I am a prospie for the class of 2022 and I’m just wondering if anyone knows about the a cappella scene on campus? Pitch perfect saved my life, and I am such an aca-nerd now! Could anyone describe the groups and fill me in on who is the best??
hi! sorry this is a bit late but i’m a student at wellesley and i’m in one of the a cappella groups so i’m happy to speak a bit about them! (edit: i just noticed that i unintentionally talk about each groups color aesthetic in each of these explanations and i found that hilarious for some reason)
there are 5 a cappella groups at wellesley: awaken the dawn, the blue notes, mit/wellesley toons, the tupelos, and the widows. each one has their own special thing and unique personalities, which i think makes them all super awesome in their own ways
-awaken the dawn was MIA for a while, but they just returned this year and are better than ever. they are wellesley’s christian a cappella group and focus on singing music that showcases their faith, from traditional church music to rap. (i’m not in this one but i have a friend who is and she loves the tight knit community of atd!) also their aesthetic is peach and white, which sounds suspicious but looks so wholesome irl
-blue notes thing is that they have a VERY SPECIFIC color of blue that they all wear and it’s such an awesome aesthetic. they sing all sorts of music, but they do a nice mix of top 40, more jazzy, and r&b. their performances are incredibly high energy and smooth (this is the best word to describe their music! it’s so good!!) i have a bunch of friends in this one and they’re also amazing!
-the mit/wellesley toons is the only cross campus a cappella group at wellesley, meaning that there are members from both mit and wellesley (therefore it’s the only coed group!). perhaps the most “out there” of the groups, toons’ personality is as colorful as their tooniforms (rainbow!!), and boasts a repertoire of songs from all genres, but especially more obscure, nontraditional choices for a cappella. most of the people in this group arrange, so this makes for a repertoire that is constantly changing, instead of having to grandfather songs from previous semesters or even years. this group is INCREDIBLY tight knit, and has an insanely committed alum network 
-the tupelos is wellesley’s oldest a cappella group! named for tupelo point on campus, they sing an abundance of pop, jazz, throwbacks, and traditional wellesley songs. the tupelos have a high energy and fun take on every performance they do, and it comes through in the personality of the group as a whole. their aesthetic is red and black and they’re an awesome group to watch
-lastly, the widows! known for their “dressed to kill since 1949” mantra, they boast all black attire and slay us all with their razor sharp harmonies. (my personal fave widows bop is ‘feeling good’ by nina simone; i’m obsessed with their arrangement aahhh). their personality is reflected heavily in their performance and regularly record their own covers!
personally, i think all of the groups are amazing and so so talented, but it’s hard to compare them all because they’re so different. the a cappella scene at wellesley as a whole is pretty chill, so regardless of the group you’re in you’ll be in a lovely community of people who love to sing!
auditions typically take place during the first full week on campus, and people tend to audition for several or all groups to increase their chances of being accepted to one. it’s a bit competitive, but the experience of auditioning, callbacks, and (hopefully!) getting sung in is totally worth it. there are usually auditions in the spring semester as well (depending on the groups’ needs).
tl;dr: a cappella at wellesley is great, i love my group (can you tell which one i’m in? lol) but i also love the a cappella (and general arts) community as a whole, so i highly recommend auditioning for any a cappella group regardless of whether you end up at wellesley or another college hope this was helpful!