Wheaton College-Wheaton Top Questions

Most of the student body here is fairly rich, but they think that there are not, which makes them very annoying. I myself come from a simple background and have found it somewhat hard for people to realize that not everyone is like them. Most people here are conservative, but there is a good amount of people who are center and left of center.

I come from a family with a low socio-economic background, and I feel that it is hard to find a lot of students that come from the same kind of background. I feel that most students come from wealthy and white families. However, there are a lot of white missionary kids who have lived in countries outside of the US, so they do add a different outlook on life. I have not found it difficult to make friends with many different people, but I have noticed that most of my closer friends are caucasian. I think that there needs to be more diverse student-relationships on campus. Gospel Choir is an excellent way to meet people that are different than yourself. Usually, I think that people find others that they are comfortable with hanging out with. I can think of one person who did not closely meld with anyone. He was a minority student and he also had some internal struggles that he is now getting help for, but I think he did have a hard time this year finding people he could relate to. Even then, I know that some people have reached out to him to help him, and that he is getting help. I know that my time at Wheaton has made me less conservative. But I don't think that it's about belonging to the left or right, it's about learning to live as a Christian. As far as I'm concerned, neither political party espouses all of the qualities that Christian should vote for.

The campus is not very racial or ethnical diverse but they do make an effort to address issues of race and ethnicity on campus. Being a Christian college most of the students are Christians by daily life, and all are Christians by requirement. Most of the students are white middle class american students although there is a large number of missionary kids who attend as well. The culture at Wheaton is not very judgemental about different groups or what people wear.

Wheaton boasts alot of people from around the USA and the world (I know that sounds nebulus and, well, I guess it is). In my own personal opinion, I would like more black people here. That should not be a deterent if you are black because there are still plenty here and they are very active in the community. I'd just rather have more. Financials.... Ok, so, alot of people who go to Wheaton have money in the family. Partly because of the lack of scholarships and finaid, some people chicken out of going here. #1) Wheaton is rated pretty highly in the "bang for your buck" category. It is worth the money to go here. #2) If God wants you at Wheaton, He WILL provide (Jehovah Jirah= sweet praise song). I know that when I decided to go to Wheaton, I was looking at one large debt to pay off when I got out. Over the course of maybe five months, God reworked my family's entire financial situation to allow me to go to Wheaton and I'll come out with alot less debt than I had originally thought. But, I was just thinking again, another financial grouping we have are MK's. Wheaton gives large amounts of financial support to missionary kids. I think this really helps put a different view of money out in the Wheaton Community. One last note, there is a free thrift store on campus. It rocks!

The Wheaton student body is probably one of the most diverse student bodies you'll find for a college its size. Many missionary kids provide an overseas flavor to a student body that brings in students from all across the country and all walks of life. Wheaton has students from all 50 states and over 40 countries.

Well obviously if you are not a Christian Wheaton is not the place for you. If you want to come to the school and party expect to be disappointed and to be confronted about it by your peers. Again that's not to say that we're all prudes, at least not by my definition, we're just responsible with what we do.

Students at Wheaton may be similar in that most of them are smart Christians, but there is really a surprising amount of diversity as well. There are students from nearly every state as well as from many different countries (lots of MKs, military, etc). It's so interesting to get the different perspectives from my friends who have the same Christian worldview but very different experiences.

Don't get thrown off immediately by the fact that Wheaton's a conservative school. It doesn't mean that its students are. Students generally liberalize significantly as they learn more of what it truly means to follow Jesus in a highly academic setting. Expect strong support for governmental programs for the poor, and strong support for social church action. Many students are involved in ministries which meet needs in homeless and gay communities in Chicago. That said, most Wheaton students come from a lot of money. Surprisingly, most students are also incredibly generous with their time, money, and expectations. Truly, I felt love from almost everyone I met. I was consistently surprised that the box I put so-and-so in way much to tight, and that he or she was, in addition to being a jock or prep or geek or whatever, was also an intelligent, loving and surprisingly complex person. You will not meet many other people with higher character than a Wheaton college student.

Good people who mean well. Because everybody is a Christian that automatically creates a unique student atmosphere. Everybody knows each other because of the small size of the college, which is nice. The atmosphere is pretty laid back and casual, but the students are also fairly competitive. Students are from all over the country and world. My class of 590 had students from all 50 states and something like 25 countries. Students tend to be from wealthier backgrounds but it ranges all over. Students are very politically aware, most start conservative and end up centrist or moderate or libertarian.

As a white, middle-class suburbanite, I knew that I was fairly sheltered in terms of socio-economic or cultural diversity. For me, Wheaton represented a more diverse community for me. The students at Wheaton come from all around the country (lots of Midwestern, or East coast backgrounds) and from all kinds of churches. Each person may have a view that is different than your own, and forces you to reconsider where you came from. One of the most interesting experiences for me was joining the Wheaton College Gospel Choir, a ministry that sings in local churches. Not only was this a very racially diverse group (probably one of the most diverse on campus) it was a radically different worshipping experience for me, coming from a solemn, Christian Reformed/Baptist background. Here, I was challenged to see worship and religious expression in a different light.