Wheaton College-Wheaton Top Questions

Sweet, sheltered, condescending, sincere

My classmates at Wheaton College can best be described as bright but with the sense not to be arrogant with the extent to which they have grasped or mastered the subject material.

Classmates at Wheaton are typically very driven, friendly, honest, and all around great.

Artsy, fun and pretty gutsy. They're all awesome

Wheaton's students are passionate. Many causes are upheld, the banner for many organizations and goals flown for all to see. Be it missions, helping the poor, political support, or campus issues, Wheaton students passionately endorse their favorite causes. Most students are from outside Illinois, some coming from other nations to attend Wheaton College. Most students are white, even though Wheaton tries its best to diversify. Many attempts are made to discuss race, and although they are made with the best intentions, many times they are underwhelming.

There is not a lot of racial diversity at Wheaton. I think this is something the school is trying to work on, but for the most part you look around at a sea of white. I think Wheaton can be a good place for minorities if you are willing to be a teacher to your peers and tell them about your unique experience as a minority. The Wheaton community as most people are highly achieving and we sign a covenant that we won't drink is a fairly fit community. I think this is potentially dangerous as it can lead to an unhealthy view of yourself as you look at the many fit people around you. People's dress varies from jeans and a t-shirt to the rare few who dress more business casual and don't even do that every day. Wheaton has a grassroots group of students who are socially active and aware. The HNGR program especially points us to Human Need and Global Resources (get it HNGR...) I think Wheaton students care about what is going on in the world as we are essentially focused on what our role will be for Christ in His Kingdom which is the whole world. I think the more prevalent attitude among students is not what will I make when i have a job, but what impact will I have on the world and how can I be doing things now to be working towards a greater impact in the future. Because of the small class size it is fairly easy to interact with the different types of people at Wheaton. There are a lot of missionary kids who call many different countries in the world "home."

The student body is very superficial, and as evangelicals they feel like they must always wear a happy face when in public and pretend they have their life together. However, when you really get to know anybody deeply, you learn that they are broken and struggling with issues just like everyone else. There are homosexuals at Wheaton, but they are afraid to come out due to the fear of discrimination. There are many cliques at Wheaton, and those groups don't tend to interact often. Most students have had a suburban middle-to-upper class upbringing, and are overwhelmingly conservative. Liberals comprise probably 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body. The students who come from overseas tend to keep to themselves in their own groups.

students at wheaton are typically white, upper middle class, and come from a christian home. however, many students come from all sorts of backgrounds and it is not uncommon to have multiple friends from overseas and all over the country. most students are pretty politically active, however, political views range from every end of the spectrum, which is contrary to typical wheaton stereotypes. in my experience, students very infrequently speak about how much they'll earn one day, rather the focus for employment seems to be on what people are called to do and what they will enjoy.

First, a criticism: Students at wheaton are so damn cynical about absolutely everything, and I mean everything-- from the college's constitution to the cafeteria food. And the reason is, we are all under so much pressure. To be smart, to be cool, to be right. The result is a body of students who defensively resort to being critical of anything that is remotely threatening to them, and that often seems to be everything when you're a stressed out 20-year-old 200 miles from home. And while I'm being cynical myself, I'll add another criticism. Another way Wheaton students react to the pressure is by overreacting to it. The pressure to be politically cutting-edge, for example. I have seen this lead young women into a world of purely defensive feminism, inspired by and recipricating shame in oneself; girls here are just tired of being girls, exhausted by the constant call to meet the standards of men and overthrow stereotypes and resist temptation to conform to anything that the world tells them they are. Good can come from this, but I have seen more bad-- females who can no longer wear makeup or refer to God as "he" or even allow their fathers to walk them down the isle on their wedding day. Years from now, after escaping these pressures and entering the real world where bigotry and sexism cannot be beaten by symbollic sacrifices such as these, I can only imagine the regret that some of these girls may find from their pressured Wheaton College idealogy. This pressure also strongly applies to race, sexuality, and even faith in God. And now for some good, for goodness sake: On the other hand, so many people here are forgiving and kind and real. You have to find them under the masks, but since we're all wearing them, it isn't as hard as it could be. You'll find guys and girls under the same exhausting pressures you are, and that alone, in my experience, has been enough to bond some seriously close friendships. Students here really are smart, and not just academically.

Wheaton is a Christian college, but it's not geared toward one specific denomination. There are many different "types" of Christianity on campus, but all with one goal - the glory of God. There are such a variety of people on campus...it's wonderful. The fashion is as varying as the personalities, but somehow, the mix of all those different kinds of people works well. It's a great opportunity to get to know so many different kinds of people from all over the world.