Wesleyan University Top Questions

Stereotypes break down at Wesleyan. Though one might claim to be completely open-minded, it takes exposure to develop real tolerance. That's the best thing about Wesleyan-- the mindset (which to others may seem forced, silly, and somewhat pretentious) does create an opportunity to explore different experiences from the inside. The mindset is all about trying anything new, just for the sake of trying. Since everybody is on the same page, there is an atmosphere of liberation-- sexually, creatively, personally; Wesleyan provides a unique environment to self-search and really figure out who you are.

Wesleyan has just the perfect number of students--there's a strong sense of community with a small and intimate campus, but you're still meeting new people until the day you graduate. The administration really listens to the student body. Students have a major say on what happens on all levels of the institution. Right now there is a group called SEWI (Students for Ending the War in Iraq) which is currently in negotiations with the Board of Trustees to have them divest from weapons contractors. Additionally, groups like EON (Environmental Organization Network) have a large voice in environmental sustainability issues in student housing, food plans, and more. In general, different groups on campus treat each other with the utmost respect, and when one group is being screwed over, you'll usually hear about it.

Wesleyan is a wonderfully eclectic place. My Dad used to call it the blue-jeaned black sheep of the Little Three (the other two being Williams and Amherst) back when he was in college, and I think that maybe the broadest thing you can say about Wes is that while it and its student body are kind of grungy in many respects, we wouldn't have it any other way. I guess that what I'm getting at is that in spite of the fact that Wesleyan has rarely (if ever) been known for its athletics, the student body has an enormous amount of school pride. Most of the campus knows our fight song by heart, and we pull it out for just about every occasion, regardless of whether or not there's an actual sport involved. There's also a sort of lore surrounding our school that each new student is initiated into, from the Douglas Cannon (which students used to steal and take with them around the world, sending "ransom" pictures back to the administration) to the bizarre stuffed buffalo on the fourth floor of the science tower. Wesleyan's not a big place, and Middletown certainly isn't anything to write home about, but we love our school and its many eccentricities (and even shortcomings) fiercely.

not worth your time. nothing to do in middletown. administration is bullshit but the deans are cool. wesleyan sucks. there is nothing unique about it- its a rich white liberal arts college a dime a dozen. if u think its a top tier school try transferring your wesleyan credits somewhere and see how far you get. try name dropping it and see how many people think it is wellesley. NOT WORTH YOUR TIME OR MONEY.

wesleyan's really good academically, has a lively student culture.

Wesleyan is a place where, no matter what you like to do, you can find someone to do it with you. Sniff cocaine off the toilet seats? Sure! Compare and contrast minor characters in obscure Russian novels? No problem. I don't like cocaine or Russian novels, but I have friends who are into each. Because of the diversity of interests here and the degree to which they interact, I've personally found people to be less judgmental and I really feel free to experiment and learn. The atmosphere of openness and intellectual discussion is probably one of my favorite things about the place.

To me, the best thing about Wesleyan has always been the people. What I find amazing about Wesleyan is how difficult it is to categorize people. The frat guys are artists, the economists are lesbians, nothing seems to fit the mold. If there's a problem with that, it's that sometimes people get really wound up in not making stereotypes, to the point of getting angry if you ever refer to more than one person as a group (i.e. "the international students," or "the queer students"). It's a small enough place that it seems someone I know is involved in every performance, symposium, or charity drive on campus. Very strong community feeling, which is not to be confused with "school spirit." We have school spirit, but it revolves more around our progressive ideals than it does around the football team. Not a pretty town or a pretty school, but a place to go if you want to be somewhere that's a bit different from anywhere else.

The school is definitely a little bit too small. The best thing is that there are definitely a wide variety of people at Wesleyan, although most of them are white hipsters. But, you can definitely find people with similar interests to you. I like Middletown a lot but it's hard to get to the airport/train station -- there's no public transportation and the school doesn't provide shuttles. The administration has some wonderful people in it. For the most part, though, those high up act as though they have the student's best interests in mind when they really just want more money for the school.

Wesleyan is a school that is good for anyone. It's academically challenging, but Wes students like to party a lot. The size is perfect and makes for great campus unity. Everyone at Wesleyan loves the place. People don't talk about it all the time, but it comes up every now and then that Wesleyan is the only place that Wes students would want to be. Middletown has some good restaurants, and that's about it, but I rarely feel the need to leave campus because it's where everyone is. The one thing I would change about Wesleyan is the location. I would move the school to a warm climate. The weather in the winter is the only downfall, although the campus can be really nice covered in snow.

It's a wonderful place, full of some of the warmest, most welcoming, and most amazing people you will ever meet.

The school has only 3,000 people, which may seem great your first year but which quickly loses its charm. The town is poor and hostile to Wes. It's sort of like living in the Green Zone in Baghdad. On the upside, everything that is happening happens on campus. There's pretty good house parties open to everyone and the frats do their part in providing free beer and dark halls for groping and grinding. Public safety is annoying and the Middletown cops generally hate Wes students. In fact, P-safe mostly functions to lightly punish students and keep them away from real cops. Sports are abysmal but decently supported. The soccer team is pretty good. In short, the social scene is interesting but limited and quickly gets old in later years.

Let's face it: the kids here are smart, the professors here are intellectual hothouses waiting to be accommodated. Things you may not know: the kids here are incredibly diverse in terms of interests and activities - some of which you never knew existed. But that does not mean you shouldn't try it out. Wesleyan is somewhat despairingly located in the heart of Middletown, which I like to think of as "in-the-middle-of-nowhere"town, although other enterprising students prefer to conceive it as "in-the-middle-of-New-York-and-Boston"town. After the first week, you may never bother to visit mainstreet again, because everything happens on campus, 24/7, if you are willing to launch yourself out there and discover it for yourself. Wesleyan also seems to thrive on keywords such as "diversity" and "multiculturalism" and "individuality" etc, as if we held the torch to an alternative world paradigm. Laugh you may (as I once did), but the funniest thing about the equation is ... it works! Where else can you rehearse your Chinese in Chinese house, trot over to Russian house for a Communist party, slide over to film-house to catch the explicit films of your grandmothers' era, swing to the '92 theater to catch a student-made play about diaspora and finish the night learning Jewish traditional dance? There is an immense amount of school pride at Wesleyan, a deep-seated sense of belonging that will remain forever unintelligable to anyone who has not bludgeoned through this eccentric and exciting college atmosphere for 4 years.

Wesleyan is an amazing community that fosters growth both in and out of the classroom. Students are passionate about what they do, and equally passionate about enjoying themselves and relaxing. This balance is refreshing in an elite unversity, as students help one another get through work without burning out. There are a number of outlets for interests and many different ways to get involved. The best indications of the Wesleyan aura are all-campus events such as WesFest and Spring Fling, where the whole campus congregates on Foss Hill and enjoys the day together. In these settings, all of the different types of students are represented and united in the celebration.

The best thing about Wesleyan is the people! I know everyone says that about their school, but I can't stress enough how awesome everyone is. At the beginning of the year when I was meeting people for the first time, I was awed by how interesting everyone was. There's a reason why someone picks Wesleyan (and why Wesleyan picks someone), and it creates a community of people who just love their school! I would change the layout of the new dining center (the architectural layout). The tray conveyor belt / trash station is pretty dysfunctional. Wesleyan is the perfect size! Everywhere I go I see a friend, but at the same time, I'm always meeting new people and if I want to have some me-time, there's plenty of places to go. We spend most of our time on campus because Middletown's only attractions are its restaurants (there are actually a few really good ones!). People (this is a generalization) from the east coast and west coast and those who have applied to any liberal arts school react really positively, like "oh wow! that's great! I've heard such wonderful things," when I tell them I go to Wesleyan. People from the middle of the country (again a large generalization) sometimes haven't head of it and think I'm talking about Wellesley. Wesleyan's administration is usually pretty responsive to us. The biggest recent controversy has been over Middletown's police force overreacting to a party at the end of the year. School pride is great in the sense that we all LOVE our school, but one thing I would like to see changed is the low attendance rate at athletic games. What's unusual about Wes is how much we all love our school! One thing I'll remember best from last year is my birthday weekend. An a capella group sang happy birthday to me, and then my friends set up a campus-wide scavenger hunt for me that eventually led me to snacks and then to a friends room where we spent the rest of the night together hanging out. So much fun.

School size is good. The best thing is the campus and the abundance of music, arts, film and so on which translates into a very creative student body. The worst thing about wesleyan is residential life, and some of the arrogance and cliqueishness you find on campus, despite an overall friendly student body.

Wesleyan is comprised of just under 3000 upper middle class to upper class kids who all did well in high school which gives it a very homogenous feel in certain respects. However, for the type of person who would consider going to Wesleyan this is probably a good thing.

To make a Big topic 'small', or at least manageable: Middletown itself offers many restaurants (diversity on an easy level) and proximity to both Boston and New York, extremely useful reference centers for every study's concern, be it the MoMA or the offices of Cravath, Swaine & Moore. As to what directly affects campus life, the Wesleyan administration continues to have shortfalls and also accomplishments, though most of these, be it either new building plans or other top-dollar agendas, lies largely outside of student hands. To my knowledge, students can affect mostly everyday policies, though overarching rules of conduct or regulation seem near-impossible beasts to tame. So when one hears that Wesleyan has a particularly active student involvement, keep in mind the scope of what students can and cannot do at most universities, though the students themselves may very well try for more. A great plus to the politically charged atmosphere already existing in and around campus.

The campus is lovely and I think it's been a nice size for me. Middletown is pretty crappy, although the restaurants are great and there's a movie theater. Transportation to the outside world is hard to arrange, and we mostly spend time on campus. There's always something going on, and there's always so much to choose from that your experience can be very individualized and personally directed.

at 4 or 5 thousand undergrads, Wesleyan's not too big or too small. it's small enough that you can walk from one side of campus to the other within 15 minutes, but not too small that you get sick of the same places or the same people. even if you feel that you see too many of the same faces too often, that's really only within your own dorm or classes. there are still hundreds of kids that you've never seen before. Middletown isn't the greatest college town ever, but it is able to provide restaurants, a movie theater, laser tag, and other shops that are a basic necessity. the food on campus is pretty good and there's a good variety of food between dining halls.

Large enough to have a community without getting claustrophobic. Students work really hard and have a lot of fun. Wonderful housing because by your junior year you are in apts on campus or houses, which means kitchens and living space with people you like. It also means that the party scene is great because people have places to congregate without needing frats. Lot of great music...salsa, funk, rock, folk, jazz...at parties which makes weekends interesting. Lots of trips to ponds, beaches, new york. Middletown gets old quickly, but you can find your own way to deal with that. Lots of great classes with amazing professors if you search them out.