CRITERIA TO COMPARE AND SELECT COLLEGES

ENROLLMENT: Total, number of undergraduates, and first year class size.	2,850 total enrollment, 2,700 of those students being undergraduates. Frosh class size is approximately 730.
RETENTION: percent of frosh who graduate.	92 percent graduate within five years.
BACKGROUND: Male : Female ratio. Geographic origin, percent students of color, percent students on financial aid.	50/50 male-female ratio. Students come from 50 states and 50 foreign countries. Over 32 percent of undergraduates are students of color. Extensive diversity of personal opinions and religious beliefs. Fifty percent of students receive some form of financial assistance.

LOCATION: Geographic Region. Travel costs, convenience, and distance from home.	Wesleyan is located in Middletown, a mid-sized community in central Connecticut on the Connecticut River.
SETTING: Urban/rural. Weather. Nearby off-campus recreation and opportunities.	The University is located between Hartford and New Haven, Conn.; about two hours by car from New York and Boston; and about 40 minutes from Bradley International Airport.
FACILITIES: Library, laboratories, studios and practice rooms, sports, student center.	Libraries contain over 1.3 million volumes. Extensive science laboratories available for undergraduate research. Eleven building arts complex outfitted with studios and practice rooms. Construction is underway to remodel and expand the Freeman Athletic Center, a new film cinema is being erected, and plans are in the works to build a new student center at the heart of campus.
COMPUTER RESOURCES: Internet connectivity, e-mail and voice mail capabilities.	In addition to basic voicemail and email, dorms are outfitted with wireless capability. This wireless capability extends to the libraries on campus and all common areas. Electronic classrooms are prevalent. Other computing resources include several new and recently renovated public laboratories with access to databases nationwide, extensive on-line library resources, and other mainframe-based services. Wesleyan is a member of NSFnet, the national supercomputer network.

TYPE: 2- or 4-year. Church, State, or Private control. College or University.	2,850 total enrollment, 2,700 of those students being undergraduates. Frosh class size is approximately 730.
PURPOSE: Liberal arts, pre-professional, or technical. What degrees are offered?	University of liberal arts and sciences. One undergraduate degree: Bachelor of Arts.
PHILOSOPHY: Traditional or progressive. Scholarly or career oriented.	Philosophy: Firm commitment to academics, intellectual life and individual initiative. Strong preparation for graduate and professional schools.
CALENDAR: Semester, trimester, or quarter module. Interim program.	Semester module. No interterim.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS: Required courses, core curriculum, or general education courses.	32 courses required for graduation. No core curriculum, but 9 courses distributed throughout the curriculum are strongly advised and expected.
ACADEMIC OFFERINGS: Majors, breadth and depth of courses in your areas of interest.	46 major fields of study. Nearly 1,000 courses and 1,100 tutorials offered annually.
SPECIAL STUDY PROGRAMS: Internships, exchange programs, foreign study, individual tutorials and research opportunities.	Internships and research encouraged. Twelve college exchange and twelve foreign study programs available.

FACULTY: Percent with Ph.D.s. Expectations for teaching and advising. Emphasis on research or undergraduate teaching. Student/faculty ratio, and average class size.	88 percent have the highest degree in field. All professors teach undergraduates. All students have faculty advisors. All tenured faculty have teaching and research responsibilities. Student/faculty ratio is 9:1. Average class size is 22 students, and 60 percent of all students enroll in classes that have fewer than 20 students.
ACADEMIC DEMANDS: Workload and course expectations. Academic pressure.	Writing intensive curriculum. Highly academic environment with self-set goals.
INTELLECTUAL VITALITY: Student attitude towards learning. Flexibility for study. Interest in political, social or world issues.	Intellectual Vitality: Intellectually curious student body. Highly aware of current issues and concerns in the college and world arenas.
CAREER PREPARATION: Internships and career advising offered. Rate of acceptance to graduate schools and pre-professional programs. Graduates success in job placement.	Strong preparation for graduate work in medicine, law, business, and teaching. High percentage of students pursue Ph.D.s and professional degrees. Rate of acceptance to graduate programs over 90 percent. Internships available on and off campus. Career Resource Center offers counseling and many other services.

TYPES OF STUDENTS: Dominant academic, social, and extracurricular activities. Diversity of backgrounds and opinions.	Types of Students: No one typical student. A celebration of ethnic, religious, geographic and ideological differences.
LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: Large dorms, apartments, houses. Availability of rooms. System of housing allocation. Eating plans.	Housing is guaranteed all years. Frosh are assigned to dorm rooms, and all other grades participate in a lottery. 60 percent of campus rooms are singles. Apartments, houses, dorms and townhouses are available for those in the lottery.
CAMPUS ACTIVITIES: Are there activities related to your interests? Emphasis on social life, fraternities, sports, or other interests. Clubs and organizations. Cultural opportunities on campus or in community.	Campus Activities: Over 120 clubs and organizations. Special interests houses and fraternities. 15 percent of students choose to join fraternities, some of which are co-ed. 29 varsity sports offered. Active participation in drama, music and dance. Cultural opportunities on campus are varied and rich due to student and faculty interest and the Davison Arts Center. Hartford and New Haven offer many other cultural opportunities.