Wheaton College-Wheaton Top Questions

Wheaton College is all about serving God. Whether it's through pursuing academics or extracurriculars, the students and faculty have God's glory in mind whatever they are doing. It's a small school so interpersonal relationships are important and easy to maintain.

I absolutely love Wheaton. Wheaton is the best community in which I have ever been involved and the best community I will probably ever find. The people truly make this school. The winters are frigid cold which I think drives people together, when spring rolls around the campus is crawling with people playing ultimate frisbee, tanning or just studying outside, but most things are done in groups, you are rarely lonely here if you are putting the effort into relationships. The Wheaton name, especially in the evangelical community is held very high. I was sitting in McDonald's once and this old man came up to me because I was wearing Wheaton apparel and told me what a great school it was. Wheaton's administration is pretty top-down, but I think this is slowly changing. Teachers are very personal and absolutely love to connect with you whether that be over a meal or office hours, they are your advocates at the school and they want you to not only do well in their class, but do well in life.

Wheaton is a small liberal-arts college in the suburbs of Chicago. The town is very dull, and the college-life is not much more exciting than the town. People get stressed about schoolwork and don't lead healthy, balanced lifestyles. If you don't have a car, you feel cut off from the real world and trapped in a "Truman Show" world of affluent suburbs and Christian morality. A professor was recently dismissed for divorcing his wife, and another was dismissed several years ago for converting to Roman Catholicism; this type of fundamentalist morality enforced on faculty makes me angry.

the best thing about wheaton is the community -- most people are very friendly, considerate and interesting. the smaller size of the campus is helpful in facilitating relationships, not only among students, but with faculty and staff as well. most students spend lots of time in the newly finished student center and the sports and rec building which is packed full of lots of options for fun activities. the sports facilities are better than any division 3 school in the country and are available to all students for intramurals and recreation when varsity teams aren't playing/practicing. most students exhibit a lot of school pride -- especially in athletics and with the many wheaton traditions. the food is amazing at wheaton and the dining service is very accommodating to students and openly accepts and carries out suggestions for improvements and additions.

Wheaton is far too Alumni-oriented. There's a lot of things we can't do because we're too afraid of what the 1960's graduates will think about it. We have a "college radio station," for example. All we play is classical and contemporary christian music-- and only the most safe and simple contemporary christian music at that. I don't know a single college student who listens. But I guess we need those Alumni donations, more than we need student satisfaction. I can't wait till we graduate-- then, maybe, the school will care about what we think.

The best thing about Wheaton is the people, hands down. This really is a community that desires to serve God, not only with their academics and theology, but also with their relationships and every other part of their lives. The only thing I'd change about Wheaton is how cold it is most of the time - my winter coat and boots become my favorite fashion statements. There are Wheaton people everywhere! It seems like everyone I know has a cousin, middle school english teacher, next door neighbor, or whatever else who went to Wheaton. Going to Wheaton places you into a huge global community of alums, professors, and more.

Wheaton is a great Christian college where the students are very bright and there is a somewhat small amount of students that attend, but it is fairly close to just about right, as far as private liberal arts colleges go. Years at Wheaton come and go in phases or cycles, as life does. There will be times when you love Wheaton, and there will be times when you want to transfer elsewhere. There is something that each student signs before going to Wheaton called the Community Covenant, this is a document that says that you will not drink, smoke, or do anything immoral and it does lay out those guidelines, while going to college at Wheaton. Most students adhere to this, but as with anything, there a few that do not.

Now that I am home after my first year of Wheaton, I can say that it has been a very positive and life-changing experience. I can't imagine going to college anywhere else. The best thing about Wheaton is the people you'll meet. There are a lot of real, down-to-earth students and a good number of strong Christians, but you'll also meet a lot of people who are struggling with their faith as well. When I first got to the college, I expected people to be spiritually mature and very serious about their faith, but this simply isn't true of every person. You will meet people who are, but there will still be a significant amount of people who are just there because their parents want them there, or because they grew up in a Christian family and their faith has just become something they're comfortable with. However, there are many opportunities to challenge and sharpen yourself in the faith.

It is the perfect size with a beautiful campus and a good community feel on campus. Also, the cafeteria food is excellent. It is not much of a college town and there are not really any stores in walking distance that are helpful to college survival. We have strong academics but also strong sports. The dating atmosphere is a little unhealthy in the opposite way to major state universities, there is too much stress revolved around finding the perfect spouse and not just getting to know one another.

The best thing about Wheaton is getting to spend time in a community of Christians that care about thinking "Christianly" about the world in which we live.  I have been challenged in classes and discussions with peers to expand my views on what the Christian worldview ought to look like.  At the same time, Wheaton is very much committed to a Biblical stance on issues.  I personally liked the small size of the school and getting to know people with varying interests, versus just getting to know others of similiar majors as has been the experience of some of my friends at large state schools.  There's always some controversy about the Covenant and the ban on drinking, etc., but I think that for the most part the rules don't feel too stifling.