Wheaton College-Norton Top Questions

I think Wheaton is a great school. The campus is beautiful and a great size and I love the small student body. The professors are amazing and are extremely willing to give advice about your education in general and not just their course. The professors become your mentors. I love our large and smaller traditions, our superstitions, and little things such as people posting flyers on the ground.

I think one of the best things about Wheaton, and what certainly drew me to it is its small size. You can really get to know the people that go to your school. Seeing the same people on the way to class everyday, it makes me feel a real part of the Wheaton community. On the subject of College town, the correct answer is "what college town?". Norton is pathetic, its main claim to fame is a Walgreens right across form a CVS. You have to go one town over into Mansfield to get to a supermarket. Luckily also in Mansfield is the Providence/Stoughton communter rail line. Perfect for escaping to either Boston or Providence, even without a car. With a car you can do the same thing. That is the nice thing about Wheaton's location. While we get the isolation and benefit of a small town, quiet, defined campus, insulated college life, we're not cut-off from interesting stuff to do. People always react positively when I mention where I go to school. They have also always at least heard of it, which is gratifying in its own small way. Wheaton's administration is alright. I honestly do not have much contact with the administration, and prefer to keep it that way, just to keep my own life simpler. Our president is rather stuck-up, and is always ready to serenade us with his cello. That gets old quick, but he is generally only concerned with the schools administration, so he's easy to avoid. School pride is pretty high, off-set by complaints about the high price tag that the school sets. This is one of my main complaints about President Crutcher. He feels that the school is justified in charging an Ivy League price, because we are aspiring to be Ivy League. This is silly, because we aren't Ivy League. I honestly was very specific in not looking at Ivy League schools for under-grad.

Wheaton is a very small private college which is not appealing to students who are looking for more diversity and/or unfamiliar faces around campus. I went to a very small suburban high school (aprox. 700-800 students total), so Wheaton is an okay size for me. However, I do know many people who hate the small size of the school. Most common complaints are... -too small -public safety is way too strict -not a very diverse campus at all -Tuition is very expensive

The best thing for me is the closeness of the people that go there. i ahve found some great friends and we will remain friends for life. When I am not busy with work I usually hang around with them on campus and off campus. There are several malls in the area and Boston is only 45 min away by train. There are many things that I like about Wheaton but the one thing that annoys me is that the tuition is so high but we aren't getting anything to show for it; all of the projects we are paying for, won't be completed until after I graduate. I also don't like the idea that the President got an extension built onto his house where only he and his wife live, and we students are still living in triples and quads. I don't know the particulars about this but the way I am seeing it really annoys me.

Small school, you can make a great circle of friends. In a college town, lots of off campus housing. Lower campus sucks for housing but its definitely a right of passage for the underclassmen.

Most people have not heard of Wheaton College except if you are from Massachusetts. A majority of the students seem to be from Massachusetts, New Hampshire or Maine. What college town? Norton is not exactly the first place you would elect to have a college in. It is not conducive to students, and many venture to nearby Providence or Boston, especially if they have a car. Cars are coveted on campus. If students do not have wheels, they are at the mercy of bumming rides of other students or waiting for the GATRA to take them to the nearby cities. Not a lot of pride on campus.

The thing I love most about Wheaton is the feeling of community on the campus. The campus itself is very small, which creates a feeling of closeness that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. Personally, I am a transfer student and spent my first year of college at nearby Stonehill College and have also spent a summer living on the campus at Tufts University. Having Experienced these different environments, I can say that the feeling of closeness and community at Wheaton is greater than on any campus I have seen. The closeness of the community also means that to some point everyone is in the spotlight, making this school a difficult fit for someone that does not want to be active and recognized in the community, but a perfect fit for someone who is outgoing, sociable, and enjoys involving oneself in campus activities. The campus is also one of the most active, which is fitting for the tight knit community and was ranked among the top 20 schools in the nation in the category of how much there is to do on campus. When I tell people that I attend Wheaton College, the usual response is a puzzled look followed by the question, "wheres that?" The location of the school in Norton does put it sort of in a quiet spot. The town is very small, and there is not much to do in the town itself, but this is not usually an issue due to the fact that most people rarely leave campus. The Wheaton administration is the most understanding and helpful administration that I have dealt with. The small size of the school allows administrators to become more familiar with each student, and most are as helpful as possible. The administration is also not overbearing with regard to its alcohol policy. The policy, does not excessively punish students for violations of its alcohol regulations. There is a lot of school pride among the students at Wheaton, and most students feel that they made the correct choice in choosing to attend Wheaton. Even skeptical incoming freshmen who talk about transferring almost always end up staying and finding their niche at Wheaton. The most frequent complaint about Wheaton addresses its small size. The downfall of having an enrollment of 1550 students is that the campus can at times feel claustrophobic, but that feeling rarely lasts.

I love the size of Wheaton. There are roughly 1,600 students. Due to its size I have friends (actually truly close friends) from every class. Some of my closest friends last year were my friends from my dorm who were in ages ranging from freshmen to juniors. Along with these friends I made friends with freshmen through seniors from the Ultimate Frisbee team and from the Outdoors Club. The town of Norton is a real drag. The only thing of substance that I'd change about Wheaton is that fact that there isn't a college town. Granted, it takes 30 minutes to get into Providence and less than an hour to get into the heart of Boston, so this factor isn't too terrible. As a result of this lack of a booming college town, the campus fills the cultural and energetic void. This being said, I have made myself very involved--perhaps over involved, which results in much sleep deprivation. Many of my peers and friends do not share my gleaming view of Wheaton, mainly for the reason that they haven't made the effort to get involved in clubs and teams--most of whom host some solid parties. Wheaton will return to you what you put into it. If you get involved extracurriculars and make an effort to engage yourself in the campus, you will find a Wheaton is quite an amazing place.

Because of the size of the school, it really does feel like a continuation of High School. Some people like it and others don't. There are definitely cliques and a fairly homogeneous student body. Minorities tend to stick together. There seems to be a large division between athletes and non-athletes.

Wheaton is a beautiful campus on the smaller side which is nice because it does not feel overwhelming. I would, however, change its location. Although it is situated between Boston and Providence (two great cities to visit), the town of Norton has nothing to offer but a CVS. Many students are pushing to make Wheaton more sustainable, but there seems to be some residence from the administration. It is great to see the response from the students who believe in it, however. One of the most frequent complaints is the drug and alcohol policy. The policy is exceedingly strict causing many students to party off campus. This causes the campus to seem empty sometimes on the weekends. I believe that Wheaton's strongest aspect are there academics.