Wesleyan University Pros and Cons?

[MWolf]

I’m sorry, but their methodology sucks, and they don’t actually understand what they’re doing.

To quote:

Because our ranking methodology is not just objective but also driven by algorithms and databases, its results emerge from a computational process and therefore not by direct human intervention.

So my wife leads one of the largest data institutes in the country, and laughed long and hard at this.

First of all:
Every single ranking systems uses algorithms. An “algorithm” is just a set of rules that a person writes.

Algorithm for putting a giraffe into the refrigerator:

1. Open refrigerator
2. Grab giraffe
3. Place giraffe in refrigerator.

There, I wrote an algorithm. Now magically, if I program this to a computer is will put a giraffe into my computer, right? After all, it’s an algorithm, and that the same as “magic spell”, but for computers, right?

Second:
A biased person will write algorithms which produce biased results. Just because a computer follows the biased instructions doesn’t magically erase the bias inherent in the algorithm

Third:
Databases are mostly biased, and even an unbiased algorithm will have biased results,if it is used on a biased database. More generally, GIGO.

So no, just because they’re using AI or “machine learning” doesn’t mean that they are magically free of bias.

I could think of a dozen ways offhand by which their results would be far more biased than anything done by USNews.

I’m getting REALLY tired of what I will now call Computational Gaslighting.

“It’s not biased because it was done by a COMPUTER, and computers aren’t inherently biased, right?! So it’s scientific truth, and we have to accept it!”

[GnarWhail]

yeah, but caltech is sure as shoot is not a liberal arts college–it’s a small science and engineering graduate school with a paltry number of undergraduates hanging around.
i’m pretty sure wes would take the number 2 AND the number 3 on those different lists regardless.
also too interesting takeaways form the small colleges & universities list are: oberlin being so highly ranked and CLARK @ 10.
that guy from clark’s mother running the academic influence list machine had nothing to do with that #10…

[GnarWhail]

it’s extremely important that we all take a stand on principles!
especially on lists!!
and super dooper especially when that list ranks wesleyan higher than williams and swarthmore!!!

[momofboiler1]

Please let’s get back on topic to the pros and cons about Wesleyan and not rankings. Thank you.

[cquin85]

Understand all that, but aside from their promotional language, which is what the rest of your post is about, how do they not know what they’re doing and why does their methodology suck?

Also, I’ve ever seen a moderator moderate a moderator. I’ve now had a peek behind the curtain.

[circuitrider]

Pros - Early Springs!

[circuitrider]

Stumbled upon this 12 year-old thread while surfing the internet and found that it illustrates a number of things including 1) that College Confidential threads have acquired a huge digital footprint when it comes to topics around college choice, and 2) a reminder that it’s been years since CC has seen anything like this level of participation from actual college students. Anyway, a lot of what the posters have to say are still true today and I thought it would be useful to provide the link:
I need reasons to go or not to go to Wesleyan - Colleges and Universities A-Z / Wesleyan University - College Confidential Forums

[GardenintheMorning]

This is interesting.

I am a parent and I come to College Confidential expecting mostly other parents. There are some students here still but yes less than in the past.

The Facebooks Groups are also all basically parents.

When I am looking for student comments and opinions of a school or program I hunt around on Reddit etc.

However, I have noticed that sometimes a student actually comes to CC or a FB group specifically because they are looking for grown up help. Sometimes these are students frustrated by a lack of school or home guidance.

So I guess they know where to find us the way we know how to find them.

[circuitrider]

It’s interesting that in this era of rank ordering and endless list-making, that Forbes actually includes commentary with each of its yearly surveys. Here’s the thumbnail sketch for (#54) Wesleyan:

“Founded in 1831, Wesleyan University is a rural private liberal arts institution located in the heart of Middletown, Connecticut. The highly selective university offers undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. degree programs from 45 majors and 31 minors, and students can receive specialized learning from its 8:1 student-faculty ratio. Wesleyan has a small but mighty network of about 3,000 full-time undergraduates and offers 800 individual tutorials and private music lessons to students. The 316-acre campus has more than 300 buildings including an observatory, an athletic center, and an ice rink for skating or hockey. Wesleyan’s student engagement remains high, with about 900 students taking part in intercollegiate sports every year. Just as robust as its athletic profile are the number of extracurricular activities available to students. More than 200 organizations are available from the seemingly endless range of opportunities including martial arts, acapella singing, and even a stand-up comedy club. Famous alumni include Hamilton playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda and film director Michael Bay.”

Wesleyan University

[Publisher]

Do you consider Wesleyan University’s location to be rural ?

Middletown’s population is about 50,000 and that may not include the vast majority of Wesleyan’s students.

[circuitrider]

I actually don’t. The immediate neighborhood around Wesleyan is a mixture of old Victorian houses most of which are owned by the college and modern day, city-owned apartments. It’s possible however, to mistake the generous green spaces and set backs that pervade the campus for those of a rural college:

[GardenintheMorning]

I wouldn’t describe Wesleyan as rural no. It has a Main Street vibe very different from a big city but not rural.

[Bill_Marsh]

In terms of pros and cons, there is a distinct advantage in applying to Wesleyan vs the other NESCAC colleges.

Wesleyan offers all of the same advantages as any other small LAC. Comparing Wesleyan to Williams, as one example of the NESCAC group, both schools have about the same number of student-athletes. Using Forbes number of 900, this mean that in any incoming freshman class, Williams with an overal enrollment of about 2000 will reserve about 225 of 500 spots for student-athletes, leaving only about 275 spots for everyone else. Because of its larger enrollment (3000), Wesleyan’s freshman class if 750 will allot 525 spots to non-student athletes after their 225 incoming athletes have been accounted for. These are round numbers.

Bottom line is that a student applying to Wesleyan purely as an academic candidate has almost double the number of spots (525 vs 275) to compete for as compared with applying to Williams purely as an academic candidate. This is a big distinction in my view and a real positive for applying to Wesleyan vs other highly selective NESCAC schools.