Wheaton College-Wheaton Top Questions

tooo much tooo busy and soooo great.

Everyone is involved in something different on campus. I am involved in the Wheaton College Jazz Ensemble as well as many bands on campus like Then Moses Hit the Rock and the soon-to-be-formed Matt Peterson Band. Those bands play in rock shows on campus (and off campus sometimes like the Will Duvall Band) many times a year. There are also concerts by students at our coffee shop on campus at least twice a week. Theater performances are very good I think. Just a few weeks ago I attended The Illusion, which I was enthralled with. Many attend concerts, football games, soccer games, softball games, swim meets, and many other events on campus. Fischer dorm is the most "alive" dorm on campus. I lived there this year and will next year as well, and loved being involved in things like raids and coffeehouses. In Fischer there are two girls floors to every guys floor, and raids are comprised of a floor having a party for its brother and sister floor in the middle of the night. Coffeehouses are usually low key performances in which anyone in the dorm can perform, while the audience drinks coffee inside or outside (depending on the weather). Dating at Wheaton is a little bit awkward. When I went initially I had a boyfriend from home, but now I have one from school- and he's awesome. We had been best friends most of the year, and decided to start dating. Since at Wheaton we have a "closed floor" policy in which people of the opposite-sex are not allowed on the floor other than specified periods (which are three times a week at least for at least three hours), alone time must be deliberate. A lot of the time that's frustrating, but I actually kind-of am glad it's like that, for it helps me focus on making my relationships more intentional and less based on physical attraction.

Social scene is all about the people doing creative things like generating floor rivalries or kicking it with people they love. Downtown Wheaton is great, and there are a lot of good churches in the area too.

Social life can be lame. Football team always hangs out.

Wheaton doesn't have too much of a social life. The College Union plans schoolwide events which are always real entertaining and well done, but it doesn't plan a ton of them. Maybe once a month at most.

Everyone does something.

The most popular groups include people involved in sports (football, basketball, intermurals, etc.), service organizations, and music groups (choir, orchestra, band, etc.). I met my closest friends on my floor. That is pretty common at Wheaton. There aren't any fraternities or sororities at Wheaton, but I have never felt like I was missing out on something by going to a school without Greek life. Wheaton has so many other clubs and organizations that provide the same service opportunities and social outlets that frats/sororities aren't necessary. Wheaton is really good about having lots of random and fun things to do on the weekends (and during the week) like concerts, dances, shows, cookouts, etc. Off campus, it is really easy to get to downtown Chicago. The train station is really close to campus, and it's pretty cheap to get downtown. Chicago, of course, is an INCREDIBLE city to live close to - tons of concerts, amazing restaurants, and fun stuff.

Often the most rewarding social experiences at Wheaton are just talking about issues with your peers. Wheaton isn't a great college town, but it does have Chicago right there which adds a lot of opportunities.

The social activities and life that are sposored by the school are completely ridiculous. Students establish great friendships at Wheaton because they want to (not because of any roller disco).

Wheaton's community covenant requires students to abstain from alcohol, and most of them do, with significant effects on the social life of campus. The improv club puts on sold-out shows every two or three weeks, the theatre is popular, concerts are well-attended, and groups go into downtown Chicago on a regular basis, all without alcohol. Students know how to have fun and how to be silly, even if they're sober. Most dorm floors have a real sense of community. Doors are often left open and the RA is there to provide support and guidance rather than to enforce the rules. Guys are not allowed on girls' floors and vice versa, except at specially designated times two or three evenings each week. This is sometimes frustrating, but not having to worry about running into people on your way to the shower is a pretty important benefit. The lobbies and lounges in the dorms provide places to meet up with friends of the opposite sex even during closed floors. The dating scene at Wheaton is strange and also a little difficult to describe. Most Wheaton students are looking for husbands and wives, not casual boyfriends and girlfriends. Engagements sometimes seem more common than breakups. Getting a relationship started, then, is a pretty serious business. Never having dated anyone is not unusual at Wheaton; I would estimate that a third to a half of the student body has never been kissed. People do date, and very happily, but you have to be pretty serious about it.