Wesleyan University Top Questions

Yes and no. There are absolutely no hippies at Wesleyan at this point. The largest stereotypical demographic is hipsters which is extremely mainstream at this point. I would say most people here are not very alternative and are just nerds. However, compared to other schools there is definitely a lot of "different than mainstream" people.

The picture of the university painted by the students it accepts certainly portrays a degree of accuracy through all of these stereotypes, but it largely seems to be exactly what underlies all of the institutions' 'diversity'; namely, it is an elite private university wanting to boast of important alumni in the future. Of course, with this effort comes a potentially excellent education in an atmosphere sometimes frustrating, but also sometimes strikingly hopeful and enlightening. The stereotypes in many cases seem to disintegrate upon experiencing them, upon realizing the shortfalls of the images themselves.

To some extent

as hyperboles

Yes...in a good way. Active, not in a politically correct kind of sense but in a constant questioning way. Independent, which is interesting, but often times hard to find tight knit groups of friends.

Things seem to have gotten a little more conservative than they used to be, but overall, I'd say yes. It seems to be a place where people of all different shapes and colors can find a home, but I think that probably depends who you talk to, and at what moment in time. It's not unheard of to see students protesting things that aren't even on the public radar yet, or writing fantastic, irreverent blogs about things that you might hear about in the news 3 years later. The classes are definitely demanding, and the classroom environment is competitive, but not in a threatening way.

are any? ever? what a dumb question. Of course they are

Yes and no. Lots of flowy skirts and lots of tight pants superficially reinforce the stereotypes. But everyone has a little something extra; everyone surprises you. Students are far too unique and diverse to fit into any category.

they relate to many of the students

Like any set of stereotypes, they contain a grain of truth. Yes, there are people on campus who believe strongly in gender-neutral pronouns. Yes, there is a contingent of hipsters and obnoxiously fashionable NYC artsy types. Yes, quite a few students also applied to Brown and were rejected. But to envision Wes as an amalgamation of these groups would be to do it a severe injustice. Wesleyan has every type of people you can imagine, from the hard-partying jocks to the mega-activist hippies and everything in between. And the best part is that all the groups mix to an extraordinary degree. I know an Asian track star who lives in the Jewish house, frat brothers who live in Buddhist House, etc. The unifying factor is that everyone here is extremely talented at something, and often it is the thing you would least expect.

While a certain portion of the student population does hold true to the "hippie" stereotype, it is a small portion of the student body. Likewise, while it is possible to graduate from Wesleyan with a "do nothing" degree with reletive ease, most professors require a great amount of work and attention from their students. It could be said that Wesleyan is the Wisconsin of small liberal arts colleges, a school which demands alot from its students during the week, but knows how to have a good time on the weekend.

Really, there are hipsters and definite Rastafarians, but in my experience, every Wes student has a little jock, nerd, and alcoholic in them. All my conversations have been intelligent, whether it's about alcohol or African politics.

No, the student body is very diverse and there are tons of different groups of people.

No. You will find some flower children and students who challenge everything, but generally, students are just open-minded.

Everything's true except political. Since Wesleyan is 99.99{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} democratic, no one has anything to debate.

No. Wesleyan is too hip for either of those stereotypes.

Only applies to about 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the population - very diverse school.

Not at all. Wesleyan is super diverse, and the people that do fit these stereotypes are 99 percent of the time open to anything else. Never have I found a place so supportive of its students, in their work, hobbies, and future plans.

We are very liberal. Not them many of us are really hippies.

Largely. Not everyone is wacky on the outside, and not everyone walks around naked. Many Wes students deliberately create and foster these stereotypes.