Wheaton College - MA: off the record

When I tell people where I go to school, they usually respond with a typical smile and blank eyes of someone who has no knowledge of the words I just uttered. Or, they will guffaw loudly and say, "Did you know they allow dancing there now?" Then I respond that no, I do not go to the religiously affiliated Wheaton of Illinois, but the liberal-arts college located in Norton, Massachusetts. This usually brings about a different response, as they realize that I go to a school that is becoming more and more recognized for its academics, selectivity, and theme of learning for life.

Wheaton College has been improving so rapidly and in so many different ways that most people haven’t even realized it yet. The acceptance rate has become more selective, and each year the freshman class becomes more and more impressive, frightening upperclassmen like myself. Wheaton continues to focus on its goal of creating an atmosphere of learning for life for all of its students, and it succeeds.

Unlike larger universities where you pass through as a mere number before entering the working world or going on to graduate school, Wheaton really focuses on personal growth rather than just the academic. This is reflected in the application process where extracurricular activities are weighed heavily and SAT scores are not required. Students get to know their professors intimately and there are wonderful opportunities for research partnerships.

When I first stepped onto Wheaton’s green, elm-draped campus, I knew. I had no idea what I wanted to study or what I wanted to be, but I knew that this would be the place I’d spend the next four years of my life. It’s not that simple for most students, though, and no matter how much information you learn about a school, it’s still hard to know if you really want to spend a fairly large portion of your young adult life there. But hopefully this book will help shed some light on different aspects of life at Wheaton, and make such a big decision a little easier.

Jessica Takach, Author
Wheaton College