Wheaton College Admission
Wheaton College Undergraduate Program
Wheaton College Application

The Facts

Wheaton College is a rather small, private school located in the town of Wheaton, Illinois, and is dedicated to providing students with a nondenominational, Christian education in the liberal arts and sciences. The college is home to over 3,000 undergraduate students and approximately 550 graduate and part-time professional students who are able to take courses in the college’s academic programs in the areas of business, the arts and fine arts, music, teacher preparation, as well as in religious and Bible studies. These academic divisions offer broad majors in the areas of biological science, business, (home to a very popular program in business economics) communications and the arts, (which has a highly regarded German language program) computer and physical science, education, engineering and environmental design, as well as the social sciences (which includes the religious and Bible studies departments). Wheaton College offers its students a moderate range of majors in primarily the liberal arts, however, some of the most popular with students include majors in the areas of religious studies, teacher preparation, psychology, as well as English.

Admission to Wheaton College is extremely competitive among the small number of students who apply. Most applicants have been very academically successful in the past, as well as highly involved in community service and extracurricular activities. Last year, over 2,500 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 1,000 of those students were admitted. Eventually however, only about 600 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming Fall semester. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1180 to 1290, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 26 to 32. Additionally, more than 90% of the admitted students were ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about a 3.85.

Wheaton College has an excellent student to faculty ratio of 13:1, and students agree that the small class sizes and dedication of the faculty are some of the best parts of attending the college. It is in fact rare to find a class with more than 16 students, and most of the courses involved much discussion rather than one-sided lectures.

The Social Scene

The town of Wheaton is basically a part of the far-reaching urban sprawl of Chicago; the city center is about 25 miles away from campus. The area surrounding campus is quite family-oriented and doesn’t really offer students much in the way of entertainment, but the city is quite reachable by mass transit, and many students head into the center on the weekends to take advantage of its many social and cultural offerings. Wheaton College has no fraternities or sororities, but this doesn’t seem to both students too much; they’d rather hang out in small groups and chat, or head into Chicago to peruse the museums and sample the restaurants. Drinking and partying happens on occasion, but not nearly as much as other schools.

The dating scene isn’t anything special in particular, but we hear there are some truly nice people there waiting to sweep you off your feet... (that’s right ladies...)

What’s Good

“The faculty is just awesome here. They obviously really enjoy their jobs and their students therefore enjoy them.”

“The campus is really nice. The administration really makes an effort to make it as lovely as possible.”

“I love just being able to head into Chicago whenever I want. Coming from a small town, that’s quite a big deal.”

What’s Bad

“The whole Christian aspect can be a bit stifling sometimes. It seems like that perspective is present in all the classes.”

“It’s not the most diverse place, that’s for sure. If you want diversity, you have to get off of the campus.”

“There’s no partying here, and if you attempt it, the administration will notice, and not be pleased.”

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