<p>Just want to let all those who are considering applying to Wesleyan to think twice!
My child is currently a junior.
Registering for classes is a nightmare! My child always gets 2 classes out of 4 then is stuck having to take classes they have no interest in. Every semester there is at least one dance, music or other class that has nothing to do with his major.
Just yesterday during registration he put his 6 class choices and got 1!!! Now has to fill the other 3 with classes he has no interest in. MOST IMPORTANTY, because you can never get into classes (until 2nd semester senior year) it is almost impossible to double major AND study abroad unless you are willing to pay for extra classes over the summer or winter term.
HOUSING is the same situation - very random - if you get a bad lottery number as my child did you will end up with No housing and they will find you a place by August. Given the amount of crime on many of the streets surrounding Wesleyan this is a big problem because what us usually available in August are houses on those streets. My student gets an email at least once a week about a crime committed on campus - usually beating and thievery not resulting in a hospital stay. We begged our child to transfer last year but did not take our advice and now regrets it. Last thing, advisors are a joke - you have to seek them out to do their job - if your not interested in having to constantly remind them what they have to do this will drive you crazy.</p>
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<p>That sounds horrible.</p>
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<p>Safety on campus is certainly a serious subject and I’m sorry if anything bad has befallen your child. But, even assuming <em>arguendo</em> that what you say is true, forty students a year out of a population of 3000 works out to a .01 chance of being mugged during the school year.</p>
<p>Baloney on both counts. </p>
<p>any current students on hear that can talk about the registration process and getting into classes they want</p>
<p>My son attends Wesleyan and I have heard about the somewhat chaotic registration process. He generally is not granted all his top course choices immediately. By monitoring the registration site and signing up when openings appear, he has been successful in ending up with classes that are both relevant to his majors (dual) and that he is excited about. While it is not a perfect system his resourcefulness and persistence have paid off. Housing has not been a problem for him and advising has been fine.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s just that I’m not familiar with your nomenclature, but I’d say either a 1 out of 75 chance, or a little over 1% chance (1.3%).</p>
<p>Then, also arguendo, since the base numbers are perhaps apocryphal, for fours years the chances would be 1 out of 19, or ~5%.</p>
<p>Maybe Wesleyan needs some fundamental changes and a whole lot of cash.</p>
<p>Or, 6% if you include summer school.</p>
<p>When someone creates a profile on CC just to slam a school, I am always suspicious of the veracity of the claims and the “agenda” that the person has. </p>
<p>Well, I’d really like physics because that’s my major, but I’ll have to settle for . . . dance. Is that even plausible?</p>
<p>The 4 year grad rate for Wesleyan is 88%, the 6 year is 92%, both at the top of the charts. I’d like to know how that is possible if you are only able to get into half of your required classes each semester. Would you have us believe that students changed their majors in order to graduate on time? I call BS.</p>
<p>I would like to hear from Wesleyan students about this. Absolutely if this school is worse than its peers, for the price they charge and the rep they inpart, they should address this issue. Can’t run with the panthers when you are lumbering like an ox. Not quite the case, I know, but if this is a problem that students are encountering more than at peer LACs, it should be fixed.</p>
<p>My only knowledge about Wesleyan is that my son’s friend graduated in 3 years from there and is now attending an Ivy League grad school. He certainly did not find it difficult to get out in less than 4 years and he loved the school. Biggest impediment was he would have loved to have stayed an extra year, but money was an issue. </p>
<p>A awful lot depends on what the majors are. It is much easier if they are overlapping or share a lot of cross-registered classes. And, since @cptofthehouse‌ mentioned “Panthers”, here is one neuroscience majors take at Middlebury:
<a href=“Middlebury vs. Bowdoin - #4 by NeuroMidd7 - Middlebury College - College Confidential Forums”>Middlebury vs. Bowdoin - #4 by NeuroMidd7 - Middlebury College - College Confidential Forums;
The OP seems particularly concerned that he or she can’t fit all the courses they’d like into their schedule, double-major, AND take a year off and spend it abroad. Well, look at it this way: you’re basically trying to fulfill the requirements of two majors within three years. Duh!</p>
<p>Current Wesleyan student here - while pre-registration can definitely be a stressful process, I have never heard of it being as large an issue as stated here. Yes, I know students who will only get two classes in the first registration round, but these are the same students who have first pick of classes left with open spots during adjustment.</p>
<p>I have managed to get the majority of classes I am interested because I quickly learned the power of the drop-add period. If you NEED a class (for a major) and e-mail the professor early enough in the process letting them know, when spots open up you can rest assured you will get it. That being said, you may not always get the classes you WANT the first time you register for them, but in my experience I have always been able to structure schedules I am happy with.</p>
<p>Also I know many, many students who double-major and work pre-registration just fine.</p>
<p>We have a daughter at Wes who loves the place. No major issues on classes, advisor, housing or crime. Similar feedback from her many friends there. Sorry for anyone’s bad experience (and what sounds like very bad luck), but warning everyone away based on what happens to one student is way off base. No place is perfect, but Wes is a great school and we are glad to have our daughter there. </p>
<p>Also a current parent with a junior student at Wes. My son has breezed through registrations and is going to graduate a semester early with a double major – actually he’s taking advantage of program where he hangs out his last semester at very discounted tuition writing his thesis so he’ll be there all 4 years (I couldn’t pry him from the place early if I tried). I know his experience with registration is not universal. Students in really competitive majors (film, gov …) tend to work harder to get their first choices, but I must say that fighting for that special class that famous prof is part of college life everywhere. And I must say they all seem pretty darn happy!</p>
<p>Seems like ECON 101 to me: a simple case of supply and demand. Keeping the classes on the smaller side means less of a supply. The popular classes will have high demand. I don’t want to belittle the poster’s concern, but the registration concern likely would keep prospies away from pretty much every undergraduate institution in the United States. I have heard similar complaints about Ivy Institutions, state Us and even Haverford College. </p>
<p>Can’t say that I am a huge fan of the housing, but then again it is better than many other schools. </p>
<p>What I do like about the place is that my kid is very happy.</p>
<p>Incidentally, my kid loved the dance class he took.</p>
<p>It’s worth noting that OP has not visited CC since the date of the original post. I refuse to give “hit and run” posters much consideration.</p>
<p>In econ popularity relates to, but does not equate with, scarcity. Scarcity relates to an imbalance between supply and demand (popularity). So a college, given time, should be able to match these two forces. Without making a specific comment on Wesleyan, it’s fair to believe that some colleges are better at serving their students in this area than others.</p>
<p>Of course this is also a function of the elasticity of the commodity. For example, a Film Studies department, given time to adjust, can be fairly elastic, the availability of a course with a particular Film Studies professor, much less so.</p>