The Freeman Scholars Program was funded by one of the founders of AIG. The family was pretty good at making sound, conservative investments and the scholarship program has been around for over 30 years.
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According to the National Science Foundation, Wesleyan received nearly $11 million in total R&D funding for fiscal year 2024:
NSF – NCSES Academic Institution Profiles – Wesleyan U. : Federally funded R&D expenditures, by federal agency: 2024–15.
Richmond received $2.9 million. UR faculty awarded more than $2 million for research in the sciences and humanities - URNow - University of Richmond.
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I meant - when I said what you need to do to get the funding - do you need to keep a GPA, etc and how hard is it do so. I haven’t looked at these two but some (especially when school funds are involved) may have an onerous GPA requirement (like a 3.5) although most seem to be a 3.0 and others just academically in good standing.
Then I made a comment about the Wes funding - how reliable is it (I’d assume it is but would check). Perhaps that’s what you’re alluding to here.
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It’s technically a merit scholarship program, one of maybe two sponsored by Wesleyan. He’s not going to be left in the lurch if by some chance, AIG goes under.
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Haven’t seen this mentioned yet, but Wesleyan will complete its new science building in the fall of '26, housing departments of biology, chemistry, molecular biology & biochemistry. It is a very nice project that will not only provide cutting edge new facilities but will create a really nice space on campus. It’s going to be quite something.
Though Wesleyan is well known for excellence in the arts and film, it is also one of the strongest liberal arts colleges in the country in the natural sciences. Research opportunities abound and are generally more than you typically would find at similarly sized schools. It’s a wonderful academic institution - my D is a graduate - with a lot to offer. I don’t know that much about Richmond so I’ll let others speak to it as an option.
You mentioned that you might wind up focusing on business. I’ll just mention Wes has a strong econ department and they send kids into finance and consulting regularly.
Congratulations for earning two great opportunities, and good luck.
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In my opinion, you need to revisit these colleges. We have been to both (more than one time for various reasons). My opinion…one is more liberal, and the other more conservative…although you can likely find like minded folks at both colleges.
Congratulations on two excellent acceptances. The academics are both very solid…so start looking at other factors…weather, ease of travel to home, proximity to the town, activities and clubs you might enjoy, etc.
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I think given the fact that you can’t visit either campus and given the present state of American politics, you probably can’t go wrong choosing the more “liberal” campus, even if it’s just a “vibe” rather than a substantive difference between the two schools. You’re grabbing at straws and it might as well be the straw that feels the most welcoming as a visitor from a different culture.
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Hi everyone. After much consideration over the past three weeks, I’ve made my decision and just committed to Wesleyan University. Thank y’all a million for so many valuable advice and perspectives. I’d also like to thank College Confidential as a whole; I learned so much from these posts during my application season. Truly appreciate it.
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Congrats! Hope you have a wonderful experience.
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Congrats!