<p>wow! thanks westalk!! that is super helpful. ok now i really do want to visit wesleyan. 
do you have tours? are they led by students? i really want to talk to current students. and do you require interviews? how can i set one up?</p>
<p>thanks so much for all your help!!!</p>
<p>How political is Wesleyan University? Is it a dominant aspect to the campus life? Is it as liberal as rumoured to be?</p>
<p>In dorms where parties are prevalent how uproarious is the environment. How major is that type of distraction from studying/sleeping, even If I wanted to take part in that?</p>
<p>Dear S8rgrl, you should definitely visit campus! During the summer the campus tours are Monday through Friday at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm. We also offer tours on Saturdays and Sundays at 12 pm. </p>
<p>In the fall semester the tours are at the same times Monday through Friday (9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm). However, on Saturdays we offer two tours–11 am and 1 pm. Sunday tours are still at the same time: 12 pm. We have some special holiday closings so be sure to check the University Calender [WESEvents</a> Calendar](<a href=“http://events.wesleyan.edu/]WESEvents”>http://events.wesleyan.edu/) before coming to campus.</p>
<p>All of our tours are led by current students with a wide variety of interests who can tell you a lot about life at Wes from a student’s perspective and be able to answer whatever questions you may have. </p>
<p>Interviews are not required but they are a highly recommended part of the application process. If you have the chance, I would definitely suggest coming to campus for an interview! To schedule a campus interview please call the Office of Admission (860) 685-3000 or send an email to: (<a href=“mailto:interview@wesleyan.edu”>interview@wesleyan.edu</a>). Please include your full name, address, phone number, WesID, and two preferred dates, specifying morning or afternoon in your email. If you cannot make it to campus for an interview, we also offer Alumni interviews. Here is the link for that if you would like to learn more or schedule an Alumni interview: [Interviews</a>, Admission - Wesleyan University](<a href=“http://wesleyan.edu/admission/visiting_campus/interviews.html]Interviews”>http://wesleyan.edu/admission/visiting_campus/interviews.html).</p>
<p>I hope to see you on campus!</p>
<p>TaxiDriver, here is the answer to your first question regarding politics at Wesleyan:</p>
<p>In many different college guide books and through anecdotal advice from other students, Wesleyan is portrayed as being politically charged and overwhelmingly liberal. The distinction that needs to be made between a liberal arts college and one that is liberal: the assumption that our school is overwhelmingly leftist is a common stereotype.</p>
<p>Wesleyan’s political life is just as diverse as the school’s student community and the social scene here. Students represent political views that span the entire spectrum of ideologies, from conservatives to liberals, and every shade of moderate views in between. And the truth of the matter is, many people also have little or no interest in politics, and that’s fine too. Essentially, students are allowed to feel however they want about any issue, and hold any political position, because everyone understands and accepts that because of whatever external circumstances that a person may be exposed to, such as the location and culture in which they were raised, they have have developed different perspectives on the world. In addition, for those that are passionate about politics, Wesleyan encourages intellectual debates and many of the political groups on campus such as the Cardinal Conservatives, Young Republicans, or the Wesleyan Democratic Society facilitate such conversations.</p>
<p>In addition, Wesleyan is rumored to be very politically active, which is again a stereotype. I do not particularly believe that more students are politically active at Wesleyan than at any of our peer institutions; rather, Wesleyan students are passionate individuals that seek to directly confront a situation rather than be passive aggressive about it. As a result, it seems as though students here are more politically active because they are driven to impart change when they see that it is needed. A good example of this is when the university formally rescinded recognition of a fraternity house on campus and prohibited students from entering the perimeters of the fraternity house. This immediately caused an uproar amongst many students on campus, and it was not necessarily because these students were affiliated with the fraternity in any way. Instead, students were upset because they saw it as the administration attempting to enforce control over their social lives. In addition, fraternities are one of many aspects of Wesleyan that make it unique; the institution could not claim to be diverse without including that option for those who seek it. Ultimately, the student government held a WSA forum at the fraternity where the president was invited to defend the administration’s decision and answer questions, and students found creative ways to lobby North College through the use of tents and signs. Ultimately, the university and the fraternity mended their relationship and were able to find a compromise, which would not have happened without the student body’s determination.</p>
<p>Although this seems like a trivial example, I said it just to showcase that when students are passionate about a topic, even if it seems as unimportant as the recognition of a fraternity, they seek to change it and are very proactive about it too. As a result, there are also huge changes that students are an influential aspect of even in the Middletown community and even beyond that across the nation, across the world. From the establishment of the Green Streets Art Center in Middletown, CT, all the way to the founding of a school for girls in the impoverished region of Kibera, Kenya, students empower themselves to promote change and fix many issues that cripple societies, and I think that’s a very unique facet of the student body at Wesleyan.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your detailed and insightful response.</p>
<p>Here is the answer to your second question, Taxidriver:</p>
<p>There certainly are some smaller parties that happen in dorms, but there isn’t a dorm known for being a ‘party dorm’ because of the many events happening on a given night. Additionally, parties in dorms really aren’t a major distraction from studying or sleeping. For underclassmen dorms, there is at least one RA per hallway. The RA’s are in charge of maintaining order, noise levels, and, most importantly, safety in the dorms. RA’s also institute “Quiet Hours” everyday to facilitate an environment where it is very easy to study/sleep. Dorm residents vote on when these hours are, so from year to year and dorm to dorm they are varied. In my dorm last year we had quiet hours starting at 11 pm Monday-Thursday and ending at 8 am the next day. Friday-Sunday quiet hours started at 2 am and lasted until 11 am the next day. My RA was very diligent in enforcing these above Quiet Hours and most people were very respectful of others by keeping their own noise level down. </p>
<p>I found that it was very easy to do work in my dorm, but for people who need complete silence, the library would probably be the best place for you (either Olin or SciLi). As for sleeping, the walls in the dorms are pretty thin so if you are a light sleeper I would suggest bringing a fan. </p>
<p>I hope this was helpful!</p>
<p>I recently heard that students have complained about the apparent “over booking” in the residential areas, and that quite a few people are finding themselves being placed in triples. How much of a concern is this?</p>
<p>Thank You very much for your time and insight. It is truly appreciated.</p>
<p>Taxidriver, here is the answer to your question regarding triples:</p>
<p>It is not so much an over booking in residential halls, rather the fact that the class of 2015 is over enrolled. More students who were offered admission to Wesleyan eventually accepted the offer and matriculated than had been predicted (from the very confusing yield formula that I could not even attempt to explain). The deans of admission aim for a class size of either at or around 750 students. In the beginning of summer, the class of 2015 was around 840 students. It has since decreased to 812 (students either getting off waitlists at other institutions, students taking a gap year, withdrawing for personal reasons, ect.). Since the University has enough housing for 750 freshmen, and now the class is over 800 students, the Office of Residential life was forced to convert some doubles in Fauver and Clark into triples. Its not like the University could build a new dorm overnight, or rescind the offer of admission to students they guaranteed it to, so forced triples were really the only option. </p>
<p>Wesleyan is not trying to increase the number of students, it really just happened due to a calculation error. For next years applying class (the potential Wesleyan class of 2016) the deans in admissions are once again going to aim for a class size of 750. The dorm rooms in Fauver and Clark that were converted into triples will all be returned to doubles, so it really should not be a concern whatsoever for future applicants. </p>
<p>Here is more information about triples (and pictures):
<a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/reslife/Triple%20Information%20Sheet.pdf[/url]”>http://www.wesleyan.edu/reslife/Triple%20Information%20Sheet.pdf</a></p>
<p>Here is some information about other first year housing options:
[First</a> Year Housing Options - Wesleyan University](<a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/reslife/ugrad_housing/frosh_reshall.html]First”>http://www.wesleyan.edu/reslife/ugrad_housing/frosh_reshall.html)</p>
<p>And finally, this is the Office of Residential Lifes homepage: [Office</a> of Residential Life - Wesleyan University](<a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/reslife/]Office”>Office of Residential Life - Wesleyan University)</p>
<p>Wesleying’s (hilarious) take on triples: </p>
<p>[2015:</a> Triple the Fun – Wesleying](<a href=“2015: Triple the Fun | Wesleying”>2015: Triple the Fun | Wesleying)</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>What are school publications like?
I’m looking for a school with interesting school publications. Ideally, I’d like to join a literary or humor magazine and an actual newspaper. </p>
<p>And I’m curious, how good is Wesleyan financial aid? I live with a single parent who can hardly afford to send me off to a school that costs 50k a year and I don’t want to get stuck with overwhelming loans to pay off.</p>
<p>Dear franzferdinand, I’m sorry it has taken so long to reply, we had our first full week of classes and I’ve just been extremely busy!!</p>
<p>Wesleyan has a wide variety of publications ranging from the bi-weekly newspaper The Wesleyan Argus to the once-a-semester creative arts magazine Ostranenie. In between there are student run journals across the academic disciplines, fashion magazines, photo publications, poetry magazines, and many others. The Argus has a humor section called The Ampersand which may be of interest to you. All of these publications are student run. Most publications are widely read by the student body.</p>
<p>Check out the Argus’ website here: [The</a> Wesleyan Argus](<a href=“http://www.wesleyanargus.com%5DThe”>http://www.wesleyanargus.com)</p>
<p>In regards to your second question, Wesleyan has a strong commitment to financial aid. While the cost of a Wesleyan education is quite substantial, the Office of Financial Aid will meet 100% of US citizens and eligible non-citizen’s demonstrated need. This aid will generally come in three forms: Grants which need not be paid back, Loans to be paid back following graduation, and work-study positions on campus (student jobs). Furthermore, student’s whose total family income is below $40,000 per year will only receive grants allowing them to graduate debt free.</p>
<p>More information can be found on the website of the Wesleyan Office of Financial Aid (which also has a calculator that can help you determine what your Aid Package may look like): [Financial</a> Aid - Wesleyan University](<a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/finaid/index.html]Financial”>Financial Aid Office, Wesleyan University - Middletown, CT - Wesleyan University)</p>
<p>I hope this helps!</p>
<p>Hi!! I am an international thinking of applying and thank you for answering my question!</p>
<p>While I was browsing through college *******, I came across a student review</p>
<p>“as Biology, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, and Chemistry students, we have the opportunity to spend one more year upon receiving a Bachelor’s degree, and emerge from that 5th year – after having taken graduate courses and carried out an independent research project – with a Master’s degree. It’s a golden deal, especially as tuition is waived for that extra year”</p>
<p>Since I am interested in biology and also knows that CP might not be the most accurate website, do you know if the statement is true?</p>
<p>Thank you so much for helping!!</p>
<p>Do you happen to know any film studies students? My daughter is interested in film production so is looking at the big CA and NY schools for that, but and I was wondering whether there is much opportunity specifically for film production at Wesleyan both in and out of class. She is a liberal arts person at heart with interests beyond film including languages and literature. I’m not confident that a traditional film production track at one of the glitzy schools will offer her enough dimensions. (AND even though she’s a stellar student, odds of getting those are very slim in general.)</p>
<p>@clairelisa0624:</p>
<p>Check out these links for info on opportunities to earn a graduate degree through a tuition-free fifth year of study at Wesleyan:</p>
<p>[Wesleyan</a> University - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“Wesleyan University - Wikipedia”>Wesleyan University - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>[Five</a> Year BA/MA Program, Neuroscience and Behavior - Wesleyan University](<a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/nsb/fiveyearprogram.html]Five”>BA/MA Program, Neuroscience and Behavior - Wesleyan University)</p>
<p>Hello WesTalk,
My daughter was told at another school that, although film studies classes at Wesleyan are open to all students, it is almost impossible for a non-film-studies major to get into one of the film classes. Now I see in the Argus that students are complaining about not being able to get into writing classes, even when they are pursuing a writing certificate. Is this an ongoing problem at Wesleyan?
Thanks</p>
<p>I have posted a similar comment on a couple of other school threads. I am a senior in high school and have narrowed my list of colleges. I have browsed on College Confidential until now, but am starting the application crunch time so I want to know more about these schools. These question threads seem like they should a good place to get information. I am interested in Davidson, Washington & Lee, Williams, Kenyon, Middlebury and a few others like Wesleyan, yes I know it’s different than most of the others. I like the inside information you see on CC but I am skeptical about these threads with current students offering to answer questions. The answers seem like they are scripted by Admissions people to put the best light on the school. I want to know the good and the bad before I make my final decision on these colleges. </p>
<p>My grades are very good, top 5% of my class. 6 APs (BC Calculus, Biology, Statistics, Spanish Language, U.S. History, World History, Physics B). 4s and 5s only so far. SAT1s are 2240. SAT2s are 780, Math 1 and 750 Biology. I am a cross country runner and I sing in our chorus, volunteer and other stuff. I think these schools are all at least possible for an acceptance and some for scholarships. </p>
<p>I want to work in college, but also want to have fun and am not political. I cant tell from these posts that look scripted whether I am getting real insight. Do I have to look at other threads to find out what is really going on? The only one with spirited discussion seems to be on Kenyons forum and it talks about why people should not go there, and then other people defend the school. I like the honesty there.</p>
<p>Wesleyan is the only college on your list located within a densely populated residential neighborhood. Even though you can walk a few hundred yards in one direction and feel you are in the country, the fact is, if you are not accustomed to locking your door when you leave your place of abode, or have never had a perfect stranger gate-crash a party you’re hosting, it could take some getting used to.</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>JW, clean out your PM box. It’s full.</p>