Wesleyan's Class of 2028 Profile is Out

HNH
Thu, 26 Sep 2024 12:46:43 +0000

A perennial standout in Wesleyan’s numbers is a non-racial statistic. The percentage of incoming students who have taken calculus. Which is down this year (but still 85%) vs. other years.

38% of students in the highest quartile SES take calculus. 7% of students in the lowest quartile SES. Fewer than 50% of US high schools offer any calculus course.

Which could suggest either that calculus itself is an important factor in admission (a possibility bolstered by >50% of polled AO’s asked if calculus affected the strength of an application), that calculus is a strongly co-segregating proxy for academic achievement (concerning given the drop-off in numbers of students taking the class in recent years), or that calculus co-segregates with other personal or background qualities Wesleyan is looking for (the “rich kid school” label).

Either way, shouldn’t we feel bad for all those students in >50% of high schools in the US where calculus is not offered or strictly restricted? Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a system where some of these students might be able to take academic initiative and study some calculus on Khan academy or Youtube or elsewhere on their own without becoming soulless academic drones? Too bad Wesleyan would give absolutely no credit for a student from Oakland at a school where calculus wasn’t offered who self-studied and took the AP. Absolutely no credit at all.