Wesleyan University Top Questions

Middletown is a really cute little town, with a real-live Main Street. Lots of good restaurants, cute shops, etc. It's about 25 minutes from New Haven, so if the town feels too cloistering, a bigger place is just a short trip away. The alumni body is composed of some really stellar people, which speaks really well of the undergraduate experience, I think. There's something about being here that causes you to question everything you think you know. It can be humbling, but it forces total self-reflexivity, and brings out the most honest, healthy parts of a person. While this isn't for everyone, those seeking to become the most authentic self they can be thrive here. While the university is a little less known than some larger schools, those in the know are very impressed when I tell then where I studied. The place has a fantastic reputation, and it lives up to it.

Wesleyan is what you want it to be. you can choose classes and activities that make it incredibly challenging, almost crazy, but really interesting. At the same time, it can be a funhouse with very little to do, and amazingly laid-back student body. Most people i know have both aspects. Wesleyan students work hard and play hard, and really have such a level of intellectual production that is unrivaled, in my mind. It's the right size, and it is full of people who are really talented and interesting. Having been to other universities (and mind you, being a university and not a college becomes important later on) i was appalled at how...uninteresting all the students were. now, i am not going to name names, and comparing wesleyan to other places is not the point, but you won't find bland, pompous kids at Wes. Or complete stoners who can't think for themselves. nobody here is completely one stereotype, although i've found some at other places. Somebody told me once that you learn the most from your peers, and if that's true, Wesleyan is the place to be. And if it turns out that you actually really learn from your professors, the student-teacher relationships here are phenomenally good, and the professors are so exciting and invested in helping you learn what you want them to teach you. I've learned so much in just two years, i feel ready to do so many different things with my life. the best part is, i haven't been pushed into a corner, with only one thing to do for the rest of my life. that really is the best part of a liberal arts education. Wesleyan gives you the chance to pursue that, while being really enjoyable.

Wesleyan is amazing. There's a lot of academic freedom, social opportunities, brilliant peers and engaging professors. If you're interested in a giant sports school, this is probably not the place; athletic students but not the types to bust out the kegs at 10am and tailgate a football game. There is more to do than I ever have time for: lectures, protests, conferences, shows, plays, movies, concerts, etcetera. Middletown is not a hub of excitement, but Wesleyan definately compensates.

Most people do not know where Wesleyan is or anything about it. Middletown, where Wesleyan is located, is a fantastic town. There are numerous ethnic restaurants, and a very socio-economically diverse population. Middletown is also large and close enough to provide anything that a student would want. Wesleyan does feel small at times though.

The size is perfect. You can both be invisible when you want or run into tons of people you know by accident. I used to attend a larger university and I was a bit worried Wes would be too small to ever be anonymous, but that is not the case. For me it is the perfect balance. People who are in touch with the set of small, elite liberal-arts colleges in the Northeast will react positively when you tell them you go to Wesleyan. The rest of the world will either think you said Wellesley, and wonder why you go to an all-girls school (this is funniest when you're a guy), or think you mean Ohio-Wesleyan. You will get over this, because there is a lot of school pride, which I love. We suck at sports but nobody minds - most people here love this place and are proud of it, in all its quirkiness. Middletown seems to suck at first, but that's only because campus is such a bubble. A beautiful bubble, to be sure, but still a bubble. There are actually some interesting things to do and see in Middletown, but it's not a college town by any means, and it shuts down early. Town/school relations are mediocre at best. Connecticut sucks if you like the outdoors, but I'm from Vermont so perhaps I have high standards. We're only a couple hours from New York City and there is a school-run bus that operates on weekends. The food is really good. We just got a new food provider and (having previously attended the University of Vermont) I can tell you that is significantly better than most college food. Still, there are issues. The workers are kind of getting shafted, and the company is still figuring out how to provide what the student-body wants. They aren't very efficient at running the dining halls, either. So you may have to wait in line occasionally, be annoyed by how far you have to carry your tray, be really annoyed at the take-out system, be really really annoyed that it is absurdly difficult to find food on campus between 8 and 10 PM, but at least when you do find it it'll be tasty as hell.

Wesleyan has one of the most varied student bodies of any campus I visited, no matter what your interests, you are sure to find some group of students which are equally, if not more, passionate about simular topics.

Most people think that I go to Wellesley when I tell them I go to Wesleyan.

Wes is not very integrated into Middletown. Sure, students live off-campus, and there are some good, cheap restaurants on Main St., but Wes is basically insulated in a small corner of the city. It's got a great reputation that goes along with the Wesleyan name, though, and the student body is smart and articulate. Opinions are also very critical of the university itself: students look at the administration with the same eye as the current Presidency.

I am constantly surprised by my peers at Wesleyan. It would not be unusual here, for example, for me to watch a standout football player star in a play. People here rarely have one talent, or one interest. Athletes take dance, people are friends with people you may not expect them to hang out with. There is a little of everything here--every type of person--and for the most part, people get along unbelievably well.

The best thing about Wesleyan is that they are very welcoming when you come to the school. It was very easy to make the adjustment into the small community (just about 2700), and I felt right at home. Everything happens on campus, and Middletown has nothing to offer except for a couple decent restaurants. If you actually want to go somewhere real, you'd need to head to NY or Boston (both about 2 hour drives). The Wesleyan administration was disappointing for the most part. I entered the school thinking that I would be a film major, but the cut-throat elitist kids turned me off (that's the only major that you have to get a B+ in order to declare the major, and getting a B+ is no easy feat when they are trying to weed kids out). After dropping the major, I had begun my own company and wanted to take business courses. Wesleyan has none to offer, and futhermore they refused to give me credit to take the courses at another university, claiming: "Since we don't have a business department, there's no way we can evaluate the course" Of course it was no problem for them to evaluate me taking Steel Band and hitting a cowbell twice a week...

Wesleyan is a great place for education, but its location is not supreme. Most people focus on academics or on-campus activities, so the surrounding areas aren't that important. When people do leave campus, they go to New York. This makes an isolated community with warped morals and social standards.

I love Wesleyan almost irrationally so at this point. The school is a perfect size, in a location that's close to any major destination in the North East, and filled with a student body of incredibly smart, creative, and open people. Wesleyan has a massive amount of activism on campus, which is manifested through protests, music and art shows, and general student interest in current affairs.

Wesleyan is a school full of truly engaged students. Students are very progressive, politically involved and active in a whole variety of extracurricular activities including the arts (particularly film), comedy, theater, and many, many others. Students are also an extremely intellectual group, meaning they are very intellectually engaged outside of the classroom. Classes are small, and for the most part Wesleyan students are extremely happy at the school.

Wesleyan is a great place. It's small, which I liked, so it's easy to know most people if you try. How do people react when I tell them I go (went) to Wesleyan? "What's Wesleyan? Isn't that an all-girls school?" School pride: not so much. We all like(d) Wes, but not in a paint-your-face-and-cheer type of way. Although the fight song was always fun. Most frequent student complains: "The administration is not understanding enough of our diversity, diversity, diversity." Middletown is OK, but getting better.

If you are plannng on going to a liberal arts university, Wesleyan will expose you to views and populations that are present but less vocal and listened to at other institutions.

Wesleyan may be too small. It was just right for me. It's large enough that by Junior year, everyone looks familiar but you don't really know who they are. There is nothing really to do in town. But its okay because there are literally a panoply of options on campus. There are art shows and guerilla theatre, visiting artists and musicians, secret tomb parties, frat keggers, blue-grass open mikes and dorm parties. And, of course, house parties. Wesleyan's residential housing for upper classmen is a tremendous financial burden on the university and one of the reasons for its lower than its peers budget. So it makes good financial sense that they are gradually divesting themselves of the blocks of houses they own. The unfortunate aspect of this is what a tremendously unique and wonderful thing the neighborhoods of students living in houses is. To sit on your porch and eat cerael and chat with people as they make their way to morning classes is one of my favorite memories. Sleeping in my hammock on the back porch. The administration gets a bad rap. In reality they are among the most receptive and committed around. Unfortunately, Wesleyan students have a tremendous sense of entitlement and a deep commitment to being responsible for their surrounding (at least when it is convenient and fun) So they whine a tremendous amount and nothing the administration ever does is good enough for the vocal minority of rabble rousers. For most of us, I think we view the administration the way we view all bureacracies. Slow and at times inefficient. This aside, they truly care and work very hard. I think they have a hard job and get shit on a lot for trying to do it right.

I like the size of Wesleyan. You get to know a lot of the people in your class, but you still meet new people all the time. Middletown has its charms, but most of the fun you have at Wesleyan is created by the students and stays on campus. House/dorm parties are the most common. The campus has a big hill and field in the center of campus where kids go to hang out. It's awesome when the weather's nice. The Wesleyan administration is okay, but they try to make Wesleyan into just another top East-Coast liberal arts school. They could do a better job of letting Wesleyan be its unique, open-minded self.

Wes is a great size. As a senior I have yet to be bored with the people here - I'm forever meeting new and interesting students on campus while running into old friends everywhere. While there's no big football team and less athletic pride in the general population than at other schools, there is a tremendous amount school pride.

Wesleyan is the perfect size: you are able to meet a significant portion of the student body, you don't feel anonymous at all, yet you still meet new people from your class year the last week of senior year. I sometimes wish that Wesleyan were a bit more known across the country (it's irritating when people mix it up with Wellesley for example). I think the students are passionate about many things, but are able to be silly and not take everything too seriously. I got a wonderful education at Wes, and had so much fun throughout.... it was the perfect mix of work and play, which is what I think college is all about.

I love that the student body is as eclectic as it is. There is truly no stereotypical student. Everyone is welcome and accepted. There can tend to be some segretation between athletes and non-athletes on campus. As an athlete, I find myself hanging out with other athletes the majority of the time, which can make Wes feel a lot smaller than it actually is. But once you branch out, you realize that there are a lot of cool people to meet. When I tell others that I go to Wesleyan, they are either impressed, know nothing about Wesleyan, or think that I go to Wellesley in Mass. Middletown is definitely not a college town, but there isn't really any need for a college town because everything happens on campus, and there is always a ton to do on campus. The most frequent student complaints are about housing. Housing for Sophmores can be really great or really crappy. It's based on lottery numbers, so if you get a bad number, you could end up in a dorm, or house that isn't too great. Spring Fling is one of the most fun times at Wes. It's the day after classes end and a couple of bands come to perform. Basically, the entire student body is on Foss Hill the entire day, and it's absolutely amazing.