Wheaton College (MA) (WC)

Wheaton is a four-year, private, residential college focused on the liberal arts and sciences and educating students on creating innovative solutions to big challenges. Wheaton was founded in 1834 as a female seminary, chartered as a four-year liberal arts college in 1912, and became co-educational in 1988. Collaborations with faculty and staff are intended to challenge and transform students into lifelong learners with skills to become problem solvers committed to social justice and the global community.

Wheaton graduates are accomplishing great success upon completion of their degree requirements. Just six months after graduation, 95 percent of Wheaton alumni in the seven most recent classes have secured full-or part-time employment, are continuing their education in graduate or professional schools and internships, or are engaged in meaningful volunteer work. This mark outperforms the national average of 82 percent for the Class of 2020, according to data compiled by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Since 2000, Wheaton students have won more than 260 prestigious scholarship awards, including three Rhodes Scholarships, 122 U.S. Fulbright Fellowships and 26 Watson Fellowships.

Wheaton College is consistently ranked among the nation's top liberal arts colleges by various publications, and has been named a Top 100 liberal arts college by the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education. According to U.S. News and World Report, Wheaton was named a top 50 best value liberal arts college. Wheaton also consistently makes 91�Թ�'s Best 390 Colleges list.

The college's diverse student community represents 50+ countries and 40 states and U.S. territories, with approximately six percent of the student body being international students. Approximately 26% have a multicultural background and 21% are first generation college students.

The college offers a variety of programs to its student body in order to enhance the student experience. New student orientation is offered to all first-year and transfer students and their families to make the transition to college life as seamless as possible. The Office of Student Activities, Involvement and Leadership (SAIL) serves in an advisory role to student groups, providing students with resources for event planning, leadership development and student club information. Currently, Wheaton has more than 100 student organizations and more than a dozen club sports. Students can get involved with cultural and religious clubs, student government, community service and social justice to name a few, or they can also start their own club. Students unwind at the Balfour-Hood Center, which offers a caf?, dance studio and sun deck for afternoon study breaks. Spring Weekend features the Head of the Peacock race, where students build vessels (no boats allowed) and race them across the pond, as well as live bands and outdoor barbecues.

Wheaton is a NCAA Division III school and participated in the formation of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) in 1998. NEWMAC is an association of 11 selective academic institutions that includes Babson College, Clark University, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Springfield College, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Wellesley College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. There are also six associate members that include Simmons College, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Catholic University, Maine Maritime Academy, Merchant Marine Academy and Norwich University. Wheaton is also a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Wheaton women and men play competitively on 13 and 11 varsity teams, respectively.

Wheaton offers a wide and growing variety of coeducational intramural sports, including basketball, water polo, flag football, floor hockey, softball, soccer and table tennis, among others. Wheaton also sponsors 13 club sport teams with more than 250 participants, including rugby, ice hockey and an equestrian team.

Undergraduates at Wheaton seem to agree that their peers are "creative, energetic, and have a love for academics." They also continually prove themselves to be "kind," "respectful," and "interested in being...genuinely good [people]." Moreover, students here do an admirable job of making sure they're conscious about what's happening "outside the Wheaton bubble." To that end, many are "very liberally minded and outspoken with those views." Undergrads also applaud the fact that their college "is home to a wide array of culturally-diverse and open-minded individuals." Indeed, "everybody is very welcoming and very willing to learn about new cultures and experiences." That's probably due in large part to the fact that Wheaton has "students from all over the country as well as the world, a prominent LGBTQ community, [and] students from all walks of life." Further, since the college "is able to offer financial aid to many [individuals], Wheaton students are not all just upper-class suburban kids like at other private colleges around the country." All of this helps to foster a "sense of community [that] runs deep throughout the student body." As one thankful student summarizes, "Unity is a trait that shines here...[and] something that we are all extremely proud of."

There's no denying that Wheaton undergrads love to stay busy. As such, they are "very committed to extracurricular activities." To begin with, "student musical groups are big on campus as well as other performing arts groups." Many Wheaton undergraduates are "involved in community service" as well. People frequently gather at the Lyons Den, a student-run coffee shop that's "open late and hosts open mics on Wednesdays." Once the weekend rolls around, you'll discover that "there are numerous events scheduled. Anything from a movie in one of the auditoriums to food trucks to dance and music performances." Wheaton also sponsors "special treats from time to time." During a recent exam week, students were able to enjoy and de-stress with "a little animal petting farm." As if that wasn't enough, "cupcakes were brought in [too]!" Additionally, plenty of students can also be found attending parties on "Thursday, Friday, and Saturday" at different theme houses, though there "is a definite sober population on campus." Unfortunately, there "is not much to do in Norton." But if students are looking for off-campus excitement, they can easily head into Providence or Boston (20 minutes and 40 minutes away, respectively).

Students at Wheaton proudly proclaim that the college provides “many great resources for…career building.” As this undergrad boasts, “The greatest strength of our school is the career services department which has a high placement rate for both internships and full time positions.” In fact, “about 99 percent of students complete an internship during their time at Wheaton.” This is due to the Wheaton Edge program, which guarantees funding for an internship, research position, or other experiential learning opportunity for every student. Wheaton invests more than $1.2 million each year into this program. Importantly, the office works closely with undergrads to create a customized career development plan. Students can take advantage of one-on-one advising and receive fantastic guidance on resume writing and interview prep. Career Services also sponsors several great programs and events. For example, students can attend “Career Conversations” which are informal round-table discussions with a variety of industry insiders. With events like this it’s no wonder why Wheaton grads do so well!