Wesleyan University Top Questions

Wes is very accepting, so I don't think anyone would feel out of place. Some students wear sweatpants and pajamas to class and others wear designer jeans and leather boots. It totally depends of the student or the day. One student might wear a designer outfit to class one day and then pjs the next.

Wesleyan students love identity politics. Wesleyan students love their clothes. You definitely are what you wear here. All different types of students interact, but people tend to stick to their groups/"tribes" (read: hipsters, athletes, Freeman Asian Scholars, women of color, thespians, etc.) socially. Most Wesleyan students are from New England, specifically New York and Boston, or at least East of the Mississippi, with strong showings from LA and Chicago. I costs about $200,000 to go here for four years. People here are generally either really wealthy and can pay this in full or really not and get a lot of financial aid. The middle class gets totally fucked.

Wesleyan students and the administration really strive to be as inclusive as possible, to a truly remarkable degree. Racial tension definitely exists on campus, but I always appreciated that at least students and the administration demonstrated a huge willingness to bring those issues out into the open and seriously attempt to address them. There is a really robust and ever-present dialogue about the way that race, class and power worked on our campus. One thing I love is that during freshmen orientation, all freshmen go through a student-run workshop where they're taught about different gender and sexuality identities, and asked to go through a series of exercises where they imagine what college might be like for such a person. It's really radical as freshmen orientations go, and I loved it. Politically conservative students would feel very out of place, and would probably feel constantly attacked. There are tons of wealthy kids at Wesleyan, but the campus's progressive politics make flaunting that money very taboo. As a working class student myself, I sometimes felt that the masking of wealth was problematic, but I more often appreciated that conspicuous consumption was not a part of my social and academic worlds.

Upsides: A few good stereotypes actually hold up here. The student body is culturally, racially, and geographically diverse. They're generally very friendly. Many students are remarkably tolerant toward people from "alternative" backgrounds (define that as you will). The students are pretty liberal in general, which I would call a good thing. Also, they're quite smart. I mean, at least academically. Downsides: Wes students are not really as different or special as they think they are. Most of them come from money, and though they might have done a little waitservice in high school, they have financial safety nets that will comfortably sustain them until they enter the workforce. I know plenty of students who feel entirely comfortable charging a new textbook, iPod, or USB drive to the student account because "it's not my money." Since Wes students love to think of themselves as alternative, most carry a high degree of disdain for people from traditional backgrounds or beliefs. Practicing Christians bear the brunt of this, and are quietly mocked as "ignorant" or "conformist." Same goes for fraterities. It's no wonder to me why so many athletes at Wes choose to stick with their own or sit quietly in the back of class. Also, many Wesleyan students are just dumb. They can quote Hegel but they can't toast a bagel. They've been to Tashkent but forget to pay the rent. Ok, sorry, but seriously - Wesleyan students have less per-capita common sense than I thought possible. It's a wonder some of them even remember to breathe.

Wesleyan is a completely divded campus. Everyone gets a long but there is definitely a divide between the more conservative, frat party, athlete scene and the hipster unconventional scene. You will know everything about everyone in your group. The Usdan University center has two dining spaces, one side has become for athletes etc and the other for the other group. You and your friends always sit on the same side, if there is no space and you go to the other side you will not know or recognize anyone there.

I'd say that despite WEsleyan's gung-ho attitude about the diversity, the "diversity house" here allows a lot of student minorities to isolate themselves from the rest of the campus. The minority students i do know, that live near me or are in my classes are really friendly and personable and there's clearly no racial issues, but there is some annoying separation. The type of student that would not fit here is anyone who is narrow minded. honestly, the only students i know here are those that think everyone is weird and aren't accepting of other points of view. not be stereotype, but it is often atheletes that come here to play and don't understand the culture of the school. there is definitely a culture and preppy jocks sort of have their own little world. other than that there's loads of hippies and hipster and they make fun of each other but at the end of the day we're all friends with each other.

Can't live with them.

many people are really outspoken about racial and lgbt issues... much less so about religion. a devout christian person would probably feel very out of place here. i personally have not had trouble making friends with people in different "groups" of students... but i would never call myself part of their "group" if it was one im not really a part of - mostly because im not friends with eeeeveryone in each group.. just a couple of people.. so im not really part of that group. different groups at different tables might include: international students, jocks, lesbians, students of color, hipstery girls.. etc. but they can definitely interact with each other- they just aren't all best friends in between the different groups.

We are a diverse campus but I wish we were more diverse in terms of political representation. We get a lot of unfair stereotypes about a lot of drug use and having a lot of tree-huggers due to people associating us with Ohio Wesleyan. Students are generally quite politically active, though.

Wesleyan is very diverse. It is a little lacking in political diversity; I have only met one or two conservatives. I'd imagine they might feel a little out of place at times. Different types of students interact with each other all the time. There are not tightly-bound friend groups. Wesleyan students come from all over the place. Most come from New England and the northeast in general. Many are from California, too. Most kids come from upper-middle class families.