Wesleyan University Top Questions

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.

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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.