Wesleyan University

Date: Jan 03 2018
Major: Biology (This Major's Salary over time)
I will admit that I knew very little about Wesleyan when I decided to commit—I was mostly persuaded by the VERY large scholarship they offered me. But making that blind decision to come here was the best thing I ever did for myself. Without a doubt.

The academics: I thought that I would be in the minority being a pre-med student at a liberal arts college but that really isn't the case. The science courses are rigorous but not very competitive. Having taken 7 AP courses and being valedictorian at my school, I thought that my intro/principles courses would be a breeze but I must say that I have been challenged here, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I can say that I think about the things I learned in biology and social psychology on a daily basis, and I also can apply the concepts I learned to real life.

The students: First off, I have to say that Wes has a pretty small student body. Every place you go, no matter where/when you go, you WILL run into someone you know, and sometimes it will feel like you see the same people all the time. Though this gives the campus a feeling of familiarity, sometimes I wish there more students here. Nearly everyone is friendly and interesting (also I was surprised at just how attractive both the male and female students are), I was amazed at how fast everyone fell into their own groups within the first month. It isn't really cliquey but everyone just has their go-to friends. I am lucky to say that I found 3 amazing best friends within the first week, but I can see how it might feel isolating if I wasn't so fortunate to find my group. I love how everyone I'm acquainted with are from all around the country (even the world) and that they all seem to have different majors. Though there are some stuck-up, pretentious, exclusive students here, they do not impact my social life at all. Everyone here is intelligent in their own respect. There are some people in my classes who I can already tell will eventually change the world.

Social life: the weekends can be hit or miss, but when they're hit, they are crazy good. At the beginning of the semester I would generally hop around to 3-4 different parties A NIGHT. Alcohol is very abundant, so is weed. I know people do coke here but I haven't encountered it. There's also a fair amount of people that don't drink or smoke at all and they have just as much fun. We have dorm parties, pre-games, big "frat" parties (usually at program houses), house parties, block parties, you name it. Lots of dancing, lots of small, student run concerts which I find really unique. Hook up culture is there if you want it. One thing to note regarding the small student body size is that if you decide to hook up, there is a 100% chance that you will run into them a few times during the week just because the school isn't that big! (I guess this can be both a good and bad thing haha)

Random comments: food is really great, but gets old after awhile. One day they actually served lobster tails haha. The campus is really beautiful, and rather spread out even though we have a relatively small student body. Many clubs to be a part of, but I found that I had trouble balancing my academics with extracurriculars just because the workload is so rigorous. Teachers are great, they are intelligent and genuinely care about their students. I NEVER went to the gym in high school but I actually go about 4-5 times a week now. Olin library is absolutely stunning, I spend a looot of time there studying, which is absolutely necessary to get average grades.

I always hear things about how "weird" wes is, but my overall impression is that it's just a laid back, fun, intellectually stimulating place.

Overall, come to Wesleyan. I miss this place immensely when I'm on break, and I wake up in my dorm everyday with a sense of belonging and purpose. I've never felt that way before. I get an overwhelming feeling of "home" every time I return to campus. Coming here has changed my outlook on the world and in my life. I am so happy to say that after only one semester here I have really began to find myself and my place in the world.