<p>I would really like to attend Wellesley and my counselor sees some potential in my acceptance.. but, coming from a middle-low income class makes me wonder if I would "fit in" to the Wellesley environment... i just heard that there are many boarding school graduates who are extremely affluent.... just wondering...</p>
<p>My D just graduated from Wellesley. She received significant need-based financial aid and worked part-time all four years. </p>
<p>She made friends who came from even more humble backgrounds, and friends who graduated from exclusive boarding schools and have vacation homes in Switzerland.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about fitting in due to socioeconomic background. After feeling “different” in HS, my D finally felt like she fit in at Wellesley, where her fellow classmates were also smart, hard-working, and motivated.</p>
<p>About 21% of Wellesley students receive Pell grants, for which students from families making less than $20,000 per year are eligible.</p>
<p>When I went to Spring Open Campus (two day event for admitted students) with my daughter, I could see the full range of socioeconomic status represented. But you know what all the families had in common? They were all very nice, down to earth people, whether the moms were carrying designer bags or not.</p>
<p>I agree with the other responses. During my time at Wellesley, the vast majority of students were very nice and welcoming and not at all concerned with income class. That said, you will probably encounter a few people whose affluence makes them able to afford more outings and shopping trips, and some of them can be unaware of just how privileged they are. However, their ignorance isn’t malicious, and this kind of attitude doesn’t exist in most students. (Also, I should note that I could only attend Wellesley because of a very, very generous financial aid package.)</p>
<p>If you have more questions about Wellesley, please feel free to contact me! I graduated last May.</p>
<p>I would echo the comments of college<em>query and Mariecc1. My D also could not attend Wellesley without generous financial aid and her work study job, but she has never felt like she didn’t fit in due to any differences in economic status. In fact, like college</em>query’s D, she feels more at home at Wellesley than she did in high school! </p>
<p>There certainly are students from affluent families who probably think nothing of vacationing in exotic locations or flying home for just a weekend, but the majority of the friends she has made are in about the same situation as she is–needing to watch what they spend, finding cheap (free!) forms of entertainment and frequenting local thrift shops for clothes shopping!</p>
<p>Wellesley is definitely my first choice and I want to apply Early Decision, but the only thing holding me back is financial aid. I heard that Wellesley is extremely generous, however if I do not receive sufficient amount of financial aid, I would not be able to attend Wellesley. </p>
<p>Should I be patient and apply as RD?</p>
<p>Our household income bracket: $30,000-59,999</p>
<p>bisangee, Wellesley meets full financial need, but use their own institutional methodology to determine need.</p>
<p>If your household situation includes self-employment, divorced parents (and possibly one who refuses to contribute), lots of home equity, and/or a large retirement pension, or significant assets, then I would recommend you not apply early decision. I’ve heard others mention these situations can make the expected family contribution be higher than expected.</p>
<p>However, if your household situation doesn’t include any of those items, then you might want to go for it, if Wellesley is truly your first choice. Due to the methodology Wellesley uses to award financial aid, early decision vs regular decision won’t change your award any, but you might have a better chance of getting in.</p>
<p>If your household income is in that bracket you might also want to consider QuestBridge.</p>
<p>I would urge you to contact the Financial Aid office – they might be able to give you an early estimate.</p>
<p>Based strictly on your family’s household income alone, it seems that you would qualify for a decent financial aid package (grants plus work-study plus a small loan). If you’re strongly interested in Wellesley and see it as your first choice, apply early decision. Your chances are better in ED. If you get accepted in December, you’ll receive a “tentative” financial aid offer that will be finalized in April once your parents’ 2013 income tax form and other paperwork is submitted to the school. Unless your family’s financial situation changes drastically, the tentative offer will be more or less what you end up getting. It might even go up a bit if there’s a tuition increase. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>MarieCC - how did you like Wellesley? Did you find a job or what are your plans? What did you like best and what didn’t you like so well, if anything?</p>
<p>LaBechtel, I liked Wellesley a lot. I transferred in after a year at the University of Virginia, so I think I had less of problem with missing out on the “typical” college experience (football games, frat parties, etc.), which I know can be troubling for some. Still, most people get over that by the end of their freshman year.</p>
<p>I’m currently in a master’s program to get my teaching certification for secondary education, which was my first choice post-graduation, so I’m pretty happy with how that turned out.</p>
<p>I enjoyed pretty much everything about Wellesley. The classes are excellent, the students are smart and driven, and the campus is beautiful. Some people find the environment to be overly stressful, but I think a lot of that has to do with an individual’s personality and approach to challenging situations.</p>
<p>Mariecc1-thanks so much for posting here! We have heard alot about the strong alumni connections for jobs, internships, etc. You’re doing post-grad work–did you do any internships while at WEC, and if so, did alumni help factor into that?</p>
<p>Thanks again for being so helpful!</p>