Anonymous wrote:Wesleyan is very progressive-liberal. You really have to want this kind of intolerance-in-the-name-of-tolerance mindset to be happy there.

I have noticed among my kids' peers, there has been a dramatic decline of interest in the LACs among boys and even many girls who just want a non-political environment to study and have fun for four years. It's unfortunate but the schools have themselves to blame.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC was an athlete recent grad - had a great experience, but the athlete divide is real. He was able to make some good non-jock friends but he said the majority of teammates (helmet sport) rarely spoke to (or interacted with) non athletes in their 4 years on campus. They party with the same girls team every week, sit with themselves at dinner every night (all year not just in season), and take the same classes together. Hard pass for younger siblings based on this social divide

I feel like this is typical lots of places, especially SLAC's. Truth be told, I think it's reduced at Wesleyan because of the relatively large size and the general non-sports-bro vibe. Never heard discussions of the divide between athletes and NARPs at Wesleyan ("non-athlete regular people") like I have at Amherst and Middlebury.

Anonymous wrote:DC was an athlete recent grad - had a great experience, but the athlete divide is real. He was able to make some good non-jock friends but he said the majority of teammates (helmet sport) rarely spoke to (or interacted with) non athletes in their 4 years on campus. They party with the same girls team every week, sit with themselves at dinner every night (all year not just in season), and take the same classes together. Hard pass for younger siblings based on this social divide

Anonymous wrote:Look, the title of this thread is "Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?" I won't go into all the details, but I'll tell you that if you look through other threads, talk to alums, and look at online surveys, you'll find that my kid is not the only one with this impression. Not fed by me. Of course different kids have different experiences and move in different crowds. I like the school and we know multiple happy kids there. I'm answering OP's question and giving one data point based our DD's visit and her conversations with many current students. If you'd like a thread where no ill is spoken of impressions of the school by prospective students, feel free to start one!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, the title of this thread is "Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?" I won't go into all the details, but I'll tell you that if you look through other threads, talk to alums, and look at online surveys, you'll find that my kid is not the only one with this impression. Not fed by me. Of course different kids have different experiences and move in different crowds. I like the school and we know multiple happy kids there. I'm answering OP's question and giving one data point based our DD's visit and her conversations with many current students. If you'd like a thread where no ill is spoken of impressions of the school by prospective students, feel free to start one!

This is only if you take the post for granted. Wesleyan gets a healthy amount of applications more than some of the top lacs. It’s pretty damn popular.

We don’t particularly care about the the kids who want to go to USC or Alabama, because that student has preferences that have little in common with Wesleyan. The question becomes why would a student choose Pomona or Williams or Middlebury or Grinnell over Wesleyan? Those environments aren’t any less “progressive liberal” than Wesleyan, so it’s something else.

Anonymous wrote:Look, the title of this thread is "Why don't more kids want Wesleyan?" I won't go into all the details, but I'll tell you that if you look through other threads, talk to alums, and look at online surveys, you'll find that my kid is not the only one with this impression. Not fed by me. Of course different kids have different experiences and move in different crowds. I like the school and we know multiple happy kids there. I'm answering OP's question and giving one data point based our DD's visit and her conversations with many current students. If you'd like a thread where no ill is spoken of impressions of the school by prospective students, feel free to start one!

Anonymous wrote:Wesleyan is very progressive-liberal. You really have to want this kind of intolerance-in-the-name-of-tolerance mindset to be happy there.

I have noticed among my kids' peers, there has been a dramatic decline of interest in the LACs among boys and even many girls who just want a non-political environment to study and have fun for four years. It's unfortunate but the schools have themselves to blame.

Anonymous wrote:Wesleyan is very progressive-liberal. You really have to want this kind of intolerance-in-the-name-of-tolerance mindset to be happy there.

I have noticed among my kids' peers, there has been a dramatic decline of interest in the LACs among boys and even many girls who just want a non-political environment to study and have fun for four years. It's unfortunate but the schools have themselves to blame.

Anonymous wrote:I'm one of the PP's who found the town to feel run-down and kind of depressing, and we were on Main Street, walked around a bunch, and had a couple of meals. But I will say that DD did not seem to care that much. She crossed Wesleyan off because of the drug culture. Yes, yes, yes it's at all schools but apparently permeates daily life more at Wesleyan than some others.

Anonymous wrote:I'm one of the PP's who found the town to feel run-down and kind of depressing, and we were on Main Street, walked around a bunch, and had a couple of meals. But I will say that DD did not seem to care that much. She crossed Wesleyan off because of the drug culture. Yes, yes, yes it's at all schools but apparently permeates daily life more at Wesleyan than some others.