Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 16:11     Subject: Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Anonymous wrote:Agreed that Wes' campus could be cuter but, as a top-10 R1 professor, I'll say that its faculty is far and away superior to nearly all but the best SLACs. That's where they put their money and effort...not a bad decision IMHO.

Evidenced by what? What are the tangible differences in faculty at Wesleyan versus Barnard or Middlebury?
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 16:08     Subject: Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Anonymous wrote:Agreed that Wes' campus could be cuter but, as a top-10 R1 professor, I'll say that its faculty is far and away superior to nearly all but the best SLACs. That's where they put their money and effort...not a bad decision IMHO.


which school?
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 15:53     Subject: Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Agreed that Wes' campus could be cuter but, as a top-10 R1 professor, I'll say that its faculty is far and away superior to nearly all but the best SLACs. That's where they put their money and effort...not a bad decision IMHO.
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 15:47     Subject: Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Anonymous wrote:I honestly think its peer schools having much nicer campuses has an effect. Vassar is probably its closest peer and while Poughkeepsie is no great shakes either, that campus is gorgeous. Amherst is picturesque and in a lovely area, etc.


+1

We visited Vassar and Amherst first so Wesleyan looked like an ugly step brother.

Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 15:39     Subject: Re:Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Anonymous wrote:
Campus, location and town left a lot to be desired. It was depressing, similar to Bucknell tbh.


speaking from firsthand experience with both schools… Bucknell nicer town, nicer kids, and better outcomes. Wesleyan kids are like the town - gloomy and depressing


Only problem is that Wesleyan is an infinitely better school...unless you want to be a soulless frat-bro banker.
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 14:42     Subject: Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I honestly think its peer schools having much nicer campuses has an effect. Vassar is probably its closest peer and while Poughkeepsie is no great shakes either, that campus is gorgeous. Amherst is picturesque and in a lovely area, etc.


Again, this stuff is so personal. Vassar’s campus is gorgeous, but my kid found it eerily quiet and the neighborhood around it underwhelming. Loved everything about Wesleyan.

My point isn’t to put Vassar down but to note that everyone here is trying to “explain” why Wesleyan might not appeal to every kid. The answer is that kids are looking for different things. Ultimately, Wesleyan is very similar to peers (e.g. Middlebury, Vassar, Hamilton, Carleton) in its selectivity, admissions approach (two rounds of ED, with more than half the class accepted in ED), and yield. You could have this thread about pretty much any of the LACs, with the possible exceptions of Amherst and Williams (the only ones with a single round of ED).


+100. End of conversation.
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 14:35     Subject: Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I honestly think its peer schools having much nicer campuses has an effect. Vassar is probably its closest peer and while Poughkeepsie is no great shakes either, that campus is gorgeous. Amherst is picturesque and in a lovely area, etc.


Again, this stuff is so personal. Vassar’s campus is gorgeous, but my kid found it eerily quiet and the neighborhood around it underwhelming. Loved everything about Wesleyan.

My point isn’t to put Vassar down but to note that everyone here is trying to “explain” why Wesleyan might not appeal to every kid. The answer is that kids are looking for different things. Ultimately, Wesleyan is very similar to peers (e.g. Middlebury, Vassar, Hamilton, Carleton) in its selectivity, admissions approach (two rounds of ED, with more than half the class accepted in ED), and yield. You could have this thread about pretty much any of the LACs, with the possible exceptions of Amherst and Williams (the only ones with a single round of ED).

And even then their admissions process is the exact same. I don't think the rounds actually matter if you're still enrolling half of your class through ED.
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 14:34     Subject: Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Anonymous wrote:I honestly think its peer schools having much nicer campuses has an effect. Vassar is probably its closest peer and while Poughkeepsie is no great shakes either, that campus is gorgeous. Amherst is picturesque and in a lovely area, etc.


Again, this stuff is so personal. Vassar’s campus is gorgeous, but my kid found it eerily quiet and the neighborhood around it underwhelming. Loved everything about Wesleyan.

My point isn’t to put Vassar down but to note that everyone here is trying to “explain” why Wesleyan might not appeal to every kid. The answer is that kids are looking for different things. Ultimately, Wesleyan is very similar to peers (e.g. Middlebury, Vassar, Hamilton, Carleton) in its selectivity, admissions approach (two rounds of ED, with more than half the class accepted in ED), and yield. You could have this thread about pretty much any of the LACs, with the possible exceptions of Amherst and Williams (the only ones with a single round of ED).
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 14:34     Subject: Re:Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Anonymous wrote:
Campus, location and town left a lot to be desired. It was depressing, similar to Bucknell tbh.


speaking from firsthand experience with both schools… Bucknell nicer town, nicer kids, and better outcomes. Wesleyan kids are like the town - gloomy and depressing

Please, stop the boosting. It's boring.
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 14:33     Subject: Re:Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Campus, location and town left a lot to be desired. It was depressing, similar to Bucknell tbh.


speaking from firsthand experience with both schools… Bucknell nicer town, nicer kids, and better outcomes. Wesleyan kids are like the town - gloomy and depressing
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 14:32     Subject: Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Anonymous wrote:It’s a prep school off load.


It is funny how those not part of the system view it. We still make up the majority of Ivy and Little Ivy admitted students. This trend will never end.
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 14:24     Subject: Re:Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Anonymous wrote:Campus, location and town left a lot to be desired. It was depressing, similar to Bucknell tbh.


Now someone is just blithering.
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 13:45     Subject: Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I honestly think its peer schools having much nicer campuses has an effect. Vassar is probably its closest peer and while Poughkeepsie is no great shakes either, that campus is gorgeous. Amherst is picturesque and in a lovely area, etc.

Amherst is not a great example, and picturesque...really? It has some ugly buildings spread throughout campus, and I'd look at Smith for a central mass beautiful campus.

Wesleyan does suffer in that it has a very wonky campus layout- they really should move the baseball field and develop a nice quad there. They should find a way to tie together the buildings on top of the hill, and the ones below the hill, because the current design just feels like walking across various buildings from different campuses. Wesleyan actually has a few spectacular buildings and the occasional oddball that would be interesting on any other campus (their arts buildings for example, some may find them ugly, but they are pretty interesting and the theater is quite beautiful). Wesleyan isn't designed like most colleges, and that takes points off, because we don't expect to just have buildings sporadically thrown about.

+1, there are many parts of Amherst that are just very bleh... Robert Frost Library being the main villain. I think if you're wanting classic liberal arts college that's gorgeous, you should look at Williams, Mount Holyoke, and Smith
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 13:40     Subject: Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
Anonymous wrote:I honestly think its peer schools having much nicer campuses has an effect. Vassar is probably its closest peer and while Poughkeepsie is no great shakes either, that campus is gorgeous. Amherst is picturesque and in a lovely area, etc.

Amherst is not a great example, and picturesque...really? It has some ugly buildings spread throughout campus, and I'd look at Smith for a central mass beautiful campus.

Wesleyan does suffer in that it has a very wonky campus layout- they really should move the baseball field and develop a nice quad there. They should find a way to tie together the buildings on top of the hill, and the ones below the hill, because the current design just feels like walking across various buildings from different campuses. Wesleyan actually has a few spectacular buildings and the occasional oddball that would be interesting on any other campus (their arts buildings for example, some may find them ugly, but they are pretty interesting and the theater is quite beautiful). Wesleyan isn't designed like most colleges, and that takes points off, because we don't expect to just have buildings sporadically thrown about.
Anonymous
Post 11/30/2025 13:32     Subject: Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?
I honestly think its peer schools having much nicer campuses has an effect. Vassar is probably its closest peer and while Poughkeepsie is no great shakes either, that campus is gorgeous. Amherst is picturesque and in a lovely area, etc.