Academics

Like anywhere, the difficulty of the coursework is highly dependent upon where your interests lie and what classes that you choose to take. There is much freedom in scheduling courses, and, outside of your major, there are no strictly defined requirements. It isn't high school, any more, though. If a course seems to require a lot of reading, then you need to plan accordingly for a higher level of work. On the other hand, if you're excited about reading and absorbing information in that way, then you might find the more scientific classes to be more rigorous, because there is often a weekly problem set on top of other work.

Ask for help, don't be ashamed. Wesleyan's intense academic environment is difficult to navigate if you don't reach out for a helping hand when need be.

Wes is extremely challenging, academically, but for those who work hard and do what they can to keep up (meet with your dean, talk to your professor during office hours, seek help from a tutor), it's not impossible.

The course load is based on your personal choices; however, each class is demanding in many aspects i.e. time, mental capacity, etc. It's sometimes difficult to balance all of the work you have for each of your classes, but it's part of what makes Wesleyan such a great school. It allows you to find your own balance, and with all the resources available, it isn't necessary for you to discover all of this on your own. You can consult with other upperclassmen and others who have gone through similar situations or your academic advisors who can also help you make wise decisions. The only downside to this is there are numerous courses that you may be interested in, so it seems time is the only lacking resource.

Any great school is going to be difficult. However the professors here make themselves very available to students both in and out of class. Students here have so many avenues of learning and we generally seem to step up to the challenge.

The workload does get large fairly quickly but it's all about time management and scheduling. If you can sit out 3 hours a day to study you will be fine.

Courses are challenging, but great professors (I do recommend consulting rmp) make them engaging and worth the effort.

In any given class, there is an air of excitement and purpose. Wesleyan has an open curriculum, meaning that if you're in a class you're there because you want to be there. Did I mention its a little ivy?

If you don't procrastinate, the rigor isn't too bad. The work is reading-heavy in almost all classes with the exception of math.