My understanding is they’ve been spread out over several weeks this year; there have been two already. Any thoughts, questions, suggestions?
We attended the one on April 6. Here’s my feedback and suggestions:
The welcome address from Amin Abdul-Malik Gonzalez was great. Very genuine about his own experience. D26 and I thought he made Wes look great!
The address from Pres. Roth was a little more polarizing for us. He’s such a phenomenal speaker, highly opinionated, and passionate. Love that element of it! But some of his comments didn’t exactly acquit him or Wesleyan very well, in my opinion. He was asked a question about campus protests and D26 noted that he gave sort of a non-answer to it. My wife and I both thought the answer was fine since he’s the pres and has some limitations on what he could say. But D26 wanted to real opinion versus the hedge. I was more surprised by his own personal story of trying to get into a senior-only class as a freshman. FWIW, D26 is comparing Wes to Haverford with the strong honor code. This was basically the antithesis of that where a student might try to lie to get into a class. This was a small thing, but I thought pretty telling about how Wes students might have a much more independent streak versus one focused on community. Just a little anecdote as we tried to get a real feel for the college.
The student panel for parents was fine, but I’d probably argue could have done with either fewer student speakers OR maybe asking the students to not all respond. For each question, often all four students would answer and the answers would be awfully similar. It just took a lot of time and not all questions could be answered. This isn’t the end of the world since we ended up talking to more students, but just something to consider.
D26s student panel was a bit of a bust. She came away with the impression that academics weren’t that important to the students. They focused on their extracurriculars and then had a litany of complaints. She noted that the complaints she heard in her student panel were similar to the complaints that students make at her own high school about facilities, etc. It made her feel like she was back in her high school, which isn’t what she wanted. I think this is just a vibe of the students on the panel, but it did leave that impression for D26. Not sure much to be done.
D26 then attended the master class. She noted that she was expecting a seminar, but it was really a discussion of what they would have talked about in the class, not actually a sort of simulation of what the class discussion would be. Just a mismatch in terms of expectations.
D26 and I then did the Exley science center tour. This was WAY oversubscribed since there was only one possible tour to take during the day. We started with maybe 30 or 40 students (PLUS accompanying parents) with a single student tour guide. It was a little overwhelming and could have done with breaking the group apart. That said, the tour was overall good in terms of not just seeing the facilities, which we understand are changing/moving, but more to hear about this student’s experience. Very helpful! Talked about getting into classes, what they’re like, accessing research, etc. All good stuff and D26 and I both thought we had a good idea of how it all works.
We had lunch in Usdan which was great! It was also great that this is held on an active school day because we could see lots of students, how they interacted, etc. Great choice of day!
We ended up leaving after lunch since D26 thought she had seen enough. I may have missed this, but I noted we couldn’t see or talk to folks about specific majors and programs. They had the small major program, which did look interesting, but maybe there were more departments/majors to explore later in the day. D26 did want to see the senior thesis showcases, but didn’t want to wait around for it that late in the day.
Overall, I thought Wesleyan puts on a good production! The tour group size and only having one available tour for the sciences was the one thing that would be great to solve in the future. The type of students on the panels could maybe use some deliberate thought about getting STEM students there. At least in the parent’s panel, answers about STEM which a couple of parents had started with “Well, my roommate is doing bio, and he says…” Not ideal, but again, not a deal-breaker.
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My S26 and I spent yesterday at Wesleyan for Admitted Student day. He’s committed already, an ED2 admit, but he wanted to go back to see it from that lens.
Parking was easy, signage was clear. We made it through registration quickly. There was so much to do! And so much to choose from. It was a little overwhelming to make those decisions quickly, but we started our experience with welcome speeches by the Dean of Admissions and President Roth. President Roth is a very dynamic and charismatic speaker—it was fun to listen to him and he really set the stage for what sets Wesleyan apart (including that independent streak noted above). We did have to duck out a bit early because my S26 wanted to sit in on a class that started before the speech ended. Slightly awkward but we figured it out.
My son really liked the class. It was called The Secrets of Ancient Bones. I’m sure it is challenging for professors to open up their classrooms to admitted students and potentially their parents (I didn’t go to class with my son), but it was hugely appreciated.
I went to the Parent panel, which featured 4 students answering questions. It was good, pretty standard Q&A about the usual things. Someone did call out Wesleyan’s rep for drug use, but the panelists handled it well.
My son went to the College of Letters presentation, since he’s interested in philosophy and history. He enjoyed it, said it was standing room only. He met up with someone he’s been chatting with on Instagram so that was cool too.
Then he went to the Tour of the Exley Science Center. He loved the maker space in the basement and wants to spend all his spare time there when he goes. They didn’t make it all the way to the top to see the math department (my son’s other interest) but he liked the tour overall.
I went to the Career Center Director’s presentation. It was both thoughtful and useful, and I was pleased to see how proactive they are with engaging students early in their time at Wesleyan. Also reassured to see how positive the outcomes are at Wesleyan. My son is not in the least bit “pre-professional” so I hope that the center’s resources can guide him toward options over time.
We then had lunch at Usdan. It was busy, with lots of good options. I had a moment where I was looking for my son and I realized the dining hall was full of “his people” — I couldn’t find him easily. He’s into fashion and it’s usually easy to spot him but at Wes there were many kids who seemed to use fashion to express themselves and it was amazing and reassuring to see.
After lunch we went to the center for fine arts tour. This was our only bummer—my son is a visual artist and the tour didn’t include any of those facilities. It was very theater, dance, and film oriented. We left early and popped into a few galleries instead.
Then we hit the bookstore and the model “dorm” set up. We were tired by then and needed a break. Stopped at Perkatory for a coffee and brownie.
Overall, I thought the day was terrific. We ended up roaming all over campus and by the end, knew where things were and started feeling quite at home. The weather improved a lot by afternoon and when we went back for an evening stroll, it was so cool to see dozens of kids hanging out on Foss hill.
My suggestions for improvement are minor, but could go a long way toward helping families make the most of their time:
- Send the itinerary options ahead of time. There are so many choices. Picking activities and figuring out the timing of our day was a little hectic and could be easily solved by sending things in advance.
- Include fine arts classrooms and studios in the arts tour!
- Include a sample or real freshman dorm. The set up they had at the campus store didn’t feel realistic as far as size and configuration. We didn’t see a dorm when we did the campus tour last fall and didn’t see one yesterday. We did go to the virtual meeting where students showed their dorms so we have seen the dorms, but a live visit would have been great.
There were plenty of sessions we didn’t go to but we did the things that mattered most to S26. Everyone we met was friendly and helpful, including people who stopped to help us when we looked like we weren’t sure where we were going.
All in all, we are happy S26 will be headed to Wes in September!
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Why would they pick these students to represent them.
Sure, it’s impossible to know what students will say and it’s important to be transparent, but if the chosen students are complaining cant imagine how the other students are feeling.
This hits very close to home (S26 is an Oliver) lolololol
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What I’m hearing here is that dividing the events into multiple weekends was probably a good idea (I can’t imagine all of you being there at the same time!) But nevertheless, there seemed to be a bit of a stampede at the very outset, when the itineraries were being given out. Is that right?
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A gentle reminder to the next wave of “Yes to Wes” participants: ask your student to check their email (a schedule should have arrived 3 days prior to the event.)
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Will do. We go Tuesday but haven’t received anything yet. Thanks!
I have access to my S26’s email and he didn’t receive a schedule 3 days ahead of time. He received a more generic email reminding him about parking and what not. But nothing that outlined the detail of various sessions. (It seems you may be taking this info back to Wesleyan admissions—so in case it’s useful, that was our experience). We also emailed a few days ahead and asked specifically about opportunities to see the fine arts facilities and about sitting in on classes, with no response.
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Wow. It’s always confounding when something like that happens. Rest assured this forum gets eyeballs!
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There is a reason they don’t show the freshman dorms. There are many things to like about Wesleyan, but housing is not one of them. I don’t mean typical college terrible, but really really terrible. You will be truly offended at spending the money for room and board. I don’t think some of them could pass a basic health inspection.
Well, that’s not true:
Maybe not much to write home about: a desk, a chair, a harvard mattress. Far from “terrible”.
From 2019:
A Comprehensive Evaluation of First-Year Dorms – The Wesleyan Argus
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I agree. My daughter lived in West Co for 2 years (one as an RA). Then in the ADP house after her semester abroad, and now she’s in a wood-frame. The dorms are not as swanky as on many college campuses, but the kids are not usually the ones complaining. I think it’s good for them to have common bathrooms for a while, get used to the misery of shower shoes, etc. They are provided with everything they need.
I also feel (as someone who works on a college campus that has invested a TON of money building fancy dorms), that I’d much rather my kid be at a school that puts its resources toward things like: full-time faculty, financial aid, and student counseling. All of which we have been very happy with in her time at Wesleyan.
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In an age where few traditions remain, it is truly endearing to hear that 70 years after the first piece of Scotch tape attached an album cover to its cinder block walls, young people are still navigating the common bathrooms, organizing “hall meetings”, and propping open the balcony doors of Wesleyan’s mid-century modern West College dorms.
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How’d it go?
Yeah, I don’t see anything objectionable about Wes’s dorms. My kid has had few complaints. They aren’t beautiful, but they are perfectly functional. And the wood frames fourth year feel special.
I do think, however, that they should include an actual dorm room tour in the admitted student day. They still did that a couple of years ago when my kid was visiting, and it was very helpful to helping them see themselves there. Same with my second kid at the school they will be attending; seeing a dorm room and common areas made it feel much more real. I think it’s a mistake for Wesleyan to stop doing this.
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Privacy issues….
My freshman dorm was on the “official” university tour (a million years ago, not at Wesleyan) and it was annoying/disconcerting/offensive to be walking out of the shower (in a robe and towel) and to have 20 parents and 10 HS kids yelling questions at you.
It was an old, historic building with some very cool architectural features so I understand why it was on the tour (very different vibe from the cinderblock high rises most people expect to see). But people have no boundaries (and that was in a more polite age). The tour would head off to a Civil War memorial across the street and a group of parents would stay behind and knock on random doors to say “Hey, my kid is applying here, do you mind if I check out your dorm room?” or worse, their kid knocking on random doors to say “I smell weed. Do the campus police bust you for having weed around here?”
People no longer behave, so the dorm tours at most colleges have been canceled.
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I would think that holding multiple events would equate to smaller groups of kids and parents at each gathering. This means more work for the Wes onboarding staff but more individual attention for the kids/folks. And I would think that most kids who are interested in LACs would be into that sort of small-group interaction, so this should vibe with most.
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Not to belabor or debate this, but of the four admitted student day tours that D26 did, at two she saw a dorm room and two she didn’t. So, it’s a choice for the administration and not a privacy issue for all colleges. The student that selects a college where they did a dorm tour might have to expect that there will be outsiders in their dorms from time-to-time doing tours.