Wesleyan University

Located in Middletown, Connecticut; Wesleyan University is a small liberal arts college with 2,900 full time undergrads and 200 graduate students on a 316 acre campus.  It was founded in 1831 by Methodists and named for John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.  Wesleyan is among the oldest of the originally Methodist institutions of higher education in the United States.

Wesleyan is highly selective, with more than 10,000 applicants for 800 seats each year.  The median SAT score is 2100.  This selectivity does not come cheap.  The all in annual cost of a full time student is $57,932 (up from $36 back in 1831).  Just this year, Wesleyan abandoned its Need Blind admission policy in favor for a selectively Need Aware one.  Acceptance is need blind up to a point, and then the remaining seats are filled with students who can demonstrate the ability to pay.  This trend in need blind institutions going need aware is gaining momentum as even the elite east coast schools such as Cornell University are morphing their grants into loans due to these recessionary times. 

Wesleyan students were all male, primarily Methodist, and almost exclusively white.  From 1872 to 1912, Wesleyan was a pioneer in the field of coeducation, admitting a limited number of women to study. Coeducation succumbed to the pressure of male alumni, some of whom believed that it lowered Wesleyan’s standing amongst its academic peers.  In 1911, some of Wesleyan’s alumnae helped to found the Connecticut College for women in New London, Connecticut, to help fill the void left when Wesleyan closed its doors to women.  By 1968, women were again admitted as exchange or transfer students.  In 1970, the first female students were once again admitted to Wesleyan’s freshman class since 1909.  Wesleyan is actively recruiting students of color with the Freeman Asian Scholars program providing merit and need-based aid to eleven incoming students from select countries each year.

We found the students at Wesleyan self-important and snobbish, which probably stems from having the reputation of being a "Little Ivy" or a “poor man's Brown.”  I think I’d prefer a school with less social climbing.

Students who applied to Wesleyan University also applied to Vassar College, Connecticut College, and Yale University.

For more information on Wesleyan University, visit http://www.wesleyan.edu/.
Wesleyan University is located at 70 Wylls Avenue Middletown, CT  06459 (860) 685-3000

Trinity College

Located in Hartford, CT; Trinity College is a private liberal arts college founded in 1823.  It is also the second –oldest college in the state of Connecticut.  Coeducational since 1969, the college enrolls 2,300 students.  Trinity College is part of the New England Small College Athletic Conference, also known as the “Little Ivies” (along with Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Colgate University, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Haverford College, Middlebury College, Swarthmore College, Tufts University, Vassar College, Wesleyan University, and Williams College.)

Some of the most breathtakingly beautiful examples of gothic architecture can be found on Trinity’s campus in an area known as the “Long Walk”.  Designed and built by William Burges and F.H. Kimball.  The Trinity Chapel is also a sight to behold, composed almost entirely of limestone; it is the tallest point in the city of Hartford. 

In 2011, Trinity reported an increase in admission application by a whopping 47.38%, an unprecedented occurrence.  Trinity’s President James F. Jones credits the vast opportunities Trinity offers that are being better publicized through the new admission materials, website, and social media.  A recent Huffington Post article also claimed that Trinity graduates number among the largest group of millionaires in the country. 

On our stroll through campus it was hard to ignore the elitist air and the privileged scent of the students.  Although not an official Ivy League College, Trinity students exist in a “bubble” of intellectual exploration on an academic mount out-of-reach by most high school students.  It must be nice to be a Trinity student.

Students who applied to Trinity College also looked at Wesleyan University, Connecticut College, and Tufts University.

For more information on Trinity College, visit http://www.trincoll.edu/Pages/default.aspx

Trinity College is located at 300 Summit Street  Hartford, CT  06106  (860)297-2000