Admission Frequently Asked Questions

Students may apply to Wesleyan through the Common Application or Apply Coalition, Powered by Scoir. 

No, students may only apply online. Students can still print-preview an application, but the print-preview version must not be mailed to any school to which you are applying. The print preview shown to the student is identical to the document that colleges see. 

Yes. The Wesleyan enrollment deposit is $250. Please note: The deposit is non-refundable. If a student withdraws from their place in the class, we will not refund their enrollment deposit.  

The Wesleyan admission committee wants to see two teacher recommendations. These recommendations should come from teachers who know you well and who can speak to the quality of your work in the classroom. We want to know about your academic engagement, your curiosity, and your willingness to go above and beyond minimum requirements. Wesleyan prefers that one teacher recommendation come from a math or science teacher, and the other come from an English or social studies teacher. While this is not required, we feel that this is the best representation of you as a student in different areas of the curriculum and shows your fit with the liberal arts education we offer. We also suggest that teacher recommendations be from 11th or 12th grade, if possible.

Music, art, or other elective instructors may write a recommendation for you, but they do not count as one of the two academic subject teacher recommendations. 

Wesleyan does not offer evaluative interviews for applicants as part of our selection process.* Prospective students and applicants are encouraged to take advantage of other opportunities to engage with members of our community.

International applicants may submit an InitialView interview as an optional component of the application.  

*Finalists for the extremely competitive Freeman Asian Scholarship may be invited to interview with Freeman alumni.

At this time, Wesleyan does not recommend or require Glimpse as part of the standard evaluation process; however, if an applicant chooses to submit a Glimpse video, it may be considered.

Wesleyan does not factor demonstrated interest into admission decisions; therefore, your inability to visit campus will not have an impact on your candidacy. That said, we encourage campus visits because they are useful avenues for students and families to learn more about our resources, climate, and community.

No, Wesleyan does not factor AP scores into the admission process. 

Wesleyan awards up to two course credits for AP, IB or college courses taken prior to matriculation. While a maximum of two credits earned before matriculation may count toward the Wesleyan degree, all such credits that have been approved by Wesleyan departments will be listed on the student’s transcript. This applies to Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and Advance-Level exams, as well as any college-level courses taught by a college teacher in a college setting, provided that the course meets Wesleyan’s transfer credit criteria. We do not offer advanced standing. Visit the Office of the Registrar for more information. 

Class rank helps us to put your classroom achievement into your school’s context. While we would prefer that class rank be reported, we understand that many schools' policies differ and we do not penalize students who are not ranked. 

Students will need to contact the Wesleyan Admission Office directly, in writing, on or before the application deadline: November 15 for ED1; January 1 for ED2 and Regular Decision. Be sure to include your full name and Common Application or Scoir ID. Send your request to admission@wesleyan.edu.

At least 18% of students at Wesleyan have identified themselves as having a disability and have requested accommodations related to academics, housing or dining. Whether to disclose during the admission process is up to you. The Office of Admission does not discriminate on the basis of disability. As is with all students, students who are admitted must meet the standards and be qualified for admission. Some students choose to share this information with admission officers. Others choose to speak only with Accessibility Services. Information disclosed to Accessibility Services staff is not shared with the Office of Admission unless the prospective student provides written permission. Students who have, or suspect they may have, a disability for which they would like to request academic accommodations should first contact Accessibility Services to discuss their needs.

Wesleyan University is committed to an application process that treats everyone—including those who have a disciplinary record at their school or schools, as well as those who have a history in the judicial system—with the opportunity to be considered as individuals who have learned from their life experiences. 

At Wesleyan, we believe in second chances. We are sensitive to the deep concerns many have about the fairness of our justice system and whether it equitably serves all members of our society. We know that higher education can be an important engine of social and economic mobility. Additionally, higher education can enable individuals to make positive contributions to society. 

Wesleyan University uses the Common Application and the application for the Scoir, along with the QuestBridge application as a function of our long-standing partnership. 

In our commitment to honoring each person’s potential, we will no longer take into account any answer to broad questions about past criminal or disciplinary offenses. Instead, in the absence of clear, objective studies about the predictive value of such questions, Wesleyan has substituted its own narrower questions about convictions or disciplinary actions in the Wesleyan-specific part of the application. 

We believe these narrower questions strike a better balance between giving people a second chance through higher education and providing the University with information that may have an impact on our community. Answering “yes” to these questions is not an automatic bar to admission: Admission officers won’t see an applicant’s answers to these questions until the preliminary assessment of the application—based on academic merit—indicates that the applicant’s candidacy will receive further consideration. 

We review all candidates for admission holistically. While academic qualifications are the primary consideration in this evaluation process, our individual assessments also include analysis of each applicant’s extracurricular accomplishments, work experience, letters of recommendation, essays, personal characteristics, talents, and life experiences. 

In keeping with our commitment to treating those with a disciplinary or judicial-system history with dignity and respect, Wesleyan’s policy beginning with the 2018-19 admissions cycle is: 

• To ignore the questions on the universal section of the Common App or other applications: Wesleyan will ignore any answers that applicants provide to the questions in the main section of the Common Application regarding criminal and disciplinary history because we believe them to be too broad. Instead, we ask two more sharply focused questions that we think are more relevant to the issues of living in a learning community on a residential campus. 

• First reading without information about disciplinary history: All applications for traditional undergraduate admission are initially reviewed by admission officers without knowledge of whether students have “checked the box” in the section of the application indicating a criminal or disciplinary history. 

• Second Review: Applications that receive a positive first review and are deemed competitive for admission will move forward in the evaluation process. At this time, the applications of those who indicated either disciplinary or criminal history—or both—will be studied to fairly assess whether a past offense does or does not indicate their readiness to join the Wesleyan community of learners. The admission officers will be particularly interested in the individual’s ability to frame the past incidents in context, as well as provide a perspective indicating emotional growth and willingness to engage in self-reflection. 

Ours is a highly selective, competitive process and, in the spirit of holistic review, there is no formula or any single number, grade, test score, or experience that guarantees admission. All candidates are expected to help the admission committee learn their personal narratives, the context in which they have been living and learning, along with an understanding of what each might contribute to the Wesleyan community. 

Research released in February 2014 and the upcoming revisions of the SAT and ACT prompted the change beginning for those who file applications for matriculation in 2015. We are unconvinced that standardized test scores accurately reflect college potential for all students, and believe that test scores unfairly advantage some applicants. Individualism and student choice are core values at the University; this policy extends that choice to applicants. 

No and no. Wesleyan believes students should have the power to decide how best to present themselves to the admission committee and whether—or not—their standardized test results accurately reflect their academic ability and potential. If scores are present in the application, we will consider them, and if they are not included, then we will not factor them into our admission decision. 

There is no cutoff or minimum score at Wesleyan. The admission committee uses a personal, reader-driven, holistic review process which has always considered every applicant’s complete application, regardless of test scores. An admission officer reads every complete application. 

Regardless of your answer to the question about the use of your standardized test scores, Wesleyan will suppress any scores you have entered from appearing on the PDF Common Application file. Please be assured that if you choose to have your standardized test scores included with your application, even though the PDF will read "No test scores to submit," we will receive this score data via the data file that is sent to Wesleyan from CommonApp and they will be added to your file. 

If your scores fall below the 25th percentile of those Wesleyan typically admits (see class profile), your scores are unlikely to make you a more competitive applicant to Wesleyan. If you have further questions about how your scores may be considered, we encourage you to reach out to our admission staff.

There is no preference for ACT or SAT scores. Last year, about 60% of all applicants submitted SATs, 20% submitted ACT,s and 20% submitted both. 

Yes, Wesleyan will use the best evidence-based reading, writing, and math scores across any testing dates, and will use the best of each section of the ACT to recalculate a new composite score. 

The best predictor of student success is their day-to-day work in a rigorous curriculum, which has always been at the heart of Wesleyan’s holistic review process.

Students need to answer the question on the Wesleyan University pages in the Common Application. There are seven options reflecting combinations of scores to be considered and the option to not have any standardized test scores considered as part of the application. The options are: 

• ACT only 

• SAT only 

• SAT and SAT Subject Tests 

• SAT Subject Tests only 

• SAT and ACT 

• ACT and SAT Subject Tests 

• No scores to be submitted 

Yes. Wesleyan will not require any matriculating student who did not take an ACT, SAT, or SAT Subject Tests to take exams prior to enrolling. 

Yes. Typically, 20 to 25 admitted students in each class are granted deferred enrollment. The $250 non-refundable enrollment deposit must first be paid to secure matriculation. Upon approval, the Wesleyan Office of Admission will allow students to postpone matriculation for one year. In order to obtain approval, applicants must fill out and submit a plan for their “gap year.” The required deferred enrollment request form must be received by February 1 for Early Decision I, May 1 for Early Decision II, and June 1 for Regular Decision.

Requests will be reviewed upon receipt and students will be notified of their outcomes within a couple of days of the previously mentioned deadlines. It is important to note that students granted deferrals cannot submit any admission applications to other institutions or enroll full-time at any other institution of higher education. Once students’ requests for deferment are received and approved, formal letters acknowledging their deferred status will be sent. An essay, briefly describing deferral activities and reaffirming intention to enroll at Wesleyan, is required by January 15 of the deferral year.

Yes - All Wesleyan employees, including Admission Office representatives are considered Mandated Reporters (concerning abuse, neglect or injury to minors) pursuant to Connecticut law.