Wesleyan University Top Questions

- If you're going pre-med/ science, life is gonna be HARD. Mostly because these classes have extra TA sessions, labs, and homework so you lose a lot of time. -Favorite and least favorite class Well, I'm a freshman and am in five classes, so there aren't many options for me. My favorite class is Sociology (tied with principles of chemistry), and my least favorite class is Three Big Novels. It's a first year seminar and is a great class for people who like English literature discussions, but not people who like discussing symbolism (and are more science oriented to begin with). -Class participation is REALLY common. 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the people are in the class because they want to be and care about their classes, so everyone is really into it and participates. -Another great thing about Wesleyan: we aren't super competitive. This had a huge impact over my decision to go to somewhere like UPenn or Cornell; they are equal in academics, but Wes students aren't going to be competing all the time against each other. We study hard because we want to do well in our academics, not to beat the other kid in the same major.

Academics are slightly above par. You definitely will find a professor you'll end up being bffls with, and the variety of courses is staggering. There are no minimum requirements (except those for your major) to graduate, so what courses you end up taking is completely up to you. That being said, the quantity of courses are small in number. Save for a few majors, there really isn't much flexibility in most of the academics. For example, you need 5 X classes to major in X, and the school only offers 6 classes in that major. This puts a lot of pressure on experimenting with other courses and exploring the liberal arts education because of time constraints. Pro Tip: Knock out as many major courses as you can in your freshman and sophomore years. The school may encourage you to explore during these first two years, but in reality life is much easier when you experiment in senior and junior year. It's also worth noting that in terms of practicality, the academic program sucks. Only a few subjects will teach you practical skills that are useful in searching for jobs and later life.

The academics are rigorous and interesting; not particularly competitive per se.

I'm a strong believer in the value of a liberal arts education. At Wesleyan, students have a unique opportunity to take courses across a variety of disciplines. The professors are all very intelligent and passionate about their respective fields of study, which makes for interesting lectures and seminars. They are all accessible outside of the classroom in office hours, and, as has been my experience, love to talk with students. Personally, I like to spend as much time with professors as I can. They're very knowledgeable and have a lot to offer. My experience has been that the students are competitive in the sense that they like to push themselves to do as well as possible. I think what you get out of your education is a function mostly of what you put in.

Even in the largest lecture class, the professor will attempt to get to know your name, whether they succeed is entirely on a case by case basis, but there will always be legitimate effort. The best class I have taken at Wesleyan was International Law, which surveyed the international political systems, focusing on the interplay between states and how the development of the international community and the creation of international law has become a powerful, yet controversial force within todays' world. My least favorite classes have been NSM (Non-Science Major) classes, because I feel that they often try too hard to make the material accessible to non science majors that the material isnt as valuable. However, these classes can easily be avoided, but for those that cannot handle a hard science, the alternatives that they offer are often tedious and not all that exciting. Students typically spend at least 4 hrs/day on work, give or take a few hours depending on the student and their schedules. In smaller classes, most kids will participate or the professor will prompt participation to guarantee that the class is not dominated by one single voice. Most students become engaged enough in class that not only do discussions leave the classroom, but they are often shared with friends outside the class and pursued in greater length and detail outside of class. There is a passion and desire to learn that is embodied in most Wesleyan students. We are definitely a school that is concerned with learning for learning sake, many professors will even warn students that if they are taking the class for a grade, then they are in the wrong place. Though kids can get competitive, the majority looks at learning as a process with inherent importance.

Wesleyan has a reputation for its academic excellence. From my experience, this is due both to the students and the professors. Most students have a strong desire to learn, to stimulate their intellectual curiosity, and to question what they know. All of the Wes professors are extremely knowledgeable in their fields, and are more than willing to share their knowledge and experiences with students. You are just as likely to find some of your friends out on a Friday night as you are to find others in the library studying for an exam or writing a paper. Though Wesleyan students are extremely intelligent, I have never felt there was a sense of competition in or out of the classroom. Everyone is more or less interested in getting the most out of their classes and not worrying about getting a better grade than the person next to then. Of course, that is not to say that grades aren't important to Wes students. I don't think there are any "easy" classes or majors at Wesleyan. Even the introductory courses and courses designed for non-majors are challenging and require lots of time and work. As a senior History major, I put in almost as much time for my introductory Modern Europe course as I do for my upper-level seminar. Professors often act as advisors for students in their majors, but they are more concerned with teaching and their own research than with advising students, which has been a problem for me in the past.

I'm a freshman, and it makes sense that I'd be in some larger introductory classes rather than upper-level courses. Also, Wesleyan's class of 2015 is unusually large, so it was pretty difficult to get into certain popular classes. That said, my classes range from a fifteen-person seminar in English literature to a 150-person introductory chemistry lecture. I'm also taking a Government course and a Sociology course that have about 30 people each. All of my professors are great; they are obviously scholars, but they're also very accessible. The other day, my Government professor mentioned offhandedly that he'd been invited to discuss Russian politics and foreign policy at a talk show in Washington D.C., but he'd declined because he had to grade the papers we'd handed in the week before. My chemistry lecture is my only class with a TA, and even then I could easily talk to the professor if I wanted to. Students here are generally not competitive, but cooperative. We discuss the course material outside of class, not because we have to, but because it's generally interesting. People complain about the amount of homework they have and help each other if they can. Wesleyan classes are definitely geared towards learning for learning's sake, but there's also lots of resources for pursuing a career.

Rigorous academics where open conversation between students and faculty is the norm.

Though Wesleyan prides itself on its top-notch academic programs across the board, its most popular and attractive programs include CSS, COL, English, Government, History, American Studies, Music, Film, and the sciences. Wesleyan does not impose strict general education requirements for students to fulfill, which enables students to take courses that genuinely interest them, resulting in an enriching classroom experience where the instructor teaches students who actually WANT to be there. Also, because of the lack of gened requirements, students are granted the freedom to decide how hard or easy they want their course load to be. Though there are students who choose to fill their schedule with easy classes throughout their college career, the majority of Wesleyan students like to challenge themselves academically and intellectually in their classes. For the most part, people at Wes care more about learning for the sake of learning than about earning a 6-figure paycheck after graduation. The larger science classes and intro film course can have upwards to 150 students in them. However, a lot of the studio art and seminar classes have fewer than 20 students, which makes for an personally enriching classroom experience for both the professor and students. As you enter your major after the second semester of sophomore year, your class sizes will diminish. Next fall, my smallest class will have 12 people, and my largest class will be capped at 24. Intellectual conversations frequently occur beyond the walls of the classroom; during dinner at Summerfields, walking to Usdan for dinner, or even 3am in the dorm after a night of partying, I find myself having debates about everything and anything with my friends.

The large classes can feel overwhelming and very un-liberal-arts-like. The point of Wesleyan is small classes. They MAKE the Wesleyan experience. Students are privately very studious, but they are not often outright competitive, at least not in a negative way. There is not too much know-it-all behavior, even though most kids consider themselves very smart. Teachers are wonderful, but they expect a lot from you: participation, originality, punctuality, respect, curiosity.