So I’m a current Freshmen (or I guess Sophomore now) at Emerson College in Boston, and to say the least, I’m not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. There’s a lot of things I don’t like about the school, but they basically come down to these three points:
The academics are way too easy and not challenging at all. I had way more free time than I should have. I'm an English/Creative Writing major, and while Emerson is a good school for that, I still want more of a challenge, and I know there are better schools out there.
Boston is a great city, but I'm just not a city person at all. I've lived in the suburbs my whole life, and I've always loved nature and the like. Emerson has no real campus. It's right in the middle of downtown Boston which is great for food and shopping, but I thought I'd get used to an urban environment after one year. Turns out I never did. So if I transfer, I would like a school that has an actual campus.
I don't really fit in with the student body. The typical Emerson student body is cheery, eccentric, and very very liberal. I tend to be quiet, laid back, and pretty easy going. I'm also not against liberals or anything, but I tend to lean more on the conservative side of things when it comes to politics.
Currently, my two top schools to transfer to are Whitman and Wesleyan. They both seem to have what I want, and are not impossible or overly difficult to transfer into (i.e. Amherst, Vassar). My current college GPA is around a 3.8-3.9 (second semester grades haven’t come out yet), so I believe I at least have a chance at getting into Whitman and Wesleyan.
The problem is that Whitman is all the way in Washington (I’m from NY), and my parents don’t really want me going across the country. They’re okay with me going, but only if it’s a last resort. I like Wesleyan, and they’re probably more well known than Whitman, but they seem pretty similar overall. They both have great English/Writing programs. They both have beautiful campuses. But the thing is, Wesleyan kind of seems like a more prestigious Emerson (in terms of artsy, overly liberal student body and such). I really think Whitman’s student body would be a better fit (they’re still liberal but not as much and they also seem more laid back), but I’m just not sure yet.
So, I guess I’m having trouble deciding between the two. I personally like Whitman more, but it is very far away. The distance is more of an issue with my parents than with me. I just don’t want to end up going to Wesleyan (if I get accepted), and feel the same way I did at Emerson.
Wes is very (very very) liberal. What about Kenyon? It’s transfer rate for males is slightly better than Wes’s. You can’t do better for writing, either. Hamilton is another strong writing program with transfer rates similar to Wes.
One thing to look at is whether they will be looking at your high school info still (grades, scores). You can probably find this on the websites.
So you are thinking about applying or you have already applied? If its just in the thinking stage why do you need to decide now? Apply to many schools and see what your options are. Both are great schools but a little different vibes.
@intparent beat me to the punch. As i was reading your post, I kept thinking Kenyon. Seems a no brainer for your academic areas and the vibe you are looking for.
I haven’t applied yet. I’m just thinking so far, and am aiming to apply for the Spring semester. I have looked at Kenyon before, but thought their transfer rates were worse than Wesleyan’s. I will definitely look into it more now. Thanks for the suggestion.
My high school grades were pretty similar to my college grades. 3.8 GPA overall. My SAT score is probably more of an issue. It was around 1850, I think. I’m hoping they will focus more on my college grades than my SAT score though.
Why do you think Vassar is impossible to transfer into, but Wes is not? We were looking at transfer schools a couple years ago for my kid who was not happy at Middlebury. With good grades, kid was able to transfer to Pomona. But when we were poking around at other alternatives, the advice we received was that Wes was a tough transfer option. Vassar didn’t come up as particularly difficult.
Wes’ combined (ED and RD) acceptance rate this year was 17%. I know that’s not the transfer rate, but it gives an indication.
All this to say, if you like Vassar and think you have a shot at Wesleyan, you should consider Vassar too. It’s a great and lovely school.
Few more thoughts/observations … if you’re not going to revisit Vasaar or explore the advice concerning Kenyon/Hamilton for writing, then as between Wes and Whitman I think Wes offers more. They’re better at more things, not even counting the film studies program at Wes, which to my knowledge is entirely unique for a LAC.
Yeah, I think the Wes students are pretty left of center, but like Berkeley, rumors of a 100% radical left student population is a bit exaggerated. Mind you, this is based on word of mouth from a close family friend with a freshman daughter, a couple of visits and general word of mouth. I haven’t been immersed in either place, but have spent time in Walla Walla and done three visits to Whitman, a school that LOVES my kids’ high school IB program and draws from it reguarly. So I have a sense of Whitman and a developing sense of Wesleyan.
Wesleyan is also not in big city, and while Middletown has its gritty side, it’s got its nice too. Main street is pretty good with a great selection of restaurants. It’s also a reasonable distance to Boston and NY, and 20 minutes from Hartford. I don’t score Wes’ location as any kind of huge advantage, but I don’t score it as a strike either.
You’re going to receive a top flight education at either place. That is beyond dispute. I just think Wesleyan offers a little more and really does have some unique qualities.
You can look up each school’s transfer student statistics in section D of their common data sets.
Last year, Vassar accepted approx. 11%, Kenyon 32%, Whitman 33%, and Wesleyan 30%.
