spectrum. However, I know about 2 conservatives on campus, and they frequently feel victimized. Not surprising. I've never had trouble finding interesting people to talk to, and so many people are willing to talk to fellow students about whatever. Very intellectually stimulating, but also really fun.

Students at Wesleyan are RADICAL! If you are a religious person (and you want to stay that way) stay FAR from Wesleyan; you WILL lose your faith. Students really come from all socio-economic backgrounds. However a good portion of the student body comes from an upper middle class background. While the colleges LOVES to tout that 33{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body consists of "students of color" this number is skewed. In reality more than half of those students of color are Asian. The different kinds of students definitely interact. Students are EXTREMELY politically active. On Super Tuesday this 2008, you couldn't go anywhere without hearing about the primaries or without being encouraged to vote.

Amazing. Predominantly left and center, but of course there are those ranging to the right. I feel that, as a whole, individual religious/political views are well respected even though the campus as a whole leans left. And honestly, having a diversity of views is appreciated: Wesleyan students love to discuss and debate in the appropriate setting.

Very smart, very well dressed, friendly and easy to talk to. Everyone has a geeky side and a sincere intellectual passion. There are definitely cliques. Individuals typically can and will talk to anyone, but people can get catty about hipsters, stoners, and jocks as categorical descriptions. Many students are from the East Coast, New York and Cali. Most are fairly wealthy, mostly white, though there is more diversity than many small, expensive colleges. Most students have at least one or two political issues about which they're well-informed and active. Very queer-friendly. I've seen very little religious community outside of Buddhist House, but I haven't been looking. Students have a wide range of lifestyles, most people will probably find some niche. General negative senitments toward investment banking and ill-defined "bureaocracies" so if you want to work for the Man, keep it quiet while you're here.

Diversity, a lot of diversity, and its a good thing.

Everyone at Wes has an opinion about what is going on in the world. I love the fact that you can have a drink and discuss your opinions vehemently with whoever you're with.

I have talked quite a bit already about the Wesleyan student body. I'll just add this: Wesleyan is a very tolerant community. I have dated both men and women at Wes, and that is typical of about 1/8 of Wesleyan students. Categorizations don't stick here. We have gender neutral bathrooms in every dorm. We have more student groups than we have members of the faculty. And there is a heightened awareness of difference and tolerance on the Wesleyan campus, which I have not experienced anywhere else. Although there are very few hyper-conservative individuals at Wes, there is a relatively substantial contingent of Wesleyan Repulicans, students who refuse to let the political persuasion of the campus become too homogeneous.

Nobody would feel out of place at Wesleyan! Well, okay, maybe if you are extraordinarily preppy (and I mean EXTRAORDINARILY! Like, pop your collar every single day. Regular preps are actually pretty widespread around campus. Like I said, this place defines diverse). Along with all sorts of groups of people come all sorts of different fashions. Some show up in pajamas, some half in pajamas and half in clothes, some in long, flowy dresses, some in torn pants, and mostly, just dressed as a regular college kid. I swear, Wes is not that weird. I mean, jeans and a sweatshirt will suffice for class in the winter. And it gets COLD! Nobody will judge you at Wes because the whole place is overflowing with different people. I am friends with so many different types of kids it's almost unbelievable, and when I come home and talk to high school friends, I almost feel bad for them, as they have never had the chance to meet people like Wes people, and even if they did, their schools do not foster to engaging in relationships with all different kinds of people. From the baseball stud to the foreigner to the film major to that guy in every single student band to the gorgeous hippie to the NYC kids to the actresses to the frat boys to the girl-jocks to the rock-star wannabe girl to the Buddha-worshipping potsmoking guy upstairs, I'd say that yes, different people do interact on a regular basis, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

A great group, except for the few rich assholes and athletes who congregate in the frats. A nice population of very balanced, social, intellectual creative, attractive, unconventional folks.

the only thing that really gets me is the lack of interaction between groups. everyone's friendly, but if you're a jock you won't hang out with the hippies on saturday night. people find a group and tend to stick with it. but people are very involved in things, sports, classes, groups, whatever. everyone is active.

Wesleyan University truly is a diverse campus in every respect except maybe political views. But even in the political arena, you have your Obama supporters and your Clinton supporters, which might not sound like a huge difference, but can stimulate meaningful political discussion. I think really conservative people might feel out of place, but if you have a strong enough personality, you can survive because at least in my experience, everyone at Wesleyan is very welcoming to different points of view, and everyone is extremely friendly. Not to mention, there are conservatives on campus-- I have personally met two of them. Many Wes students are from the New England, NY area, but there are lots from all over the country and abroad. I have a few friends from India, a friend from Pakistan, Indonesia, China, pretty much all over. I am from Arizona myself, and I have actually only met two other Zonies, but there are plenty of people from the Southwest. I think racially a lot of the black students on campus feel like they are token students and the University puts them out there for show. There is some issue about the self-segregation of black and white students, but on that note, I do believe that a lot of the professors address this issue well. For instance, we talked about it in my Psychology course and the professor actually divided the class into groups of four making sure every group was diverse in gender, race, and ethnicity. For instance I am a white American female, so there were no other white American females in my group. There was a white American male, a black American female, and a Chinese female. I was impressed that the diversity of the class allowed for all the groups to be broken up like this. Also, a lot of the AFAM- African American Studies- classes foster good discussions.

Wesleyan is not as "diverse", open, or accepting as it claims to be.

Wesleyan prides itself on its diverse student body. Wesleyan students come from all parts of the globe, and I have found myself working alongside people from backgrounds that I didn't even know existed. However, Wesleyan is not particularly politically diverse. Most students are liberal, and the core group of conservatives tend to be athletes and stick to a very hibernated fraternity life. But they are happy with it, and those students love Wesleyan as much as the other 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} or so. Anyone can be happy at Wesleyan, and I honestly believe that it takes a real grouch to have a bad time at this school.

Any prospective student should know and understand that Wesleyan is a very liberal place and though there is a diversity of opinion among the student body, the vast majority of students lean left of center. The nickname "Diversity University" is an accurate moniker. Students come from a lot of different ethnic and racial backgrounds. That said, this is a private liberal arts school that doesn't have the biggest endowment ever, so socio-economic diversity is not extremely high. This is certainly not a school run by jocks. Sports are not the center of student activities and school spirit is less about face-painting and game attendance and more about appreciating other things Wes has to offer.

The student body is diverse as all hell. If you're looking at this page its because your familiar with the school, so I'm sure you've heard how diverse Wes is. And its true what you've read. We're (for the most part) all liberal minded people, with groups for every type of person (and if there isn't you can get the funding to make it). Admissions is need blind, and your group of friends will most likely include kids from every social/economic background. I know my group of friends looked like a United Colors of Bennaton ad, and I wouldn't of had it any other way.

see about wesleyan and academics section

I really think that there's every kind of student at Wesleyan, which is definitely a positive thing. However, its also easy for people to stick to one group rather than interacting with individuals from different social groups. There is some self-segregation that goes on, but I think that an open-minded student would definitely enjoy the diversity of the student body. The population of students that come from public schools is exceptional for a small liberal arts school (about 50-50), but Wesleyan cannot afford to give as many students financial aid as some of its peers. While the student body is predominantly left, there are token conservatives who still feel comfortable expressing their views.

On the whole, Wesleyan is a diverse and tolerant place. There is a large international student body and a large and vocal (if not unified) queer community. Increasing financial aid is also opening Wesleyan up to students from more diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Nevertheless, there is still a feeling of privilege that pervades the student body. This is evidenced not so much by conversations about expected future salaries, but rather by more subtle clues like conspicuous consumption. There is also a fair amount of insularity among several of the diverse groups that compose the student body. It is not unusual to see a table in the dining hall composed entirely of Asian students, and another composed of Latinos. Despite these shortcomings, however, there is a lot of encouraging work going on to make Wesleyan an even more diverse and accepting place, both on the part of the Dean of Diversity and Academic Advancement, and on the part of various identity-based student groups. Politically, Wesleyan is overwhelmingly leftist, to the point that it is almost a campus joke, though I believe there is an official student group of Wesleyan Republicans.

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Wesleyan's student body is hard to generalize about. You can find every type of person at Wesleyan, though it sometimes seems like everyone is a liberal but uninvolved white kid from Westchester. In actuality, however, Wesleyan is one of the more diverse schools of its kind (they pride themselves in being a "diversity university"). Though some groups stick together from student of color, international student, etc orientations at the beginning of the year, most are integrated with the rest of the campus so that there really aren't four clear tables in Usdan (the new dining hall). Though you may find some athletes or theater kids sitting together after practice, you'll often find such groups sitting together. Almost all students are to the left politically and non-religious, though I'm always surprised by how many conservatives and religious students there are too.

There are many groups on campus, and it divides the student body. Kind of like high school.

Various, various. There is the stereotypical heavy presence of "hipsters." Everything else, too.

Students on campus represent basically every demographic possible. The campus is tremendously welcoming of all races, queer identities, socioeconomic background, etc. People often to hang out the most with people that share their identities, but everyone is friends with everyone, and everyone hangs out with everyone else at some point. Parties can be a hilariously eclectic gathering of people. Students are predominantly liberal, VERY politically aware and highly politically active. The campus culture is probably the best part of Wesleyan. There is truly the sense that everyone is free to be themselves without any reservation, and others are supportive of that. This creates a supportive academic and artistic environment for all who wish to try something new or take risks.

The student body is rather diverse, though it likes to think of itself that way more than it actually is (in the sense that the majority of students, like me, are still fairly privileged and white). That said, Wesleyan is known as a sort of a "safe haven" for LGBT students, I have several international friends, and one of my housemates is part of the working class student group on campus. Sure, a lot of students are from the East Coast (specifically New York and Boston), but if I'm any indication, that doesn't mean that the East Coast rules. My friends hail from California, North Dakota, Washington DC, Wisconsin, New Orleans, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, and many other places.