Introductions

Preparing to Meet Your Faculty Advisor

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The objective of the pre-major advising program is to help first-year students and sophomores think seriously about their educational objectives in the context of the liberal arts education offered at Wesleyan. Together with your faculty advisor, you should develop a challenging and coherent educational plan for the first two years, one that achieves curricular breadth while preparing for the depth that the major will bring in the last two years.

Here are some things to think about as you plan for your first meeting with your faculty advisor:

  • Breaking the ice. A good way to introduce yourself to your advisor is to tell them about your high school experience. A good way to get to know your advisor is to ask them how they became a college professor.
  • Know the curriculum. Familiarize yourself with WesMaps and with the websites of departments in which you plan to pursue coursework. What was the logic behind your course pre-registration strategy?  Be receptive to questions and suggestions.
  • Have goals in mind. What are your academic strengths?  What are your academic weaknesses and how do you plan to address them?  How do you plan to pursue breadth? How do you plan to pursue depth? Share concerns that may affect your success in the upcoming semester.  Be sure to make arrangements to schedule your next meeting.

For more information, please see the Faculty and Student Advising Handbook.

Getting Involved on Campus!

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Student Involvement (formerly known as Student Activities and Leadership Development) is your one stop shop to learn about how to enhance your out-of-classroom experience at Wes!  We encourage you to visit WesNest, our online platform about student groups and campus events. Learn more about WesNest by watching this short video. 

One of the most anticipated events of the year is the “Student Involvement Fair.”  This is your opportunity to learn about the hundreds of clubs and organizations Wesleyan has to offer.  You can meet student leaders, join a group, and get some free stuff!  Mark your calendars for Friday, September 10th 3pm, the event will be under the big tent outside of Usdan.

“WesWOW” – Wesleyan Week of Welcome, will immediately follow Orientation and will take place September 6 – 11th.  Be sure to check your orientation schedule and WesNest for a full listing of events.  In addition to the Student Involvement Fair, traditional events include the Study Abroad Fair, Student Employment Fair, as well as multiple social events providing opportunities to connect and make new friends!

To learn more check out the Student Involvement Website or email us at involvement@wesleyan.edu.

Religious and Spiritual Life on Campus – ORSL Survey

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Wesleyan is very diverse when it comes to religious and spiritual identities. In order to better understand and support students from 2025, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL) requests that you fill out the Religious and Spiritual Life survey in WesPortal which will take less than 30 seconds. For more info:
https://www.wesleyan.edu/orsl/index.html.

Welcome from Cardinal Tech!

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The bookstore has all your dorm and school supplies stocked and ready for arrival day! Make your first day on campus easy by purchasing items like linens, command hooks, and appliances ahead of time and picking up your order at Cardinal Tech in Usdan. The Cardinal Tech Campus Store (a branch of the RJ Julia Bookstore) is a required stop during the initial orientation check in. Our linens come with a 4 year warranty through the manufacturer, so if your sheets get damaged or worn, you’ll receive a replacement for free from the company! Shop online here and choose Pick Up At Cardinal Tech for a stress-free dorm shopping experience.

Student’s Perspective on the “Rule of Seven”

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Written by Maia Dawson ’24

When you come to Wesleyan you will have a lot of options as to what to do with your time, maybe more than you’ve ever had. First you have to choose your classes, and then (like me) you might be trying to find a work study job. You could have a varsity sport that’s been a constant in your life for as long as you can remember (again like me) or you could be reinventing yourself as a journalist and joining the team at the Argus, Wesleyan’s student-run newspaper (not like me, but self-reinvention is very cool and big here at Wesleyan). 

In this situation, which may feel like a select-all-that-apply multiple choice question with way more letters than are in the alphabet, we suggest that you pick 7 to avoid being stressed, distracted, and unsatisfied. Hence the trademark Wesleyan advice we give to all freshmen: follow the Rule of 7. It will help you maintain stability while you explore a breadth of topics at a place with a LOT of options. Also, keep in mind that this rule narrows as you become an upperclassman and your education becomes increasingly specialized. Each class counts as one, along with anything that regularly demands time and commitment. 

I had four classes, a work-study job, the track and field team, and frequent visits to the science library that were more social than studious. Throughout the year I tried to figure out not only what I liked to do with my time but how I liked to manage my time and focus. The Rule of 7 was a sort of backbone for figuring these things out. Coming out of the spring of my senior year I realized that I loved having the extra time that had emerged from all of the cancellations. I got to garden for the first time and really explore horticulture. One day I suddenly became interested in cooking and made fried green olives with tzatziki on the side. 

Sketches of various flowers

The purpose of this tangent was – I realized that I like to have a more loose schedule because I thrive when I am able to be spontaneous and constantly switch up my attention. So I reserved my “seventh” commitment for that spontaneity. Yes, sometimes I just chatted people up at the library, but I also was able to buy a betta fish one day and create a photo collection of the campus bathroom graffiti the next day. And the Rule of 7 actually didn’t feel imposing, like I wasn’t doing enough for my “career” because I wasn’t in a formally established club. It allowed me to really invest in certain projects or readings for my classes that I had a special connection to, or engage my spontaneity. Its definition of “commitment” is as loose as you want it to be, or as defined. Many of my friends had 7 definable commitments and managed them well because they followed this rule. Maybe you are unlike me and prefer a more tight and predictable schedule – The Rule of 7 can be adapted to you. 

Also part of this process of learning about how you navigate time (too existential?) is dropping things so you can pick something else up. An important part of learning is change and readjustment so don’t ever feel like you’re stuck with something. There is the alternative of perseverance, but I don’t have to lecture you on that. I’m just trying to get you to recognize that, though disarray is an important part of life, there are other ways to go about things. And at the risk of cancelling out the rest of this literary masterpiece: Less is more. Don’t join 5 clubs!

6 Tips for Course Selection

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Hey guys!

As we dive deeper into July, now’s a great time to start thinking about courses that you’d like to take. WesMaps has hundreds of incredible options, so let’s break it down to get a sense of which classes work best for your academic interests.

1. Start thinking about requirements for possible intended majors.

If you’re like many Wes students, the open curriculum is one of the main drivers for attending this university. While it is totally fine (and common!) if you have no idea what you’d like to major in—there is no pressure for you to decide this early on in your college careers, it is not a bad idea to start thinking about certain courses that need to be fulfilled to satisfy specific majors. For example, certain majors require students to fulfill General Education Expectations (Gen Eds), so starting to fulfill those requirements as early as possible could save a lot of stress in the future. There are two stages within Gen Eds:

Stage 1:
One NSM (Natural Sciences and Mathematics), One HA (Humanities), and One
SBS (Social and Behavioral Sciences) credits before the end of your sophomore year

Stage 2:
Two NSM (Natural Sciences and Mathematics), Two HA (Humanities), and Two
SBS (Social and Behavioral Sciences) credits before graduation

2. Vary your courses by class size.

A part of the college academic experience is to take a bunch of different courses: not only by subject but also by class size! Towards the beginning of college, it can be beneficial to take classes of various sizes, ranging from a 50+ person lecture class to a smaller, 12-person seminar that dives deeper into the material. Taking courses with varied class sizes towards the beginning of your academic career can help you get a sense of which class size best responds to your learning style.

3. Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone!

Part of the excitement of a liberal arts experience is to take really interesting classes that you might not normally take at another type of school. Even if you are on the engineering or pre-med track, don’t scare yourself away from taking that really cool Toni Morrison class you were looking at. If you’re a psych major, you might surprise yourself by enrolling in an Intro to Dance course! It is sometimes the most obscure course that we either remember or love the most.

4. Consider the graded assignments and examinations

When looking for courses to take, also consider your academic strengths. If you’re more test-taking-oriented, maybe you wouldn’t want to take a class with weekly writing assignments. On the flip side, if you’re more humanities-focused, you might not benefit from a course with 4 exams. Aside from a course’s rigor, it is important to feel like your level of understanding can be represented through the modes of examination a given class offers, therefore looking at the types of assignments classes have can be crucial to your course selection process. On the flip side, however, taking courses with varied types of graded assignments can also be a great strategy to create a more challenging course schedule (if that’s what you’d like to do!) 

5. On Ranking Courses

Ranking can be one of the trickiest parts of course selection, but once you have a plan of action, it’s not too bad! The first tip on ranking courses concerns seat distribution by class year. Towards the bottom of WesMaps, check and see how many seats a given course usually reserves for class year. For example, if you are deciding between two courses that you’d really like to take and rank for your top spot, it might be more helpful for you to rank the course that has fewer seats as your top pick and the other class with more seats ranked second since you’d have a better chance of getting into it. That way, you might get lucky and be able to take both classes that semester! Or, in contrast, maybe you choose the class with more seats as your first choice and wait until next year to rank the other class first if there is a better chance of getting a seat as an upperclassman. Course ranking can be a gamble and while there is no perfect recipe for deciding which courses to rank in a particular order, we hope this tip provides more clarity into ranking courses.

Quick reminder: an X means a given class year is refrained from taking that course; a 0 means that while that class year doesn’t usually have seats offered in that course, there is a possibility that you can take it if someone drops it or if you email the professor!

6. No need to panic!

Course selection may seem crazy, stressful, and all over the place, but you’re not the only one who feels this way. There are many stages of picking classes, so do not fear if you feel like you chose a class you no longer want to take; you have plenty of chances to change around your schedule and drop and add different courses! Additionally, no need to feel like this process must be done independently; there are so many resources, like RAs, class deans, pre-major advisors (and APAs of course!) to help you along the way/make it as easy a process as possible.

Best of luck with course selection!

Sincerely,
The Academic Peer Advisors (APAs)
peeradvisors@wesleyan.edu

Attention All Pre-health Students: Preliminary Advice to Prepare for the Fall and Beyond

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Hello to all of you first-year students considering careers in health professions!

As you get yourself ready to prepare for your future application to a health professions program such as medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, physician assistant, nursing, occupational therapy, and any other fields; you need to consider the different facets of your preparation and work on a plan.

To start begin setting goals related to the pre-requisite courses you need to complete alongside the courses for your major. To view a short video on the course selection for health professions go to: http://www.wesleyan.edu/careercenter/students/health/index.html

Here are some other goals you might want to consider:

 Draft a tentative four-year plan for courses and include a study abroad experience if that is something you are hoping to incorporate into your educational experience and your future summer experiences

 How do you plan to explore your health profession? Consider doing some research online but also starting to volunteer in a clinical setting that involves your health profession

 How will you maintain balance in your life and stay healthy?

 Plan on gaining some shadowing experiences to observe a provider interacting with patients on a day-to-day basis

 Set goals for getting involved with community service here in Middletown

 Join a student organization and engage within your campus community

 Take advantage of the wonderful and diverse courses available to you

 Build relationships with faculty and staff

 Personal growth and becoming more resilient

 Critical thinking, ethical responsibility, teamwork, cultural competence and scientific inquiry grounded in research

 Engage in self-assessment along the way and set goals to comport yourself as a future pre-professional for the health career of your choice

 Read the Health Professions Newsletter and attend as many HP Events as you can

 Visit with the Health Professions Advisor at least once per semester

 Preparing for the health professions is a long process and there are so many other goals I could list here but instead I encourage you to think about any goals you may have that are not listed and incorporate them into your plan

Once you set your goals, begin developing your action plan. As you move forward and have questions, please come see me. I would be happy to meet you and help in any way I can. Once you are on campus, you may set up an appointment on HandShake, or call our reception at (860) 685-2180 or just drop by the Gordon Career Center in Boger Hall (across from Usdan).

There will be an Overview of the Health Professions Coursework on July 27 and a Health Professions Overview for First Years during New Student Orientation (NSO) week. I will also be at the Academic Forum and will have 30-minute drop-in appointments for the first two week of classes. Enjoy the rest of your summer and I hope to see you this fall!

Take care,

Mildred Rodríguez, Ph.D.                                                              
Health Professions Advisor
mrodriguez01@wesleyan.edu
Scroll down this webpage and read my short bio at: http://www.wesleyan.edu/careercenter/advisors.html

Fall 2021 Course Pre-Registration Opens on July 12

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The course pre-registration platform opens July 12. Until the system closes on August 5, you will be able to browse WesMaps and rank your course preferences for the fall semester.  You will be informed of your course placements in mid-August.

You should begin to think in terms of building a manageable course of study that offers challenge as well as flexibility for you to explore the curriculum and discover new interests. As you pursue your educational goals, keep in mind the idea of constructing a schedule that is balanced, challenging, and interesting. An academic schedule is balanced when there is a combination of small and large classes, lecture and discussion, and variations in course content and focus (e.g., reading, writing, quantitative work, artistic activity). This can provide breadth and stimulate academic curiosity while keeping a schedule manageable yet challenging.

There is variation in class days and times and instruction mode. For some students, this is as important a consideration as what courses to choose. Without sacrificing intellectual rigor or interest, students should try to distribute their courses across the week and throughout the day in the way that works best for them.

Health Professions Coursework Overview Session – 7/27

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DATE: Tuesday, 27 July 2021
TIME: 3:00-4:00 PM (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)
ZOOM Registration Link: https://wesleyan.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIuc-yurTktGtzCzyJ73dQ2xmbFA7g436fV

Join Mildred Rodríguez, PhD, the Health Professions Advisor for an overview that will assist students in developing a schedule that will incorporate at least one of the science pre-requisite courses for the health profession of their interest. Additionally, the goal is to encourage students to explore other areas of study and develop competencies that overlap across disciplines. There will be plenty of time for questions in the last 20 to 25 minutes of the overview.

Presented by Tanesha Leathers, Dean of the Class of 2025
Co-Sponsored by the Gordon Career Center
Co-Sponsored by the American Medical Student Association, Wesleyan Chapter
Co-Sponsored by Minority Association of Premedical Students, Wesleyan Chapter
Co-Sponsored by the National Organization on Rare Diseases Student Association of Connecticut
Co-Sponsored by the Wesleyan Pre-Veterinary Medicine Club
Co-Sponsored by the Pre-Dental Club

Virtual Library Resources for Summer 2021

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Many, if not all, of the resources students enrolled in FYS courses will need are online and accessible from Wesleyan’s campus library website.

Wes’s library has a couple of resources it recommends to summer FYS students to help them learn the lay of the land.

Research Essentials is the best starting point, as it explains what the library’s resources are and gives a tour of the library’s website.

The library also has video guides available to help students who want to familiarize themselves with the library’s collections.

And of course, assistance is always available to students in the form of librarians who live to help. Don’t hesitate to reach out if they need anything!