<p>Help, my D did an overnight and her host showed her nothing, they ate alone, and in the morning when she woke up to accompany her to class, the hostess was gone. She feels very worried that she will have no social life if she attends Wellesley. Can anyone weigh in on a more accurate picture of social life?? Thanks</p>
<p>@okeydo
I am not a student. But I can speak about my D’s experience [who will be attending Wellesley this fall]. My D is not an overtly socially active or outgoing person. She is more of the quiet type. Her impression after her visit last fall was very positive. She is very picky and she came back with the best impression about the college. She felt every one was friendly and interested in the prospie. </p>
<p>I have read about such bad experiences during overnights and some times turns people away from a good college. It is going to be very hard to change your D’s mind about Wellesley because of this experience. But I am very sure that this is a unique experience and in no way reflective of Wellesley. [My D has two seniors from her school who have nothing but positive things to say about the school, her visit last fall was what made her choose Wellesley over other higher ranked schools, her communications with other Wellesley students on Face Book continues to reinforce the positive image about Wellesley].</p>
<p>I hope an overnight with a student [who knows what stress she was going through on that day - a bad grade?, upcoming exam? - who knows] who did not do the job for which they signed up for, won’t turn your D from a great school.</p>
<p>Good Luck in her decision and I hope she will make the right decision.</p>
<p>Thanks so much! She came home very disappointed and worried, since she had really decided on Wellesley. Now, I’m afraid it will be difficult to change her bad impression, although she is going to the Spring Open Campus, and hopefully will meet some friendly, outgoing future classmates. Thanks, again.</p>
<p>Was it only the host that made the bad impression or was it the other students as well? I’ve been to three other colleges and didn’t exactly hit it off with any of my hosts but they did what they volunteered to do (shared their views on the school, and their rooms for the night). Though none of my hosts needed to guide me throughout my stay. Maybe it’s the program Wellesley sets up but I actually prefer not to have someone breathing down my neck the whole time. </p>
<p>Did she get to explore on her own? How did the food taste? Was there anything she enjoyed? Did she get a sense of the vibe? I’d vote yes, all of these are indicative of her future social life. But if she just let her host ruin her experience, no. One bad apple shouldn’t ruin the class.</p>
<p>Sounds like your daughter had a clueless host. Even a quiet introvert should understand her basic responsibility before agreeing to host a prospective or admitted student. Your daughter will make friends and have as rich a social life as she wants. She should definitely go back to the Spring Open Campus. She’ll have a chance to attend a class then and will meet other students then. </p>
<p>Thx to you both. @oangevanilla I think she met only two other students: the host’s equally quiet roommate and a girl at a lecture the host brought her to (after asking my D what she wanted to do and my D responding by asking what there was to do!). She ended up walking around by herself and finding a class for herself the next day but I think she expected SOME hostessing from her host. From CC it doesn’t seem like the entire tone of the school is grim but that is what my daughter took away. I’m hoping SOC is better. Wellesley sounds like a great opportunity but we don’t want her miserable and joyless for four years. One of her brothers goes to BC so she is very familiar with that school. It’s a bit big for her but she does like the school spirit. Her biggest concern is that there is zero social life at Wellesley, from her limited experience.</p>
<p>There is not “zero social life” at Wellesley but it’s going to be very different from BC. I guess it depends on how you define “social life.” If big parties and big sports are important, Wellesley of course is not going to make a student happy. It does not offer a conventional college social life but it does offer plenty of opportunities for socializing.</p>
<p>What Wellesley has is a workweek vibe where most students do not spontaneously party, go out etc. in the middle of the week. What people do is study and participate in their chosen extracurriculars. Massmomm is right; you can be as social as you want to be; but the traditional partying aspect is largely confined to the weekends and the student who wants a typical experience will have to be willing to get off campus. It takes time and energy, but many students do it. </p>
<p>I suspect your D had a tired preoccupied hostess who probably should not have volunteered to host a prospie. My D had a good experience in 2016 at SOC. </p>
<p>You’ve probably already seen this, but if not, check this out: <a href=“Wellesley Student Blog – Follow the everyday adventures of students at Wellesley College!”>https://blogs.wellesley.edu/admission/</a></p>
<p>I am a current Wellesley student and very outgoing and enjoy going out. To put it bluntly, Wellesley is NOT a traditional college experience in terms of social life. This is not necessarily a bad thing and it really depends on what the student is looking to get out of her college experience. It is not uncommon for students to stay on campus or stay in to do work often on weekends. Also, it takes an hour bus ride to get to the Cambridge/Boston area schools for more social events. Also worth noting is that the Babson shuttle does not run on weekends, adding more difficulty to finding a fun social atmosphere. I would have your daughter think long and hard about how important a traditional college social experience is to her, because she will not find it at Wellesley. The commute into Boston is long and tiresome- a Boston area school (BU, BC, Northeastern, Harvard, MIT) may be a better option in terms of a work-play balance. </p>