New Student Checklist

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.

First-Year Housing Options at Wes!

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A video (with closed captions) about some of the first-year housing options at Wesleyan

Check out the videos that last year’s interns made of the myriad and wonderful housing options available at Wesleyan!

Remember, your Housing Preference Form is due July 6. Residential Life will not be able to assign students who have not submitted the form.

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.

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!

Welcome from Accessibility Services!

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Students with documented disabilities, as well as those who suspect that they may have a disability, are encouraged to reach out to Accessibility Services. Dean Laura Patey and Crystal Rose Hill-Farrell in Accessibility Services assist students individually and confidentially in understanding the process for requesting academic, housing, or dining accommodations.

If you would like to request accommodations, be sure to complete the “Disability Notification/Accommodations” form in the New Student Checklist on your WesPortal. We also encourage any student with questions to contact Accessibility Services to discuss their needs.

Image of Dean Laura Patey; a smiling woman in a blue shirt.
Dean Laura Patey

Image of Crystal Rose Hill-Farrell; a smiling woman in a black cardigan and a blue blouse.
Crystal Rose Hill-Farrell

Becoming a Student Employee at Wes

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Are you interested in working while studying at Wesleyan?  If yes, please read on for important information on becoming eligible to work. 

If you are an F-1 International student or a non-US citizen, please go to 

WesPortal > Campus Applications > Documents Required for non-US Citizens

For all students who are citizens of the United States, please go to

WesPortal > My Information > Benefits, HR & Payroll Forms

  • Complete Section 1 of the  I-9 Form, sign, and date the form.
  • Make copies of the ID(s) needed to validate your eligibility to work (see pg 3 of the I-9 form). Be sure you have the original(s) on campus with you! 
  • Go to WesPortal > My Information > Payroll Help and attach your completed I-9 form and the copies of your ID(s) by clicking on the paperclip (Add attachments) at the bottom right of the Payroll Help form. 
  • Watch out for an email from Payroll Services, our Payroll Help ticketing system, with instructions on how to make an appointment with the Payroll department. You cannot work until you present your original ID(s) at this appointment. Be sure to bring them with you because electronic copies/pictures are not valid! 

We encourage you to review the Student Employment website for more information about job opportunities on campus.

Any Payroll related inquiries should be submitted to Payroll Help via WesPortal. You may also contact Payroll at payrollhelp@wesleyan.edu.

Payroll Staff 

Summer 2021 Course Request Form

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Registration for summer FYS courses begins tomorrow! The Summer Course Request Form will will be available starting at 8:30am, EST. Courses will take place from Tuesday, July 6 through Wednesday, August 25, 2021. Fourteen First-Year Seminars (FYS) are being offered in addition to one lecture course. Check out more information about summer course offerings for the Class of 2025. 

Use the form to indicate your ranked preferences for the courses in which you would like to enroll.  We will do our best to place every student in a course, but due to space limitations we cannot guarantee placement. Every student who submits course preferences during this time period will have an equal chance of getting scheduled into a class. To access the form, navigate to:

WesPortal>Student Information>New Student Tasks>Summer Course Request Form

The form must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, June 21. You may return to the form anytime to adjust your rankings until the deadline. Students will be notified of their final course schedule by Monday, June 28.

No additional tuition will be charged for enrolling in a summer course; the cost is included in the regular academic year tuition fee. [Note that this program for the incoming class is entirely separate from Wesleyan’s Summer Session, which offers courses every summer with a tuition cost.] The course will be added to your academic history and applied towards the 32.00 credits required for graduation when you matriculate as a full-time student in the Fall.

Incoming first-year students are not required to take a summer FYS course. It’s an opportunity to get acclimated to academic life at Wesleyan, but we also realize some students may need a break and/or have competing obligations. We encourage you to take an FYS course in the fall or spring semester of this upcoming year if you decide not to pursue one this summer. You may check out FYS course offerings for the academic year through WesMaps.

If you have any questions, please contact Tanesha Leathers, Dean for the Class of 2025, at classdean2025@wesleyan.edu.

WesPortal and the New Student Checklist

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Black, white, and red image of WesPortal New Student Checklist; Listing of New Student Resources
The New Student Checklist on WesPortal

By now you should have received an email with information about your WesID, username, and login credentials, which will give you access to your Wesleyan email and WesPortal accounts.  WesPortal is your gateway to online tools, information, and resources related to all aspects of your Wesleyan experience.  WesPortal provides access to your academic history, general education report, and course schedule; WesPortal is used to pre-register for courses and apply for study abroad; WesPortal provides student account balance information, and is a place where you can update your personal profile and emergency contact information.  If you haven’t activated your WesPortal login credentials yet, you should do so as soon as possible.

This summer, when you login to WesPortal, you should make a point of frequently checking the New Student Checklist.  The checklist will keep you informed of required upcoming tasks and deadlines that are a necessary part of the process of becoming a Wesleyan student, including submission of the Academic Interest Questionnaire, taking placement tests for math and foreign languages, submitting health forms required by the State of Connecticut, and uploading a photo of yourself for your WesID card. In July you will be using WesPortal to pre-register for Fall courses and indicate your First-Year Seminar preferences.

Watch this helpful training video for more information on how to use WesPortal!

To-Do List

Here is a list of action-items that I recommend you complete before you arrive on campus.  Please be aware that some of these forms may have hard deadlines listed as well. Review your New Student Checklist in WesPortal early and often so you don’t miss any important dates!

  • Requesting Accommodations
  • Building Connections
    • Okay, let’s take a breather, the first four agenda items were a lot! If you have any questions and aren’t sure who to ask, then that’s what the Academic Peer Advisors (APAs) are here for! 
    • Besides faculty and staff, your peers are one of the best resources out there; take a look at the Academic Peer Advisor bios so you can start building more connections!