Recent Grad Paths: Nathan '21

In high-level classes with smart, interesting people from all over the world and international experts on the subject guiding the discussions, you have to work really hard not to expand your horizons and knowledge! Especially in the open curriculum at Wesleyan, people tend to be really engaged. I’ve taken so many interesting classes: African Pop Ensemble and Steel Band in the music department, Hollywood and Big Data (taught by the head of market research and data analytics to HBO), Applied Data Analysis, and Empirical Methods for Political Science. And I’ve been lucky to take some classes in some of the most fascinating material, like Health, Illness, and Power in America and Canceled, Blocked, and Banned, which was about the most controversial debates in American Politics. High school classes prepared me to be successful in some incredible classes in college. 

The point of the college process is going to a school at which you’re going to be happy and successful. It’s not just getting into a school; you actually have to go there. Are there way too many exciting classes there you can’t possibly take all of them? Are there several communities and spaces you want to be part of? Would you be happy living in that place, keeping in mind urban amenities, campus amenities, distance from home and major cities, housing model, food, weather, laws and dominant culture in that state/area, etc.? This matters. Abandon the notion of a "perfect" college. The goal is to get into some schools that are going to be great fits for you!