Wesleyan is a highly-selective small liberal arts college in Middletown, Connecticut. If you hear ‘liberal arts’ and ‘Connecticut’ and imagine an idyllic campus with big brick buildings and massive greens covered in students playing frisbee and discussing their coursework, you’re actually spot on. That’s Wesleyan, and it’s awesome.
The student body is intimate at 3,000 undergraduate students and a small graduate student population. The campus is diverse geographically, culturally, racially, and students represent a wide range of identities. In the classroom, this diversity leads to exciting conversations and dynamic experiences. There are more than 1,000 courses offered across 47 majors and more than 30 minors. Study abroad is also a big part of the Wesleyan experience, with students studying with Wesleyan-run programs in Bologna, Italy; Madrid, Spain; and Paris, France, in addition to 150+ pre-approved programs globally. The Open Curriculum is key in accommodating these adventurous learning experiences.
For the class of 2027, the acceptance rate for Wesleyan was only 17.1%. The acceptance rate for early decision applicants, though, is significantly higher. For students who began in the fall of 2023, the early decision acceptance rate was 40%.
If you are serious about applying to Wesleyan, you should also know that admissions is test optional. Most students who are admitted and who enroll, however, do submit an ACT or SAT score.
For Wesleyan, and among accepted and enrolled students, the SAT is much more popular than the ACT. They also highly recommend that students without a traditional transcript, who attend online school, or who are homeschooled submit scores. And most international applicants are not required to submit scores, but they do recommend submitting scores and there are minimum expected scores in international student applications.
As you start your application for Wesleyan on the Common App, you’ll see that there isn’t a supplement. But there is something we recommend you do after submitting your application. Wesleyan does not track demonstrated interest as a part of their assessment of your application.
Despite this, we highly recommend that you let them know that you are interested in a way that goes beyond the standard common app. There are two ways to do this that we recommend (and you could do both).
If you’re applying to Wesleyan, we can help. Contact us.
There are two ways that we recommend showing Wesleyan that you’re very interested even though they don’t have a “why us?” supplement.
Visit Campus
We highly recommend that students who are very interested in Wesleyan visit campus if they are able to before they apply. While Wesleyan does not track demonstrated interest, they will know if you do a visit planned through the admissions office as long as you book a tour. Doing a tour is an opportunity to make a series of amazing first impressions. From the person working at the check-in desk when you arrive at the admissions office to the student who leads your tour, you can leave each person you encounter with a positive impression. You could also reach out to a professor at Wesleyan asking if they would be willing to meet so you can learn more about their program. They may not respond or make time for you — but they also may say yes. It’s not unheard of for Wesleyan professors to meet with prospective students if the students reach out well in advance with an email that emphasizes connections between what they are passionate about as academics and what the student is pursuing now, and hope to accomplish in the future.
If you can’t visit campus, it isn’t the end of the world. Whether you will get into Wesleyan doesn’t ride on taking a trip, especially if it is inconvenient geographically or impossible financially. And, if you can’t visit (or if you have visited already) there is one more thing we want you to do.
Letter Emphasizing Your Interest
We often call a letter sent directly to admissions a “letter of demonstrated interest.” This can be a little misleading or confusing for Wesleyan since they don’t take ‘demonstrated interest’ into account when assessing your application. However, we believe strongly that communicating your specific interest in Wesleyan to Wesleyan is actually extremely powerful. They may not take the letter into consideration, but they also might. And that potential is important, so it’s worth striving for.
A letter emphasizing your interest should be less than 500 words, and should be written in a way that is formal and professional, but also warm. You don’t want to sound like a robot, but you also don’t want to come off as so casual that you seem immature. A solid format we like is:
Introduce yourself, including your name, where you are in high school, and that you are a prospective member of the class of X hoping to major in something.
Then a paragraph specifying what you want to study at Wesleyan in more detail, and why. This should include why from two perspectives. First, why you want to study the subject and how you developed your interest in it. Second, why at Wesleyan.
Next, write a short paragraph focused on what you do outside of the classroom, and how you want to continue those interests or hobbies at Wesleyan. Most importantly, how will you contribute to Wesleyan through these avenues, like peer tutoring or local service work.
Finally, close by reiterating your interest and confirming that you have submitted your application already.
Yes, only send this letter after you have submitted your application.
Who do you send it to? We recommend sending the letter in the body of the email to the general admissions email, but specify your regional dean or staff member in the opening.
While Wesleyan doesn’t have a supplement, we don’t think you should let that stop you from letting them know that you are very interested in their programs in particular. Writing this letter, and ideally pairing it with a campus visit, is a great way to underline for them that Wesleyan is your top choice.
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