Wesleyan University Top Questions

For a good part of the student body, yes--though it is less than half.

Some of them. Most students care about issues, but are too busy smoking pot all the time to do anything about anything. Lots of hipsters. Way more white students than the school will admit. And lots of people are less open-minded than they pretend to be.

Not really.

Somewhat. There really is no one Wesleyan student. There are many different groups of people on campus, each with different styles, music tastes, academic interests, etc. While there is a fair amount of pot smoking (as on any college campus), Wes students work hard. There are tons of protests in which one can participate should the desire arise, but they do not take over the campus at all.

somewhat.

The part about political correctness gone mad, no. It's a liberal place but it's pretty open minded. And there's a small but vocal minority of jocks and frat boys if you're into more right-wing politics. The part about the spoiled hipsters, pretty much true. Eclectic is a "frat" made up entirely of them. They wear a uniform of far too tight thrift store clothes and an ironic 80s accessory. They listen to crappy indie music. But although they are irritating from a distance, they are a very tight-knit minority, and besides most of them are normal people once you get to know them.

You will find these stereotypes in every single college environment you participate in. For Wesleyan, however, what I discovered was that the majority of these stereotypes were both unjustified and untrue, a case of jealousy and a failure to understand the extremely unique culture prevalent at Wesleyan, an infective academic, social and cultural climate that I have come to love and cherish!

Though some stereotypes hold, there is a great diversity of students and student interests that overrides the establishment of any one predominate stereotype. There are different niches for different types of people. There are a surprising number of athletes, and while some fit the mold of standard jocks, most are at Wesleyan as students primarily. There are certainly events or situations where stereotypes are applicable, such as frat parties or concerts, but even then not everyone fits the prescribed category.

The skinny jeans thing may be partly true, but the music at Wes has been really good and very diverse, last week I went to an amazing reggae concert, and the week before that I went to a bluegrass show. My friends are artsy, but by that I mean that one is a really good painter, my roommate is an amazing modern dancer, and my other friend is the best piano player in our class. As for the Brown thing, only one of my 20+ close friends even applied there, and I think the people who chose Wesleyan did so for a reason...because they thought that Wesleyan was the right place for them, not Brown. The schools and their vibes are really different.

probably