Wesleyan Senior Housing
Wesleyan University is a terrific liberal arts school, considered to be one of the three Little Ivies (the other two are Williams and Amherst). The school is set on approximately 350 acres in the picturesque town of Middletown, Connecticut. The campus is beautiful, with a mix of old and new buildings surrounding an enormous field, on which many of the school’s activities take place.
With a student population of just under 3,000, it is a great size for a liberal arts college. While the information session was filled with the school’s jargon (which they repeated an annoying number of times), the loose curriculum and seamless balance of academics and performing arts are strong selling points. Although the school claims to have an open curriculum with no real general education requirements, the truth is more complicated. Students are encouraged to take courses in three different departments, that they must complete in order to graduate with honors. Freshmen are encouraged to take seminar classes with limited enrollment, called the First Year Initiative Program, or “FYI.”
I love the school’s housing model, which they refer to as “progressive independence.” This means that freshmen live in traditional dorms, and sophomores can live in nicer dorms or theme houses. Juniors live in apartments, and seniors live together in groups in one of the 140 houses owned by Wesleyan. The houses are beautiful; the campus joke asserts that this is the nicest housing most students will live in during their 20s.
Wesleyan has several nice combination programs including a 3-2 program in engineering with Dartmouth and Columbia and a 5-4 program for science and music in which the 5th year is tuition-free. Some final noteworthy facts: About 80% of the students do some form of community service, and about 50% study abroad. Wesleyan has moved from need-blind to need-aware admissions. It no longer has any religious affiliation.
Although the admissions standards sound daunting, they are no more so than many small liberal arts schools, and admissions claims to take a holistic approach to evaluating students. For students looking for a nicely sized liberal arts school with strong arts programs, Wesleyan is a great choice.
Check out my photos of Wesleyan on Facebook.
