Why did you pick your college?

madjoy
Wed, 01 Aug 2007 23:50:25 +0000

Well, I applied early decision to Wesleyan University, so I never had the agonizing choice of “Ahh!! I got into these two schools, neither of which is perfect, but both of which seem acceptable!” Wesleyan University was kind of the standout choice for me from the beginning. While not quite as prestigious as most of the other schools I was looking at, it just felt right, and seemed like the perfect “fit.”

I was deciding whether to apply early decision to Yale, Brown, or Wesleyan. I actually visited both Brown and Wesleyan on the same college tour, and it was during Passover (a Jewish holiday) so I went to both schools’ Jewish houses. At Brown, the center was brand new and absolutely GORGEOUS. The services were split up by denomination and such. At Wesleyan, it was a converted old frat house with a makeshift really messy library and cozy couches where the services were held - and services were student led, with everyone all together. Wesleyan’s wasn’t as physically impressive, but it just felt more homey. And I feel this was fairly representative of the school in general.

Similarly, I compared the school newspapers at all the colleges (since I was editor-in-chief of my high school paper, this was important to me). A lot of schools had papers that were technically very good - but the Wesleyan Argus was casual, student-oriented, informal, and everyone on campus read it. Its “Wespeak” (letter-to-the-editor) section was a common source of controversy and seemed widely used. That’s the type of school newspaper I wanted.

So, yeah. Wesleyan just had a really passionate, active feel to it. It was also kind of intellectual and pretentious, which is really important to me, because I enjoy pretentious intellectual discussion and find it necessary to continue challenging me and making me think.

Unlike other schools I was looking at,


Wesleyan felt friendly and laidback; it did not feel overly competitive and high pressure (unlike Swarthmore, UChicago, Yale, Columbia)
Wesleyan seemed really passionate and cozy; it did not feel like everyone was just kind of skating by (unlike the impression I got, though it may be unfair, at Brown and University of Rochester)
Wesleyan seemed to have a really diverse and not preppy student body, without a ridiculous artificial emphasis on athletics, and with an “open-minded” political bent (unlike Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury)


I have to say - it was the perfect choice. it felt right, and against the advice of my close family, I went for it. I’ll always be curious what other (possibly more prestigious) schools I would have gotten into RD, but, as expected, I’ve been really challenged here; my views on social justice have been changed drastically and, I believe, for the better, though I’ve still held onto some conservative opinions like being pro-life and pro-gun-rights. Can’t imagine a better liberal arts school!