North East Liberal Arts Colleges Social Life

College Search & Lists
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<p>Vassar, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Amherst, and Tufts are my top college choices. I want to apply early decision, but I’m having trouble deciding which one to choose.</p>

<p>Since all of these liberal arts colleges are very selective, small, and are academically rigorous, I’m starting to focus on at which college I will have the most fun and be most accepted (I’m gay <3). I like that Wellesley and Tufts are near Boston which has many other colleges in the area to access. However, I worry about the lack of on-campus social events/parties at Wellesley (the only way to go to good parties–so I’ve heard–is by tram to MIT/Harvard on the weekends), and I have heard from a couple of students that go to Tufts that the school is overly rigorous, and the students I know who go there do not like it because of this. </p>

<p>I like Amherst’s connection and proximity to the other colleges in Amherst, MA (U Mass, Smith, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke), but it is the most selective school I am looking at, and I worry about the rigorous academics undermining my social experience as well as my ability to be accepted there anyways. </p>

<p>For Wesleyan, the only thing I am curious about is the atmosphere of Middletown, CT. I am from the South so I don’t know much about Connecticut or the people/students there at all. </p>

<p>I love Vassar’s campus, and the students there seemed great. I just don’t know what the social scene is like. I know that Poughkeepsie, NY is a very small town. I am curious whether the small size of the town affects the social opportunities and whether there are fun on-campus social events/parties. I was also curious how often students from Vassar go to New York City on the weekends. </p>

<p>If you go to any of these colleges, please give your input about your experience. And if you have any other helpful information please let me know. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

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<p>Middletown and Wesleyan have developed a very simbiotic relationship over the years. The town is very diverse economically with everything from high-end condominiums to soup kitchens all within a few miles of each other. The area around Wesleyan is predominantly working class and supplies the university with a great deal of its workforce. In return, Wesleyan has led the way in maintaining the small-scale, residential flavor of the neighborhood, mainly by adaptive re-use of the many houses that dot the campus and line its peripheral streets. Unlike Yale, another school located in a working-class Connecticut city, nearly three-quarters of all Wesleyan upper-classmen choose to live outside of traditional dormitories. This gives the campus a rather lively, cosmopolitan atmosphere that you won’t find at most comparable LACs.</p>

<p>Downtown Middletown is only a few short blocks away, but it isn’t always easy coaxing Wesleyan students off “the hill”. Those who do venture into the Main Street area do so mainly to dine out, do volunteer work, or to watch the occasional “chick-flick” (it must be tough running a movie theater less than four blocks from one of the best venues for movie watching in the country - the Wesleyan Film Series). There is also a modest bar scene for those students who are old enough to drink legally.</p>

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<p>All these schools will have vibrant on-campus activities etc. I would assume Tufts has probably the best social scene because it is bigger and closer to Boston (I think) and I haven’t heard that Tufts is overly rigorous (that’s what Swarthmore, Reed, UChicago etc. are for) Wellesley is in a nice suburb like 13 miles (I think) from Boston, Amherst is in a pretty active college town, Wesleyan has a wonderful small city that I personally liked alot. The main street was charming, friendly, but still lively. Vassar (and Wesleyan) are probably the most alternative/liberal/indie music and I’ve heard that Vassar has an highly active social/dating scene that is very involved with the LGBT community. These schools definitely have different vibes, so do some reserch and see what school you think fits the most. Also, these schools have different curriculums, so keep that in mind.</p>

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<p>^^The “problem” - if you can call it that - with Tufts is that it is just close enough to Boston to draw a lot of people away from campus on the weekends and even the weekday socializing tends to take place at Davis Square, a trendy neighborhood which is a train stop away. This is not an argument against attending Tufts so much as an observation - one I’ve also made at Columbia and Barnard, two other schools where students spend a lot of time riding the subway. None of them are known for having a small college “bubble” typical of an LAC.</p>