Datboyjj

How is Wesleyan?

Whats bad about it?

Whats good about it?

What are the professors like?

Is the workload cut-throat?

How collaborative is Wesleyan?

How are the guys and girls? Party scene? Nightlife?

johnwesley

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Quite well. How are you?

Right now, a major philosophical and fiscal debate is looming around a proposal to switch to need-aware admissions. The question seems to be whether Wesleyan should continue to admit students regardless of their ability to pay, even if it means in some instances, people taking on more debt than they can afford? Wesleyan students have mobilized over far less controversial questions in the past; six years ago, they blocked the president of the college from leaving his office over a proposal to plug WESU, the student-run radio station, into the National Public Radio network, so one can only imagine how far something really important will go.

Wesleyan is one of the few selective liberal arts colleges (SLACs) known for something besides being rich. Wesleyan has a brand, and because there aren't a lot of places like it, it tends to "punch above its weight" in terms of recognition. It's academically rigorous and experimental at the same time; it's small and yet, has a large scientific research budget; it has a close-knit community, yet encourages individual achievement in such widely divergent activities as sports, theater, politics, music, and science. People are generally surprised by the number of well-known people who have passed through Middletown on their way to a Wesleyan degree.

johnwesley

Certain SLACs are having trouble answering the questions:

Amherst - Williams - Middlebury - 0 replies

Pomona - If there a recurring theme here, it is that SLACs have a difficult time admitting they have any faults.

Datboyjj

wat does the s stand for?

morganhil

"S" in SLAC usually would signify "selective". In Wesleyan's, Williams', Amherst's, Middlebury's and Pomona's cases, well, "Highly Selective".

morganhil

What's bad about Wesleyan?

What comes to mind first and foremost is the weather. If you are not accustomed to east coast weather, one may get very tired of the high number of cloudy days, the amount of wind and precipitation and the chilly weather much of the school year. The past winter was quite mild and almost snowless, with the biggest snow storm taking place in the last week of October which shut down the campus for several days.

blueman1

How's the campus?

johnwesley

The constant criss-crossing of paths in front of College Row along the way to popular classroom venues like Fisk Hall or the fraternity houses that lined High Street used to be what cemented the sense of community at Wesleyan. It's still one of the prettiest settings for a reunion weekend, but it's largely been supplanted by the playing field directly behind it. Not only is that where a great many athletic contests take place, but over the years, with the addition of the library, a hiltop observatory and most recently, a capacious new student union, Andrus Field has taken on the function of a rather large, new central quad. Sunbathers gather on the hill when it's warm (and, slide down it when it snows.) Commencement speeches are delivered from the steps of the library. The Homecoming football game is held with College Row as the backdrop. It's all very cozy and multi-functional, but probably not what people expect to see when they visit for the first time.

johnwesley

Wesleyan Photo — View from Foss Hill at Wesleyan University on June...