By: Jeremy Harper (Whetstone  Contributor)
As their winter graduation approaches, some of Wesley’s graduating students reflected on their many positive experiences at the school.
“I figured a school with smaller classes would have been more conducive to my success as a student,” said Joseph Guarino, a senior in the English department.
Wesley College’s Winter Commencement will take place at the Dover Central Middle School auditorium on Wednesday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m.
And with only 1,791 undergraduate students and a 17:1 student to teacher ratio, Wesley College provides smaller classes with a focus on student-teacher interaction. For many students, including Guarino, this is exactly what they want from a smaller college.
“I felt a legitimate connection with the teachers who cared about my success as much as I did,” Guarino said. “I’m proud of my schooling at Wesley.”
Small class sizes and its one-on-one interaction is only one aspect of Wesley College.
Allison Parker, a senior in the media arts department, came to Wesley College to branch out from her high school life.
“I felt that Wesley College would provide a different experience than what I had gotten used to,” she said.
With an interest in video production, she joined the media arts department and, as a result, said she learned a lot.
“I recently finished an internship with a local news station,” she said. “I spent most of my time filming, but I also worked with audio and on scripts for news casts.”
Similarly, Nick Thompson, a senior in the media arts department, credits college with opening him up to new experiences.
“I was able to learn more about myself than anything else,” he said.
However, simply graduating from college has become an accomplishment in of itself. Wesley College’s overall graduation rate as reported to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is only one-third of the enrolled class.
According to the NCES, the overall graduation rate tracks the progress of students who began their studies as full-time, first-time degree students to see if they complete their degrees or other awards, such as certificates, within 150 percent of normal time.
Both Guarino and Thompson took four and a half years to graduate, while Parker took five years.
One reason for this delay may be because certain credits won’t transfer from school to school. Guarino credits this to his delay. Parker said that she changed majors after her first year and thus was delayed from graduating.
While graduating from college is often a means for celebration, there are still pitfalls that students face.
Many students are graduating with large debt. Wesley College’s tuition has risen in the past several years, including 4 percent for each of the past two years and now sits restlessly at $21,512 per semester for students living on campus.
Both Thompson and Parker are in the majority, graduating with debt.
However, not everyone is as unlucky.
“I’m only in debt to my parents,” Guarino said.
