Wesleyan vs. Middlebury vs. Bowdoin ED2

[merc81]

This subjective post includes brief comments on Middlebury in the context of similarly brief comments on other LACs: NESCAC Spoken Here: - #5 by merc81.

[MWolf]

I’ll add that Middlebury’s president of the past 10 years will be leaving next year (not for any bad reason - she’s taking the position of President of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences), and her successor may change things.

[Bill_Marsh]

Deleted.

[Publisher]

OP: Among Bowdoin College, Middlebury College, and Wesleyan University, I think that Davidson College is the best choice for you if determined to apply ED2 to an east coast LAC.

Based on the limited amount of information that you have shared in this thread, Wesleyan University does not appear to be a match for you.

You have shared too little information about your qualifications, interests, and career goals so I encourage you to expand your list of schools to include Indiana University, Duke University, Davidson College, and some Boston area schools.

Most important would be to understand why you prefer an east coast LAC since your interests–as revealed thus far–are classical music and a preppy student body.

Bluntly speaking, you may be trying to squeeze too much out of a small LAC school experience.

P.S. Consider Emory University in Atlanta:

https://catalog.college.emory.edu/academics/departments/music.html

Also consider Northwestern University if you want small classes (almost 50% of all undergraduate classes have 9 students or fewer enrolled) as well as exposure to world class classical music both on campus and in adjacent Chicago:

https://music.northwestern.edu

Vanderbilt University may be of interest as well:

Blair Homepage

For non-Blair undergraduates at Vanderbilt:

Programs for Non-Blair Undergraduates

Fordham University (Lincoln center campus as well as Rose Hill in the Bronx) offers lots of exposure to classical music including the option to study at Julliard:

Music | Fordham

Indiana University:

Jacobs School of Music

[notquitesure2]

Thanks, I didn’t ED 1 anywhere.

[michaelcollege]

So what is prompting you to go that route at this point?

What do you really want in a school? Most insightful, for me…that you want smart peers.

[circuitrider]

@Publisher

Most important would be to understand why you prefer an east coast LAC since your interests–as revealed thus far–are classical music and a preppy student body.

Actually, that’s the one thing that made perfect sense to me.

[cquin85]

One of my Ds graduated just a few years ago and we remain involved with the school. To your points of uncertainty and a few more random reactions to your post:

1. Sexual assault. Those stats can really jump around from one year to the next. No idea where the notion of Wes as a particular sexual assault risk comes from. We had never heard that. The culture at Wesleyan would certainly not be consistent with school cultures that, although unintentionally, tend to lead to greater risk of assault (e.g., athletes on campus with God-like status, heavy Greek culture, heavy bro culture, etc.). Drinking to excess, which is a risk factor, happens at a great many colleges, and it can happen at Wes. But I would not say it’s especially so at Wes. I’m sorry about your experience.

2. Drugs. My D would never come within 100 miles of drug use and never reported it as an issue. Wes had an event years ago that is easy enough to look up. It’s an outlier event. Things can happen at any of these schools. Jon Bon Jovi’s daughter OD’d at Hamilton. I would not avoid Hamilton because of that and I would not avoid Wesleyan because of what happened several years ago. I think the students who are drug users are in the distinct minority at Wes and you will not feel like there’s no safe social group for you. I am 100% certain of it.

3. Weird students. Harder to pin this one down. There was a “keep Wes weird” mantra years ago, which was a battle cry to preserve the school’s culture of being a comfortable place for quirky people, especially the artistically inclined. IDK what prompted the concern. It’s important to note that Wesleyan is an old school with its share of traditionalism. It’s a founding member of the NESCAC, and one that for the last 20 years or so has taken sports more seriously. Football won the league this year. Men’s lacrosse won the national title a few years ago. Strong crew. Tennis powerhouse. Because of all that and more, there are plenty of mainstream (for lack of a better word) kids on campus. Econ is a hugely popular major and Wes definitely has little echoes here and there of its all-male college past. There are plenty of bros and whatever you call their female equivalents. Lots of NARPs, and lots of pointy arts and science kids. They all blend remarkably well. Then there’s Wes’ reputation for activism, which is both well earned and exaggerated. So, yeah, I think Wes is a comfortable place for all types, but “socially awkward” is not the description I would use. If you had to pick among the hackneyed stereotypes that are assigned to Wes, I’d say “NY Hipster” is one that probably isn’t completely wrong.

4. Academics. Wes goes toe to toe in STEM with any LAC in the country and is one of the strongest in the NESCAC. I would dig into this one a little bit more. An impressive new science building is due up in the fall of '26. Their small graduate programs in the sciences give them a bit more depth in terms of curriculum and research than you might find at other LACs. As for social sciences, I think Wes is relatively strong there too. Don’t know how they compare in Government specifically, but I’d look into their College of Social Studies. It’s a fairly unique, rigorous and well respected program.
   

   
   I don’t know what your other areas of interests are, but as great as Bowdoin is, I don’t think it’s accurate to say that it’s academically stronger across the board based on what you’ve shared.

5. Financial Aid. Wes is need aware for a small portion of the class. Of course, you don’t know if that will be you or not. If you are admitted, Wesleyan meets full need (their definition like everyone else) with no loans. I’m sure Bowdoin and Middlebury also have very strong financial aid.

A comment about Middletown. Main Street is great, and the town has a fantastic array of high quality restaurants and food options. Middletown is severely underappreciated in that respect.

Let me know if you have any follow-up questions or would like me to expand on anything. In general, while there are differences between these schools, I am of the opinion that they share a great deal in common and I think many, many people would be equally happy at all of them. And of course, you’d get a tippy top education at any of them.

[cquin85]

@kaslew

One phenomenon to be aware of is that colleges with high reported rates of sexual assault might be colleges that (1) have a culture of supporting victims and making reporting not feel as alienating/terrifying; (2) might have students that are more proactive and likely to report.

An excellent point. Both (1) and (2) would definitely be consistent with Wesleyan’s prevailing culture. Really, it would be consistent with the culture at all three of these schools.

[westcoastfam]

Just a quick comment on Bowdoin & weather. A lot of California kids from my daughter’s year (and after) enrolled at the 3 CBB consortium schools - Colby, Bates, Bowdoin - they share resources. The winters are more mild than expected and fall is absolutely stunning. I’ve never seen anything quite like fall in southern Maine. Sure, there will be cold days in January/February, but it’s been less snow than expected (past five winters in a row) and Maine (due to climate change) now has trouble with lakes no longer freezing over as in the past. Two years ago, it was in the 50s at Bates in Feb and they almost had to cancel the annual Ice Puddle Jump due to melting ice. Wesleyan is still warmer, of course, but I wouldn’t rule out Bowdoin due to winters…

[cquin85]

Guessing that Bowdoin’s proximity to the ocean moderates winter temps there much as it does on the west side of the Cascade mountain range in the PNW.

[merc81]

Since westerly winds predominate across much of North America, this isn’t actually the case. As an example of this, Newport, Oregon, which resides at a more northerly latitude than Brunswick, Maine, experiences an average January low temperature of 40 °F, in contrast to that of 9 °F for Brunswick.

[cquin85]

Actually curious about this. I didn’t mean to compare Maine to the PNW. I know it’s much colder in the NE. I meant it’s a little more moderate on the Maine coast (I think anyway) than inland Maine or Vermont.

In the west, you have pretty sizeable mountain chains that divide Washington and Oregon into east/west parts, and the eastern sides of the states experience colder weather than the western sides, particularly as you get closer to the ocean.

[merc81]

@cquin85

I meant it’s a little more moderate on the Maine coast (I think anyway) than inland Maine or Vermont.

For perspective on these locations, this post may be of interest (information from BestPlaces): NESCAC Spoken Here: - #1041 by merc81.