A few questions about wesleysan's admissions standards

johnwesley
Wed, 20 Jun 2012 22:36:05 +0000

1. Is an upward trend legitimately useful or is that just something guidance counselors say to make you feel better?



Those conversations really do occur, particularly if there is something else that is piquing the adcom’s interest. You should read, “The Gatekeepers” by Jacques Steinberg.



2)Is interest level important? Will sitting in on classes even do anything?



Probably not. All that stuff is there in order to keep you interested in Wesleyan, not the other way around.



And I’ll just throw another question out in the air since you seem quite knowledgeable about the school - are Asian considered a minority when applying? I know for a lot of colleges in this day and age, Asians don’t really count, but I saw on the website that the school is only 10% Asian and I was hoping for any extra edge. Thank you!



That’s a really interesting question. There was a time when Asians were considered URMs; I’ve seen the promotional material; lots of glossy photos of smiling Asian and Asian American students. Ordinarily that would mean, Asian applicants would be competing chiefly with other Asians for the privilege of attending Wesleyan; their files would be tagged for their race or ethnicity in the same way that African-Americans and Latino/as and Chicano/as have their folders tagged.

Not sure if that happens anymore with Asians, but let’s assume it did. Chances are that you would be competing with other Asian kids, kids from Stuyvesant, Bronx High and Brooklyn Tech (a lot like magnet schools) and their equivalent in other parts of the country. It would be virtually the same degree of competition if you were in the same selection pool with white kids from private prep schools; the bar would be set pretty high in either case.

Hope this helps.