<p>As one of only 2 universities in the NESCAC athletic conference, our D (athletic recruit and science major) was drawn to Wes by the possibility of greater research opportunities (on top of NESCAC high-quality academics+athletics). She loved her overnight campus visit, high level of student engagement in class discussions, quality coaches and students she met. </p>
<p>Around the time she was debating ED vs. RD we stumbled across 3 independent sources who characterized Wes as an ultra-liberal culture of hipsters and pseudo-militant feminists, and where blatant pot-smoking is commonplace. Level of inclusion and open-mindedness for those with opposing opinions is unclear. None of these issues came across during the campus visits, but the fact that three sources concurred was cause for notice. A picture of a very different Wes than we’d imagined began to emerge. </p>
<p>Security is another question mark. During our first tour, within moments of our tour guide touting the secure environment, we passed a newspaper kiosk with headlines declaring a chronic campus security problem (either students vs.Administration or college-town tensions). Sounds like the Administration is under siege; is a changing of the guard immanent?</p>
<p>We loved the school’s size, academic reputation, competitive athletics, beautiful campus (library especially!) and inviting town/surroundings. We’d been so excited about possibilities at Wes, but the sum of the concerns above added up. We wondered if these issues were behind the decline in rankings.</p>
<p>Thanks skipmaxim for addressing some of these issues above. Anyone else willing to weigh in on these concerns?</p>