Transition to College

What Do Academic Peer Advisors (APAs) Do?

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This post serves to introduce you to Wesleyan’s Academic Peer Advisors (APAs), students who work under the umbrella of the Office of Student Academic Resources to enhance students’ access to academic resources and promote their academic success.

APAs are here to serve as a resource to all Wesleyan students and available to address any concerns you may have, ranging from queries about course selection to questions about getting involved on campus! Over the summer, we are available to answer your questions via email (peeradvisors@wesleyan.edu). Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

During NSO, which will be taking place mostly virtually before arriving on campus, APAs will focus on helping students plan and schedule their fall semester courses. We are part of a large network of academic support that you will be able to access once on campus, which includes pre-major advisors and deans.

Throughout the entire academic year, we will continue meeting with students individually as well as hosting group workshops. We are as available as students want us to be, whether you’d like to meet once a week, once a semester, or once a year! Also, we are always extra available during the Pre-Registration and Drop/Add periods of each semester, and you will see us work in conjunction with other offices on campus.

In our one-on-one meetings with students, we help with various academic skills like time management, organization, study strategies, and reading or note-taking, as well as with course registration, major planning, and a variety of other academics-related skills and topics.

The APAs are here to enhance your access to academic resources and help you reach your academic goals at Wesleyan. All of our bios are posted on the website (with our emails), so if you read through them and think that you would connect well with a certain peer advisor, feel free to reach out to them directly. Otherwise, as we said before, we are available at peeradvisors@wesleyan.edu to answer any and all of your questions that you might have — please do not hesitate to reach out!

While this was just a quick overview of our roles on campus, we are happy to help with whatever we can. We look forward to working with you, and welcome to Wesleyan!

Free Coursera Course for New International Students at Wes: Academia, Culture and Campus Life – Opens 7/1

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International students can enroll in Academia, Culture and Campus Life: What to Expect at Wes starting on July 1st. This five-week course will be offered for free on Coursera. It introduces you to people that work with and resources for international students, shows you around campus, talks about academic life at Wesleyan, and gives you an opportunity to meet each other. You can find more information about the course on the OISA Facebook page. 
https://www.facebook.com/WesleyanOISA

Thinking about the 3-Year Option

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Are you interested in possibly saving 20 percent or more of the total cost of your Wesleyan education?

It takes hard work and careful planning to graduate in three years, but the reward is a significant reduction in the cost of the degree and a head start on life post-Wesleyan. While the Three-Year Option is not for everyone, this more economical path to graduation may be of genuine interest to students who are willing to earn extra credit during winter or summer sessions, or during the academic year.

There are many ways to navigate the Three-Year Option, but all pathways require a carefully thought out plan for completing one’s major and earning the 8.00 additional credits that are needed to reach 32.00 credits by the end of the sixth semester.

If you are seriously thinking about pursuing the Three-Year Option, please schedule an appointment with Dean David Phillips as soon as possible. Dean Phillips will review your academic record and help you design a personalized plan for navigating the next three years, tailored to your educational goals.

Contact Dean Phillips at dphillips@wesleyan.edu to schedule an appointment.

Do You Think You’ll Want to Go Abroad?

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Wesleyan considers study abroad to be an essential part of a liberal arts education for students majoring in any subject. And while we are uncertain as to all of the programs that may be available at the time you may wish to go abroad for academic study, you still have an opportunity to plan based on your current interests. It might seem really far off, but many of the non-English speaking programs require 2 or more years of language, so if you want to go abroad during junior year, you should consider taking the language for the country you want to study in your first year.

Note that many languages require that you begin a language during fall semesters. We encourage you to explore existing study abroad programs, and you may contact studyabroad@wesleyan.edu with any questions that come up.

Submit Your Academic Interest Questionnaire by 7/6

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Please submit the Academic Interest Questionnaire (AIQ) by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6.

WesPortal > New Student Checklist & Resources > Academic Interest Questionnaire

The information you provide will help us assign you to a faculty advisor, and will also provide valuable information about your academic interests to your class dean.

Based upon your responses, we will do our best to assign you to a faculty advisor who shares an academic interest with you, or who will be teaching one of your courses in the Fall. If you have any questions, please contact Dean Leathers.

Placement Tests at Wes

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All new students who are interested in taking math or language courses should take the appropriate placement exams by July 6.  To access the exams, go to

WesPortal > New Student Checklist & Resources > Placement Tests

You will then be redirected to Moodle, where you can choose the exams you wish to take.

This video on placement tests from Rubye Peyser, former Academic Peer Advisor, offers some helpful advice on the placement exam process.

Preferred Names and Pronouns

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Some members of the Wesleyan community are known by a name that is different from their legal name. Students who wish to be identified by a preferred name can enter that name in the Personal Information section of their WesPortal. You may access more information about preferred names through the Registrar’s Office. In the same section of WesPortal there is also an option to input your personal pronouns.

Annual Health Insurance Requirement

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Wesleyan requires all students to have health insurance.

  • You must show proof annually of private insurance (with a waiver) or enroll in the university-sponsored plan before August 12, 2021. The only acceptable way to comply with university insurance requirements is by completing the necessary forms online, through the Gallagher Student Health and Special Risk website at www.gallagherstudent.com/wesleyan; the online form is available now. Please note: You must use your Wesleyan email credentials to log in, and once logged in you will be taken directly to the Gallagher site; no need to create a new user account.
  • If you know you want the university insurance plan please complete the online enrollment form at www.gallagherstudent.com/wesleyan. Enrolling early will ensure there is no delay in coverage, which begins on August 12, and you will have access to your ID card promptly. If you enroll in the university plan, we recommend using your campus address/PO Box to ensure your insurance statements arrive to your campus mailbox.

If you have any questions, please send an email to healthforms@wesleyan.edu.

Transition to College

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College life can be exciting, but it will differ significantly from your past experiences. New environments, new friends, new classes, new ideas, new experiences are yours for the taking.  And there is familiarity with being a student since that’s what you’ve been doing for most of your life. At the same time, you may need to adapt your study habits to fit into a less structured and more demanding academic environment. And you may be living on your own for the first time, responsible for everything from getting up on time for class to doing your own laundry to budgeting your money. A few suggestions for managing the transition in the weeks ahead:

  • Talk with friends and family members who have recently attended college about their experiences transitioning to campus life — the challenges, the joys, the things they wish they knew starting out. You may be able to glean some words of wisdom!
  • Make a plan with your parents/guardians for how frequently you will talk and email. Strive for regular, but not daily, contact. It will help you concentrate on adjusting to Wesleyan while still reducing the likelihood of feeling homesick.
  • Once on campus, seek out opportunities to get involved in one or two activities outside the classroom. Focus on quality, not quantity. You have plenty of time over the next four years to try out everything! Visit WesNest, the campus student groups website, if you want to get a head start on this.
  • Being a college student does not have to equal being unhealthy. Strive for balanced eating habits, a regular sleep pattern and a manageable workload.
  • Keep up your exercise routine. Physical activity greatly helps with reducing stress levels and with mental acuity.
  • Ask for help if you need it academically or personally. We want to help you succeed!

Welcome from the Office of Residential Life!

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Working in partnership with students and collaboratively with other members of the Wesleyan Community, the Office of Residential Life strives to provide a safe and supportive residential environment that complements and extends the educational experience of students. Student-centered programs and services are developed and implemented with an emphasis on holistic individual and community development, student leadership, individual responsibility, advocacy of academic inquiry, and freedom of thought, opinion and expression in the spirit of mutual respect. These are the hallmarks of the Wesleyan residential experience, and provide the essential foundation for a quality liberal arts education within a diverse and dynamic community. 

You can make a difference! The residential halls, apartments, and houses of Wesleyan University are places where we celebrate the uniqueness and dignity inherent in each one of us, no matter our race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, class, ability, or age.

From fall arrival day to the last day of spring exams, you will find our campus residences filled with curiosity, excitement, and lessons that will stay with you far beyond your four years here. Our student staff of Resident Advisors (RAs) live in the halls and are trained to support the first year class. They can offer guidance on classes, making friends, help with late night lock-outs, and everything in between. Maybe you want to host a poetry reading in Writer’s Block, or a crafts night in WestCo, or can’t wait to hit the volleyball court outside of Bennet; perhaps you are looking forward to a picnic in the Butterfields quad, or playing pool in 200 Church – our office is here to help make Wes your home away from home.

To learn more about our office, please visit our website. Class of 2025, we look forward to meeting you!