Wheaton College-Wheaton Top Questions

There are no frats/soroties allowed on campus underclassmen live in either fisher or traber-smith residence halls. upperclassmen either live in Mac-Evans or Williston dorm rooms or in a campus apartment or house. There is also a large group of mostly seniors who live in off campus apartments or houses. There is a train station right next to campus that will take you downtown Chicago in about 45min, this is pretty popular on the weekends. A lot of people participate in either a campus sport or club. Football games are especially popular but Soccer games are popular as well. Throughout the year there are IM sports that many students participate in and different clubs such as Koininia (Asian club), William Osborne (African American), Indian Culture Club, Gospel Choir, MuKuppa (missionary kids/third culture), Unidad (Hispanic), International Justice Mission, and many other clubs. Most people make friends from their floor and stick with them throughout their four years. The dating scene is serious relationship emphatic.

This year I have been involved in the Office of Christian Outreach serving on BreakAway cabinet, planning Spring Break missions trips (which I would highly recommend if you go to Wheaton ;) ). I think that there definitely is no problem finding something to get inolved with at Wheaton. In terms of finding friends, it seems that most often people make friends with those on their floors freshman year and for the most part retain them during the rest of their time.

Improv Club; every other Friday night; $1 admission fee. about 75 min of the most hilarious entertainment you've ever seen. OK, but besides Improv, which is a campus favorite, there are tons of things that happen every weekend (and sometimes every night of the week). I am actually annoyed when lots of things go on during the same night that I want to go to. There are two theaters, no, make that three that put on productions fairly regularly. Dating... well, that is very complicated. Many people assume the best way to go is to get married or engaged in the four year timeframe you're at Wheaton. Don't stress. Just Chill. Let happen what happens and you'll save yourself undue stress. Parties- Define parties. Much of the world defines parties as drinking till you don't know where you are. I personally enjoy remembering my parties as well as where I am when I'm there. Since the no dancing rule is limited to campus (even then, there are 4 or 5 dances a year sponsored by college union and dance classes offered by the school and dance clubs) many people just go into the city of Chicago to dance. One thing that kinda bums me out about Wheaton and the surrounding area is the time everything closes; 10 PM ish. I am normally up till 2 AM. I'm in the Fischer Dorm and things are normally pretty lively till about midnight. Even then people hang out in my room till 2 Am or past just doing homework together or playing Super Smash Bros. My roomie and I would always leave our door open if we were in. If homework really had to get done, we'd just go to the library.

Wheaton provides tons of opportunities for students. Whether its ballroom dances or intermural sports, Wheaton gives students a chance to experience it. Its location in suburban Chicago provides students with plenty of opportunities to get off campus if they wish while various groups provide plenty of on campus activities as well. Dorm life is a great source of activity with different floors hosting different social events throughout the year. Students are very supportive of not only the varsity sporting events but also the club sports while being equally supportive of those who are involved in artistic activities.

Dating scene: Taken way to seriously at Wheaton. BE PREPARED for that. There are very few casual relationships. Most are long term and do not start until months if not years of knowing the other individual. If that freaks you out/ makes you slightly nauseous don't worry you would not be alone in that feeling at Wheaton. Many are frustrated with this fact but its a hard trend to break. Theater= amazing. Admittedly I am biased in this arena so if you wanted a more non-prejudiced opinion look elsewhere. The theater is called Arena theater and it is a very small theater. It makes for more intimate shows. All of the actors in the shows are picked from a pool of thirty students that make up the group Workout. If you are interested in acting tryout for Workout. If you are interested in backstage work just go and ask around. We always love help! Partying: like I said it is not unheard of. Especially on the weekends. There are a majority who do not party and majority who do and there are many who are in between those two extremes. Students in dorms leavign doors open: In my experience yes the doors are often opened. They're left closed if the room is sleeping or doesn't want to be disturbed. This is definately more true for smith/traber than for fischer. Floor community is much stronger in Smith and Traber whereas in Fishcer friends are made more often in the lobby area.

Frisbee is big. Freshman/sophomore dorms are a LOT of fuN! There are crazy activities - planned and unplanned going on ALL the time. Everything from shaving peoples' heads outside to suntanning on the roof, to throwing waterballoons at innocent victims from high up windows, to duck-taping RAs to the tree, to skipping class to have fake battles or sit on couches outside and order pizza. It's crazy.

There's a lot going on. At the same time, you might be bored. There are tons of student ministries and activities you can get involved with, beyond getting involved with a local church (highly recommended and encouraged at Wheaton). But, the unorganized social scene is poor. Because there's not alcohol, there's really no parties, and that means you spend a lot of time on your dorm floor or apartment. Speaking of dorm floors, something happens at Wheaton that really doesn't happen anywhere else. There's an amazing amount of dorm floor loyalty, and there's also a fair amount of floor traditions and stereotypes. The 40 guys or 30 girls on a floor will be mostly friends for the rest of their time at Wheaton, and for some, those will be their only friends. It's a tight-knit group on dorm floors. Wheaton athletics are very popular, and rightly so. The football team is fun to watch, and usually pretty good (one of the Wheaton LB was just drafted into the NFL), and the mens soccer teams are usually national contenders. The women's soccer team usually aren't as fun to watch, but only because they always win. They went undefeated last season, and have won the DIII national title three of the last four years. The basketball team made it to the DIII elite eight this year. Wheaton sports are a lot of fun. There is no Greek presence on campus, beyond fake frats like Men's Glee Club. Concerts are usually top-notch, and chapel (three times a week, required) brings in some phenomenal speakers (John Piper, Michael W. Smith, Phil Keaggy, and Kevin Vanhoozer are just a few of the top names I remember from this year).

In regards to Wheaton's social life, I believe we are radically different from many other campuses across the country. Wheaton is almost completely dry (#2 behind Brigham Young) and I find this encourages a healthy social atmosphere. Here, you can have parties with people who are fully engaged, sober, and aware of what they're doing. We have a great time watching movies, just hanging out, or going to a soccor game or an improv show (we've got two hilarious improv comedy troupes comprised of interested students). For those people who aren't interested in a campus where the party starts Thurs night, and where you're not ostracized for refusing to drink, Wheaton might be the place for you.

If I'm up at 2am on a Tuesday, I'm probably studying, watching a movie, chilling in the Student center, out on a Taco run, or taking a walk on the Prairie path with a friend. At 2pm on a Saturday I'm probably studying, playing frisbee in the quad, playing sand volleyball in front of a dorm, walking to down town Wheaton to check out the shops, relaxing at our nearby coffee shop La Spiaza, or taking the Metra train to down town Chicago to walk the Magnificent Mile, watch a concert in Millenium park, hang out in Wicker park, or check out a new resturant in China town.

The College Union is really stepping up to the plate in providing events that are actually cool. They arranged an Iron and Wine concert on campus last semester, as well as several other bands. They are also making efforts to provide spaces for student musicians to practice and perform, and there is a burgeoning music scene in the works! The dating scene is kind of weird and awkward at Wheaton. Many people who are actively social, involved, and who (in my opinion) are quite date-able, have gone for three, or even four years without dating at all. Dating is taken quite seriously, especially with the pressure to marry or to be extremely spiritually devoted before dating. Many girls have turned guys down with the excuse "I just don't think God is calling me to date right now". Many relationships have broken up because on of the persons involved doesn't feel that they could marry the other. Although sometimes guy/girl relationships can be a bit tense or awkward, I've had very rewarding platonic friendships with members of the opposite sex. People party more than you'd expect. It's usually done off-campus, and it's a lot tamer than many other schools, but it's there nonetheless.