Wesleyan University is a small liberal arts school in Middletown, CT twenty minutes from the city of Hartford and under two hours from both New York City and Boston. The school is home to just over 3,000 undergraduate students who are passionate about the unique educational perspective Wesleyan has to offer. With over 45 majors, more than 900 courses, and an 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio, the school is a favorite of liberal arts-minded students even before you account for the Open Curriculum.
The Wesleyan Open Curriculum demands creativity and inspires exploration. It allows students to take nearly anything they want outside of their major, and this attracts students from around the world. There are over 300 international students who call the Wesleyan campus home, representing dozens of countries. To international students who are excited about Wesleyan, the university offers an enthusiastic welcome to their community, where you can “engage with people who are like you — and not at all like you — and shape the future together.”
But while Wesleyan is welcoming to everyone, not everyone can get in. The acceptance rate for first-year students for the fall of 2023 was 17%. If you’re an international student and you’re interested in Wesleyan, there’s work to do if you want to see an acceptance letter in the future. In this post, we’ll break down everything you need to know to increase your chances of getting in.
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What is Wesleyan looking for in International Students?
In this post, we’ll go into detail about what Wesleyan likes to see on your transcript, in your extracurriculars section, and on your standardized tests, but the most important thing to remember is that Wesleyan doesn’t like cookie cutter. They aren’t drawn to students who live by a rubric for success, or who are simply checking boxes. Wesleyan wants to see students who take calculated risks, who push themselves in pursuit of their passions, and who, most of all, are willing to make themselves a little uncomfortable on their educational journey. So, remember that these are guidelines, not rules.
Courses + Grades
When some people hear “Open Curriculum,” they think “Great! I can choose to only take what I already know I like!” If that is your impulse, you’re probably not a great fit with Wesleyan. They want students who hear about the open curriculum and instead think, “Awesome! Let’s go explore and try new things!” The same applies for what they want to see from applicants.
There are no required courses to be eligible to admission to Wesleyan, but they recommend a fully-distributed course load with classes in every major subject area including literature, mathematics, science, history, and a foreign language. At the same time, they expect students to explore, adventure, and follow their passions. So, they want to see that in what you are doing in high school or secondary school. Show this through extracurriculars and extra classes in the subjects you love.
At the same time, your transcript shouldn’t show what your least favorite subject is. You need to be getting the highest grades in the hardest classes across the board, regardless of whether you love a course or absolutely despise it.
Extracurriculars
For Wesleyan, extracurriculars are easy. Well, sort of. They want to see you follow passion, and they want to see you start things and create opportunities for yourself and others. Sounds simple, right? We know it doesn’t. Starting clubs, catalyzing a team, or leading a student organization are all really hard things to do. They require time and energy, and can create some stress in your life that you have to figure out how to handle with grace. So, yes, it sounds easy, but it isn’t.
There is no formular for extracurriculars that Wesleyan wants to see, because there is no formula for a student that Wesleyan wants to see. Be the best you can be, take risks, push yourself outside of your comfort zone, and — most importantly — follow your passions!
Standardized Tests
Wesleyan accepts the SAT or ACT, but neither test is required. That said, most students who are accepted and enrolled do submit a standardized test score. 71% of accepted and enrolled first-year students in the fall of 2023 submitted an SAT or ACT score, with a strong preference towards the SAT. This is one reason why we highly recommend that internationals students submit a standardized test score.
The other reason to submit a score is that standardized test scores serve to underline your academic successes on your transcript or in your predicted scores. The admissions officials at Wesleyan are well-trained in reading and understanding grades and scores from around the world, but the standardized tests help to confirm that, yes, you are ready to attend college in the United States.
When you take the tests, aim for an SAT score of 1500 or higher, or an ACT for 34 or above. If you’re in a school system with national examinations, they also expect to see “superior results,” once your final scores are sent. Finally, they expect a “high degree of proficiency in English,” which your SAT or ACT scores can help illustrate. It’s worth noting that Wesleyan does have access to English as a Second Language (ESL) resources on campus, which isn’t the case at every college.
Scholarship Opportunities
Wesleyan has some amazing scholarship opportunities for international applicants that are worth going into before we close this post out. The Freeman Asian Scholars Program gives full scholarships for a full four-year course of study to exceptional students from Asia with deep financial need. The African Scholars Program offers a full, four-year scholarship and a stacked deck of resources to up to 10 students from the African continent each year. Both of these are unique, Wesleyan-specific opportunities that worth looking into if you fall into either geographic category.
Applying to Wesleyan is an art, not a science. They want students who are doing work at the highest level, but who aren’t simply defined by their coursework. They seek out applicants who are pushing boundaries, but who work to understand the rules of the game before they (carefully) break them. If this sounds like you, Wesleyan may be your perfect fit.
If your considering Wesleyan, let us know. We’re experts at helping students show their full selves for exceptional admission results.