What to Pack for Your First Semester at Wesleyan!

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By Cyann Byfield ’23

One of the greatest dilemmas for incoming college freshmen is deciding what to pack and what to leave at home. I am here to help you through this! Packing for your first semester of college is not an easy task, it takes time and preparation. What I would suggest is to create a list of everything you think you may need then divide it into categories. Here are some categories that helped me through the packing process my freshman year…

Category One: Clothing

It is important to remember that Wesleyan is in the North East, and up here we experience all four seasons but when it’s cold, it is cold! During the fall semester temperatures will range from approximately 80-90 degrees to below freezing by the end of the semester. As you arrive on campus it will still feel like summer but don’t forget to pack your winter coat and warm clothes to endure winter in the North East.

You’re probably wondering what type of clothes to pack as well. My best advice is to pack whatever clothes and shoes you usually wear and lots of comfortable clothes. Don’t forget to pack your pajamas, undergarments, and shower shoes. All dorm showers are shared so for hygiene I suggest bringing a pair of flip flops or slides designated for the shower.

Category Two: Dorm Supplies

It is likely that you will be spending a lot of time in your dorm room, so make sure you pack the essentials to make your room as comfortable as possible. All dorms are equipped with a kitchen that has stoves, microwaves, and refrigerators but if you would rather store and warm food in the comfort of your room feel free to purchase or rent a minifridge and microwave for your dorm room. All students are given a twin XL mattress so ensure that your sheets are made to fit this size bed. Also remember to bring pillows as they are not provided. I suggest getting a rug for the floor because sometimes it can get cold. I also recommend getting a desk lamp or reading lamp. It is important to remember to pack towels and all other toiletries that you will use daily.

Category Three: Academic Supplies

Lastly, but certainly not least, remember to pack supplies for classes! I suggest bringing electronics that you feel comfortable doing school work on whether it may be a laptop or tablet; many courses do have components that require electronics. It is very important to pack all of your chargers for respective electronics, but if you forget it’s no problem. You can purchase a charger for almost anything at the Cardinal Tech store on campus. If you’re like me and like to handwrite notes I suggest getting a spiral notebook for each class and pens in different colors to organize your notes! To manage your time I recommend getting a planner or a dry erase calendar board to keep track of your assignments and activities.

As long as you pack the essentials I recommended and take your time during the process you’ll be all set for your first semester at Wes!

Welcome from WesWell!

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WesWell, the Office of Health Education, is an integral part of Wesleyan University’s Health Services. WesWell understands the impact of student health on academic performance and is committed to providing services that are designed to develop healthy behaviors and prevent health concerns that may interfere with academic and personal success.

In an effort to further advance our students beyond the classroom, Wesleyan University has partnered with EverFi to help students address critical life skills such as alcohol abuse prevention and sexual assault prevention. As part of our comprehensive prevention program for new students, Wesleyan requires you to complete AlcoholEDU and Sexual Assault Prevention for Undergraduate Students. These online courses will empower you to make well-informed decisions about issues that affect your college years and beyond. 

Failure to complete these courses will result in a hold being put on your registration.  You will receive an invitation via email from EverFi on August 9th.  The link will also be available in WesPortal, and you can expect communication on directions around that time from the Office of Health Education.

Top 10 Recommendations for the First Year and Beyond

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  1. Make Wesleyan yours: Find or create your spaces at Wesleyan, whether by joining an a cappella group or by loving your Physics lab. We have over two hundred student groups that you can sign up for. There are also jobs on campus.
  2. Build relationships: Seek out your instructors during office hours. This can be intimidating, but it is how you build a relationship and come to understand the course material better. Get to know your faculty advisor, work supervisor, your class dean, etc., as it’s important for you to know people; it’s also very important for them to know you!
  3. Learn from your classmates and try new things: Your peers have had a vast array of experiences, so make sure you’re supporting one another and growing together. Upperclassmen will be an invaluable resource as you transition to Wes. Also, make sure you try new things! Explore a new language, study abroad in a different part of the world, select a course with a topic that is completely new to you.
  4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help: Wesleyan has an abundance of resources, whether the Writing Workshop, Academic Peer Advisors or Peer Tutors, as well as your Faculty Advisor, instructors and teaching assistants. Asking for help is hard, because it means being vulnerable, but it is essential to your success. First-year students sometimes see asking for help as a sign of weakness, but it is not. Asking for help is really a sign that you can make savvy use of your resources that will enable you to thrive.
  5. Wesleyan has its own culture with its own language: I have built a list of acronyms that might be helpful to you.
  6. Use your time wisely: You will suddenly have lots of unstructured time. Given the COVID situation and the need to practice social distancing, it will be challenging to to find ways to manage your time. High school is extremely structured, down to the minute, which is not the case in college. Now it’s up to you to be mindful of how you’re using your time, whether studying for a test, writing a paper, doing homework, getting to class, etc. Most students use a planner, whether electronic or paper. For example, once you have all of your courses set, you should look over all of your syllabi and then plan out all of the assignments across the semester, as you’ll know when your intense weeks will be. If those weeks include papers as well as tests, try to get those papers done earlier so that you can focus on just the tests during that week.
  7. Make sure that you’re having fun! Find ways to connect with friends.  It’s hard to be social when practicing social distancing, but with a little bit of imagination and determination it can be done. Practice mindfulness.
  8. Take care of yourself. Sleeping and eating well, avoiding as much stress as possible, all of these are important aspects of self-care. WesWell offers self-care education, programs and workshops, as does CAPS. We have at Wesleyan the Rule of 7, a guideline that recommends that you can pursue four courses and three activities, but really no more than that.
  9. Don’t let a disappointing grade derail you. If you don’t do as well on something as you had hoped, go see your instructor and discuss where you went wrong in order to improve your performance on the next assignment. A disappointing grade does not mean that you aren’t capable or that the Admissions Office made a mistake (they do not make mistakes!). Make sure that you’re reaching out for help in this moment rather than pulling back, as this has happened to countless students before. Check out the Wesleyan Resilience Project for stories of students who have gained from their moments of challenge.
  10. Your dean is here to help: Dean Leathers is available to you via email or zoom this summer and once the semester is underway.  You can schedule a drop-in appointment with her through her Google Calendar, or you can an email her at tleathers@wesleyan.edu to schedule a meeting if drop-in hours don’t fit your schedule.

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.

Additional Information about English Coursework and Medical School Requirements

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Any course that fits the classification shown below (taken from the AMCAS Guide) and entails writing at least 3 or more short papers or critiques will be considered an ENGL course for medical schools and other health professions programs. As I mentioned during the overview, you will find these courses under other course prefixes as well. For example, the First Year Seminar—August Wilson (ENGL 176), which is cross-listed with Theater and African American Studies, includes assignments such as “Short Papers, Writing Assignments, and a Final Research Essay.” Another example is the “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible” which is listed as a Religious Studies (201) and as a Medieval Studies Course, requires weekly written responses and three papers and is described as:

“the Hebrew Bible within its historical context while considering its literary, philosophical, and artistic legacy. Students will be exposed to the main historical strands of biblical criticism, while also engaging with the challenges of interpreting the Bible as modern readers: How and when did the Hebrew Bible come to be, and what relevance might it hold for us today? By beginning at the beginning and proceeding systematically through the Hebrew Bible, students will hone their skills as readers and interpreters of the Bible as a canon. Students will consider questions of the texts’ function, universality, and authority, and will be encouraged to explore the wide range of biblical interpretations in literature, music, and the fine arts from antiquity to the present day.”

Another example is ENGL 216: Techniques of Poetry, which is a creative writing course and requires writing throughout the semester. Just find something that you will enjoy and that fulfills the AMCAS ENGL classification.

Image of English Language and Literature (ENGL) Categories: Composition and Rhetoric, Creative Writing, and Literature

Questions? Please contact Dr. Mildred Rodríguez (mrodriguez01@wesleyan.edu) for pre-health professions advising.

Missed the Health Professions Coursework Overview Session? You May Access the Recording and Preliminary Transcript Below!

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Link to Recording and Preliminary Transcript for Health Professions Coursework Overview – July 27, 2021
https://wesleyan.zoom.us/rec/share/O_5meoefIrHqn0mQYUhAdamxW8goITi31UWmdT6Sv7IUfg208qkb-ag5nBHGLkUT.3fRxP6nnNdvqqMPX 

Passcode: sRD4+saR

Questions? Please contact Dr. Mildred Rodríguez (mrodriguez01@wesleyan.edu) for pre-health professions advising.

Additional Information about AP Credits and Medical School

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This is information for students interested in medical school who have AP credits.

When completing the centralized application for MD programs i.e. the AMCAS, these are the instructions for AP credits and other advanced level courses from high school:

Advanced Placement (AP) 

To claim AP credit, the credit hours must be listed on your transcript. AP courses should be entered under the term the college credit was initially granted for. If no term is designated, include the credits with freshman coursework (FR). Include AP credit courses only once (by selecting Advanced Placement as the Special Course Type), even though AP credit for the same subject may have been awarded by more than one institution. AP courses may be assigned under the institution awarding the most credit. If AP credits appear in one block on the transcript, distribute the credit appropriately among the AP exams taken. 

AMCAS has special designations for some courses. If applicable, assign one or more special course types by checking the corresponding box. 

If you choose to omit your AP courses, AMCAS staff will add the credits to your application as a lump credit (even though the courses may be listed individually on the transcripts on file). 

For example, the University of Southern California awarded nine credits for three AP exams. On the official transcript, the credit appears as nine credits for AP exams, with no indication of the subject of the individual exams. On your AMCAS application, enter each exam as an individual course and distribute the credits appropriately, but do not exceed the total amount of credits earned. 

If the transcript from the college awarding AP credit does not list course names, enter the subject area for which credit was earned (e.g., AP Credit: English) as the Course Name. 

If the following course types appear on your official transcript, they should be indicated as AP on the AMCAS application even if they are not technically Advanced Placement. 

Image of listing of course types that may appear on a transcript.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Mildred Rodríguez (mrodriguez01@wesleyan.edu) for pre-health professions advising.

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.

Missed the “All You Need to Know about Pre-Reg with the APAs and Dean Leathers” Session? Access Recording Info and Slides Below!

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Topic: All You Need to Know about Pre-Reg with the Academic Peer Advisors (APAs) and Dean Leathers
Date: Jul 28, 2021 5:00PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Meeting Recording and Transcript:
https://wesleyan.zoom.us/rec/share/ydUcgolsQ_Pg8fcoAdkk8ViYBvor9v6HCSl3K_DnwAoFTQ8NPY1o7KRlSjjnEuAX.Zsqc4exFmmBDiU5n

Access Passcode: 2025RSTD&R

Session PowerPoint Slides: Guide-to-Course-Registration-FallDownload

Note: You will need to sign in with your Wesleyan credentials to access the recording and transcript of the webinar.

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!