Villanova, Wesleyan or Colgate?

Compare College Acceptances
1

We went to Villanova’s admitted students day and it was amazing! Everyone was out, and it was a celebratory atmosphere. Teachers talked about their courses with enthusiasm. There were tables with students saying, “Come join our choir!” “Come join our band!” So now DC thinks she wants to go there.

I think it’s really unfair because we didn’t get to go to Wesleyan or Colgate’s admitted student days. So please could you give me your impressions? Especially about social aspects. Is there as much fun and things going on at Wesleyan and Colgate? The Villanova kids are a good looking bunch, not too nerdy or granola. My DC works really hard but life isn’t just about work!

My DC’s thoughts too are that Colgate is in the middle of nowhere and Middletown, CT, is depressed. The day we toured Wes it was really quiet. The opposite of the exciting, lively day at Villanova! Confused now! Thank you!

2

Please let your DC choose the college to attend. If they felt comfortable and want to go to Villanova, let them go there. It sounds like the school really clicked, and sometimes that is what makes the decision. Villanova is a terrific college, in a great location.

Three great options…and the gut feeling sounds like the right choice for your kid!

Congratulations. It sounds like your college student is ready to go!

2 Likes
3

I hear you. But I can’t help thinking you don’t choose a school because that one threw a big welcome party and the other two didn’t.

2 Likes
4

Kids pick colleges for all sorts of reasons that don’t seem to make sense. Some like the style of the buildings. Some like the flowers. Some like the weather the day they visited. Some like the dorms. Some like the ice cream place across the street.

Our younger kid went to visit her eventual undergrad school on a beautiful spring day…perfect temp, clear blue sky, roses were blooming. She was clearly smitten and there was no turning back.

We never second guessed her even though the weather was her thing. She felt at home, and loved the campus. That is what mattered most.

2 Likes
5

With choices such as these, I concur. I hope your child continues to consider all three of these appealing schools. If Villanova is indeed the right choice, it should be able to withstand comments and comparisons from those who may participate in this topic.

3 Likes
6

I agree with your sentiment - you want everyone to get a fair shake - but some go to one, fall in love and that’s all it takes.

Of course, the admitted student day is awesome - it should be. If not, they’re not doing their job. But the fact that the kids look happy matters. Schools can put on a great show but the kids will be genuine/authentic so that part would be legit.

The student is right in that Colgate is isolated so if they don’t like that.

Wesleyan isn’t but it’s much smaller than Nova and perhaps that plays a part too.

The fact is - you just need to find one school. Two are getting eliminated and the student is the one going to school. So if Nova works, then good for them.

It will give them more academic choice too.

If they’re willing to see the others, then great - but if they want Nova, they’ll likely come away with the sentiment they shared - because they’ve already picked. But if they can go to pacify you, that’d be great too.

Best of luck to your student.

2 Likes
7

Thank you for taking the time to write. I guess I’m trying to get some information about the school experiences for anyone who went to one of these schools. I know my DC had a fun admitted students day at Villanova, but what about the its lack of diversity? I don’t mean its racial breakdown but rather the culture is pretty uniformly New Jersey/Philly area upper-middle class students. That could make someone from outside feel like an outsider? My DC is interested in film and theatre and Villanova doesn’t have a theatre major. While Wesleyan has one of the top film schools in the country (#6 according to the Hollywood Reporter). There are just so many factors.

8

Wes has put a lot of people in the film industry. No clue about Villanova. If that’s the desire, yes, it seems the school choice may be odd. Also, Villanova is Catholic - does that matter?

Villanova shows 50 states and 56 countries.

This is now 3rd party - College Factual - but assuming it’s right, yes it’s regionalized but it makes sense as a Catholic University as many are regional. But they still have varied representation. And it’s not overly racially diverse but has some.

State Number of Students Percent
New Jersey 402 24.29%
Pennsylvania 283 17.10%
New York 276 16.68%
Massachusetts 128 7.73%
Connecticut 104 6.28%
Illinois 65 3.93%
Maryland 58 3.50%
California 54 3.26%
Florida 43 2.60%
Virginia 38 2.30%
Texas 22 1.33%
Ohio 21 1.27%

Wes also says from 50 states and 64 countries - obviously as a smaller school it has more international diversity.

College Factual has these #s - again third party - but they also have a NE bent (taking out CA). Not really as far off as you think.

New York 136 21.02%
California 84 12.98%
Massachusetts 66 10.20%
New Jersey 58 8.96%
Connecticut 53 8.19%
Pennsylvania 30 4.64%
Illinois 28 4.33%
Maryland 23 3.55%
Texas 20 3.09%
Washington 20 3.09%

It says 32% POC on the website but to be apples to apples, I looked at first year classes in the CDS and Nova shows 1174 of 1778 or 66% white. Wes shows 53% white.

Given the major, I do understand your trepidation and maybe you can talk to your student about that - to see how firm their interests are. If it’s theatre and not film, maybe it’s less a concern - you might see what opportunities the schools say are available.

Villanova does show alums in the film industry - so maybe the department of communication can tell you more.

It’s great you want to ensure the right school - and hopefully your student will look more into that - but in all honestly, some students just want the “right” school because they’re 17 - and as you know, kids desires and majors change and while it’s a concern to you, it may not be to them. After all, a student with those interests likely wouldn’t have applied to Colgate or Nova in the first place.

Here’s a link I found from Nova as well which might help.

Villanova on Set | Villanova University

In the end, I’d suggest going with your student’s gut - but maybe you can at least convince them to do a visit to Wes - maybe tie it in with something fun - like it’s a stop along the way of a nice weekend.

Good luck

9

I didn’t go to Wes, nor does my D23, but it was a very close second choice for her when she was making her decision last year (it really could have gone either way). We visited (not admitted students’ day, b/c it didn’t work for our schedule), and I found it to be extremely lively. Lots of activity around campus, and when we left, people were gathering to watch a baseball game on the field a the center of the main quad. It impressed me as a very energetic campus. And I’m familiar with Middletown, having lived in Connecticut, and I wouldn’t characterize it as sleepy or quiet (or depressed) at all. It’s a middle-class Connecticut town, so it doesn’t have the amenities of Philadelphia, but there’s plenty to do, and it’s close to a lot. So maybe you just hit it on an off day or time? Overall, my impression of Wes is that students there tend to enjoy nerdy and artsy kinds of fun – don’t know how that works with your child’s personality.

Colgate is very social, probably even more so because there’s less to do in town (and town is harder to get to from the hilltop), so social life tends to center around campus. My niece is there now (and a few members of my husband’s family have attended over the years), and students there seem very active and happy. My impression of Colgate’s social life is that it’s more of a work hard/play hard kind of scene.

5 Likes
10

Thank you, Shelby! Will pass on your comments to my DC. The day we went, we tried to eat at 2 restaurants in Middletown and they were closed. We ended up eating at Perk on Main, which wasn’t that close to campus on foot, twice. I’m happy to hear you say it is an energetic campus. I think traditions will be really important for the whole college experience. I have to say, it’s a little odd to me that there is so little information on YouTube/sm from Wesleyan students. If you look for, say, Boston College, there are students talking in depth about school traditions, pros and cons. But for Wesleyan, there are only a couple of very old videos of people waking up in their dorm and walking to their class. I guess this adds to the low energy impression.

1 Like
11

Thank you, again! Sorry for the hand-wringing. DC didn’t get into the dream school, so that’s why there’s so much uncertainty.

12

Villanova is a more regional school.

If your child is interested in film and theater it is hard for me to understand why Wesleyan isn’t at the top of his list. I also wouldn’t characterize the area around Wesleyan as sleepy; in fact it’s known for its restaurant scene. Plus within striking distance of NYC.

Any way to revisit?

7 Likes
13

I am very intrigued by yours and the other comment about the area around Wesleyan NOT being sleepy or depressed. When we visited, you could see tumbleweeds rolling through and many things were closed. And the streets empty.

14

Colgate and Nova both participate in Division I sports. So, there’s that similarity. The kids at Wesleyan are a bit more overtly academic but as a NESCAC college, there are no shortage of fit looking students walking about.

It would just seem that between the weekend sports events (including football played right in front of the library) and the theater and dance offerings, there ought to be a menu of things at Wes that could be described as “fun” to do.

But fun at a NESCAC registers a little differently than it might at a bigger university. Does DC want to rush a fraternity? My understanding is that 30% of the students at Nova are members of either a fraternity or sorority.

But I agree with the rest of the room. It’s the child’s call.

1 Like
15

We are from London, so Greek Life is a novelty, and DC is interested, especially the way they are run at Nova and Wes, which seems to be Greek-lite. DC will ultimately choose, but I’m keen to make sure we have all the information we can get. If you look on YouTube there are so many videos for some schools, say, Boston College. Students make videos and you really get a feel for their love of the school. Whereas there is almost nothing at all for Wes! I am curious why not!

16

This may be a way in which Wesleyan’s cachet as a film school destination works against folk tossing off YouTube videos. The people you would think most interested in that sort of thing are too busy producing senior theses and maybe actually learning their craft?

1 Like
17

We don’t live in NJ or Philly. We know at least 10 kids who attend or attended Villanova. They loved it there. Great school spirit too. Some played in the pep band for basket ball games…tons of fun.

You need to find out how many of the classes in that film school are available to those who are not films majors. We also know Wesleyan kids. Two of our neighbors have/hd kids there. Great school. Both of these kids liked the open curriculum and feel of the campus. One actually transferred there from NYU. Both wished the school was closer to a more major metro area…no car needed.

We only know a couple of colgate grads. They liked the location, and felt the education they got was great. Coincidentally, both work in a tech field, but neither majored in CS or the like in undergrad school.

1 Like
18

What day of the week were you there?

1 Like
19

I would not judge a college based on the number of YouTube videos you see from students.

2 Likes
20

Yeah, if you were there on a Sunday, it’s possible that would explain it. I don’t know if it’s changed, but when I lived in Connecticut, a lot of businesses were closed on Sundays. And restaurants often close on Mondays (though I think this is less common now). If the college was on break or in the middle of exams, that might also bring the activity level down.

4 Likes