wow @juillet thank you so much! that was very good info for me. the part about barnard being an “enclave, a special place” regardless of its more co-ed feel is very reassuring. with all of this info on this thread its clear that i have to visit all of the schools, luck being that i get into all of them of course.
If “arty” or free spirited are an interest, I would avoid Wellesley. There is nothing arty about the students there. My wife has a niece who is every bit the Wendy Wellesley stereotype. Very bright but still, an over achiever. She always has a sad, beleaguered look about her. She is a STEM major and enjoys Wellesley’s close association with MIT. WC is very STEM oriented.
WC is a good college for women such as my wife’s niece - not much of a sense of humor, a really hard worker who does not want to relax. She is a little catty and a tad competitive. Since attending there, she dresses more like a 30 year old socialite than a college student - pearls, high heel shoes, straightens her hair and wears makeup.
With that said, she LOVES Wellesly. Loves. it. We are happy that it’s a good fit for her. However, this student does not have an arty bone in her body.
Since the OP mentioned that word, I’m surprised that WC interested her.
Barnard and Smith are better fits. I think Mount Holyoke is best of all.
Wellesley and MHC have almost identical numbers of STEM and visual and performing arts majors.
Both have ~ 7% who major in the arts.
Of the 150 or so Wellesley students who major in the arts, I imagine one or two are “arty” 
^ Those numbers may be correct, but I get what she’s saying. I also had an arty daughter looking at these schools. The overall “vibe” at MHC is certainly more arty. She liked a lot about Wellesley but did feel like she’d have a bit harder time finding “her tribe” than at MHC or Smith. Perhaps the surrounding area influences the “vibe” thing, too. Northampton is certainly a MUCH artier atmosphere than staid suburban Wellesley, MA 
I didn’t think the OP was looking at MHC though.
I agree that MHC has a more arty feel. The intention my post was to correct the misrepresentation that “there is nothing arty about the [Wellesley] students there.” The comment does a disservice to Wellesley and prospective students.
@LuxLake, your post is borderline insulting. What makes you think it’s ok to judge a school’s entire population by the demeanor of one seemingly depressed person?
@LuxLake, I think your perspective on Wellesley is distorted by your sample of one. And that one is evidently a person you do not like.
“Since attending there, she dresses more like a 30 year old socialite than a college student - pearls, high heel shoes, straightens her hair and wears makeup.”
My daughter (a W senior) has pearls, but they’re ensconced in her jewelry box at home. High heels are pretty nonsensical on such a hilly campus, but she has a pair or two for interviews. She wears her hair in a ponytail and has a fresh-scrubbed look, though I’m not really sure why wearing makeup is such a bad thing or “30 yo socialite”-like. There are all types at W - and frankly overdressed socialite is pretty low on the list.
That is my wife’s niece’s type. And what her friends appear to be wearing. We were a bit surprised.
I like make up on women. However, college students are usually involved with more important things - than buying and applying make up. Since our niece never wore makeup before she attended W, it is surprising to us.
She has a rather large group of friends who seem to have what my wife calls “the Junior League Young Republican look”.
“Arty” and “Wellesley” are not two words that I’d use in the same sentence. We have been to W. Our daughter was visiting her cousin.
I think that Smith seems more activist and literary. Holyoke more diverse, but leaning arty and literary. And Wellesley seems very nose to the grind stone, competitive and STEMy.
And preppy. Which does not mean WASPy. Although my wife’s niece is a WASP, it is more ethnically diverse than it once was.
I was merely commenting that Wellesley has other strengths. “Arty” “bohemian” “activist” or “relaxed” would not be adjectives that I would use. Many of the women also date men who attend MIT. They can also take classes there. That would be of interest to some students, but not to others.
Having been to the college, I am in a sound position to comment about W. The OP asked about it’s “Arty” vibe. It has none or very little. If that’s important to a prospective student, she would do well to look elsewhere.
It doesn’t mean that it’s a bad college.
I love my son’s college. For my son. If a student were politically conservative, socially conservative, liked college sports, and wanted to attend college in New England, was not a top notch writer or a student who wanted to spend much time. regardless of major, perfecting the craft of writing, I would steer this student away from Marlboro College. I might suggest Norwich or UNH. That does not make this student a bad student. Just Marlboro a bad fit for that student.
People need to relax and know that not every college is a good fit for every student.
“She has a rather large group of friends who seem to have what my wife calls “the Junior League Young Republican look”.”
Seriously?? My daughter IS a Republican (though socially liberal) and frankly they are an endangered species at Wellesley! It is NOT conservative at all - if anything it’s very activist, left wing / progressive and politically correct. I don’t doubt there are some Junior League types - there are always a handful - but I daresay I have spent more time there in the past few years than you have, and Jr. League Repub is NOT the main vibe, at all.
This is a place that is now accepting apps from transwomen. This is not Mona Lisa Smile.
Seriously. Young Republican types. Which was why I said that W is not an “Arty” school. You kind of supported my statement.
WTH is Mona Lisa smile?
BYW I do not dislike my niece. She’s just very, very serious and was very pressured in HS. I think Wellesley is as good a fit as there is for her. She has access to MIT classes. While she was not accepted to MIT, Brandise, Harvard, Dartmouth, Amherst, Cal Tech or Bryn Mawr ( my wife and I thought this was a terrible list) she was accepted to Wellesley and Geneseo.
Of the two choices, for a very serious student who does not socialize much and tends to compete with others academically, I think W is a good fit.
Of course their are some artistic students at W. However, more are like my wife’s niece. And that’s fine.
I’ve had a good chuckle because the current Wellesley girls I know very much fit @LuxLake’s description of the “Junior League Young Republican look”.
Wellesley provides a top notch education, is well endowed, and generous with aid. I think it the most pre-professional and intense vibe of the women’s colleges.
Perhaps a college with 2400 students will have a variety of outlooks. OP, there are absolutely arty, bohemian, politically liberal, etc. students at Wellesley. The idea that it’s teeming with Young Republicans is bizarre and demonstrates ignorance of the place. And it is not overwhelmingly “STEM-y” either. My D is an Art History and German major. I was an English major. We had plenty of company for our intellectual interests.
I think this is a fair assessment.
OP, the only way you can know for sure is to visit the colleges you are interested in.
Frankly, I am very surprised that a student was rejected by Brandeis and Bryn Mawr, but accepted by W. But obviously they saw something in her.
Why did you and your wife think this was a terrible list?
There were other colleges in this list, I can’t remember them all. Williams and Bowdoin were two others. We thought it was not a good list because the only real safety school was Geneseo - which we thought was more of a match than a true safety. For this student, and for almost any, the rest of the colleges were all reaches for almost anyone. We thought that there should have been more matches than only one. Harvard is a reach for anyone. She wasn’t a legacy. Or the daughter of a celebrity. Ditto Yale. She is also an over achiever, only child from NYC. Almost no ECs. And weak ones. Her major EC was SAT test prep.
My wife suggested RIT, RPI WPI Lafayette and Union. We thought that she should have applied to some non East Coast schools (not only Cal Tech) because as a NYer and would have provided some geographical diversity and enhance her chances of admission. Over achieving NY only children with few ECs ( track team manager, and science club) and none that displayed any community service, are not all that sought after on the East Coast. She also needed a free ride.
Wife also suggested Case Western Reserve - the mom thought her daughter was way above Case. Ditto any Midwestern college.
We also thought that all of those rejections were bad for her psychologically. I can’t remember all of the colleges, but they were mostly Ivy or almost Ivy. The only reason Geneseo was on the list was her HS made all seniors apply to one SUNY. (not sure why)
I was accepted by Smith Barnard and Wellesley. I have visited each and am going to post my decision and impressions of the colleges later.
I’m choosing to commit to Wellesley because I felt as though the campus was closest to the traditional college campus feel (actually Smith was) as opposed to Barnard. I also had a ton of fun at Smith and they seemed to have the most relaxed and down-to-earth campus vibe (I also visited Smith from Thurs-Sat which is considered the college kid weekend and Wellesley from Sunday-Tues which are busy work days so that had influence on the campus vibes). They are also extremely activist oriented which I deeply connected with and appreciate. Barnard to me felt like a detached campus and the environment was a little cold. At the end of the day, my decision was between Smith and Wellesley. The reason Wellesley edged out Smith was because of its alumnae network and proximity to Boston. I also got accepted into + visited WUSTL, UW-Mad, Cornell U so if anyone has any questions about my decisions, hit me up!
Congratulations on your decision- enjoy Wellesley!
thank you! i am extremely excited