Chance moi?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wellesley College
1

Okay so, I know it’s like, midnight Christmas Day, but I’m getting really stressed about my college applications so please bear with me. I’m applying to Wellesley as my reach/dream school honestly, so if you guys could chance me that’d be amazing… Also, I’m applying Early Evaluation, because might as well, right?

Personal info:

Gender: Female
Race: White
Location: Delaware, United States
Hooks: LGBT (Unsure if this is a hook, but it might count as an under represented minority?)

Academics:

SAT I: 2090 Superscore (Rdng 760 Math 680 Wtng 650)
SAT II: Bio E 660, Physics 530, Lit 710, Math I 740
ACT: 34 (Eng 35 Math 32 Rdng 35 Sci 32)
Class Rank: UnWgt 13th, Wgt 12th
GPA: UnWgt 3.913, Wgt 4.239
Senior Courseload: AP Psychology, AP Physics, AP Literature, Honors Integrated Math IV, General Chorus

Extracurricular activities:

  1. Gay/Straight Alliance, Vice President (10th, 11th, 12th) (2h/w, 34w/y) - Organized and directed activities, aided in fundraising opportunities and attended LGBT+ summits and events on club's behalf.
  2. Robotics Club (12th) (4h/w, 34w/y) - Wrote grant requests, organized funds, attended competitions and seminars on the team's behalf. Team won Duel on the Delaware off-season competition.
  3. School Library, Aide (11th, 12th) (11h/w, 36w/y) - Shelved books, organized library, assisted patrons with technology issues. Personally overseeing the reorganization of the fiction section.
  4. Public Library, Volunteer (10th, 11th, 12th) (2h/w, 9w/y) - Assisted with the annual summer reading programs, shelved books and organized library, assisted patrons with technical and computer issues.
  5. Choir, Baritone (9th) (2h/w, 36w/y) - Participated in two seasonal concerts. Choir earned a Superior Ranking at the ACSI High School Fine Arts Festival.
  6. Choir, Bass II (12th) (4h/w, 36w/y) - Participating in three seasonal concerts. Will attend a competition at Six Flags in Spring 2016.
  7. German Saengerbund, Day Camp Assistant (9th, 10th, 11th) (15h/w, 2w/y) - Worked with and was responsible for children, teaching German language and culture.
  8. Youth Group (9th, 10th, 11th) (2h/w, 30w/y) - Participated in religious discussion and community service.

Recommendations:

Teachers: AP Lang teacher (now administrator), discussing how I was one of his best students and discussing my personal character and home situation (unsupportive parents and possible financial instability). Honors Anatomy teacher, discussing my work ethic and ability within a classroom environment. AP Lit teacher, discussing my contribution to discussions in the classroom, my personal character and my desire to work to improve the lives of LGBT youth. AP Physics teacher, whose letter I have not read.

Other: University of Delaware professor that I took a Philosophy class with over the summer, whose letter I have not read. School librarian, discussing my performance as an aide in the library and my personal character.

Essays:

My Common App essay used the “application would be incomplete without …” prompt, and discussed how I am a transgender woman. The essay covered my discovery of my womanhood, my dreams for the future of transgender individuals, and my personal fears regarding coming out. My teachers, peers, and college advisors who have read it have said it’s a great essay that displays my writing style and character well.

My Wellesley supplement covered #100, the student body of Wellesley, and #92, the Orgs Fair. I used these two prompts to discuss how, at Wellesley, I feel I will be able to truly discover myself and shape my identity into that of a strong, successful woman. I talked about my history of extracurriculars in HS and how, due to my gender and my being homeschooled up until 10th grade, I didn’t get involved in as many ECs as I could have, and I expressed my desire to have a fresh start at Wellesley and immerse myself in ECs along with the sisterhood present at the college.

My additional information section covered some minor things such as my attending a pre-college program at UD over the summer for college credit, my low Physics SAT2 grade (my Honors class didn’t cover the material), my extracurriculars situation, and how I won’t be able to request an interview due to my family problems.

2

Hey! I think you have a pretty good chance. I really do think that Wellesley gives a great deal of weight to your personal traits, and since I don’t know you I can’t be the best judge of that but based on this post you sound very qualified :). Also about the interview: I chose not to take an interview and was accepted ED a couple weeks ago so try not to stress out about it too much! It really isn’t a big deal. If you have any questions please let me know! I’m happy to help out/try to calm any nerves if possible. Best of luck and hope to see you in the fall!

3

Oh gosh, thank you @pchs17 - you can’t imagine how much that means. Just wondering, but what kind of quantitative stats (SAT/ACT/etc) did you have?

4

I had a 33 on my ACT (don’t remember what exactly I got on each section), I sent in a Spanish SAT II that I got a 710 on, and my unweighted GPA was a 3.76. Let me know if I’m forgetting anything and feel free to message me!

5

I think you should request an interview. You don’t have to go to the campus. You can do this with an alumna in your own town. Not wanting an interview due to “family problems” sounds a little flaky to me, and might to the admissions comm. as well. The personal interview is very important to Wellesley. The women who get in without one tend to have very high stats, are legacies, or have some really compelling essays.I think it would really round out your application to have an interview!

6

@Massmomm My mother is the only person in my family who knows I am transgender, and doesn’t support it. I wouldn’t be able to get transportation to the interview. I appreciate your concern, but I really am not able to request an interview…

7

@Massmomm Also, I called admissions before I considered applying and they said that the interview was optional and not requesting would not hurt my application.

8

I think you have a good shot :slight_smile: I was admitted ED a few weeks ago, so hopefully I’ll see you on campus next year! I did have an interview, but my understanding is that it doesn’t hurt your application if you don’t request one. I think it’s just a chance for them to get another perspective, and they definitely won’t penalize you.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

9

"Hooks: LGBT "

Ha, not a hook at Wellesley.

I assume you are fully presenting/living as female but have male “parts”? Not being disrespectful, just clarifying.

10

@Pizzagirl Chill, pal.

11

Stella, I’m the mother of a recent Wellesley grad. I’m fully supportive of transgender students being admitted. The reason I am asking for clarification is that W has made it pretty clear that they expect a transgender student to have, essentially lived as a woman for quite some time prior to being considered for admission - that they want evidence of, for lack of a better term, seriousness of purpose in committing to live as a woman. The reason I say this is that if only your mother knows, and is not supportive, are you presenting to the world at large as a man or as a woman? If the former, it may be more difficult for you versus the latter. How would your teachers know / identify you?

BTW, I’m on your side, no need to tell me to chill.

12

@Stellacastor, if your mom is the only one who knows you are a trans woman, and doesn’t support you, who will pay for your education at a women’s college? This, and the considerations @Pizzagirl brought up, are very real. If you are truly committed to Wellesley (and it sounds to me like you are), you need to think these issues through. It’s not cheap and once you’re there, everyone in your life will know that you’re a woman!

13

@stellacastor

Current Wellesley student here. I found the above comments too discouraging.

Wellesley College is one of the most generous colleges in terms of financial aid. Many students have full rides or significant aid packages-- Additionally, even if your initial offer is not generous, be persistent with appealing to Student Financial Services. This is usually successful. Additionally, even if the first year of attending doesn’t help with fin aid, some students find better luck on subsequent years. I would not let the cost be the ultimate deciding factor of whether or not to apply.

Additionally, I was part of the campus effort to expand admissions policy to be more inclusive for transgender students. Our student group spoke with the Board of Trustees as well as conferred with the college’s lawyer and admission staff. According to these official sources, Wellesley DOES consider the circumstances (home life, safety, socioeconomic, etc.) that prevent a person from being able to present as a woman to the world at large. You shouldn’t have to prove x amount of years. If you want to e-mail additional materials to the admissions office regarding challenging personal circumstances, they will add these to your file and consider them as they evaluate your app.

14

Hoo boy.[br]
@Pizzagirl, I told you to chill because you have literally no place to interrogate me about my genitalia. Not only is it rude and disrespectful, despite your attempts to avoid it as being such, it is simultaneously misgendering and offensive. I am a female. I have “female parts”. It might not be the same “parts” that you or other women have, but they are female because I am. I do my absolute best to present as femininely as possible, I am mostly out at school, and the majority of my recommendation letters are written using the proper name and pronouns. I should need no more “proof” than this.[br]
@Massmomm while my mother is the only parent who knows about my status currently, I’m in the process of coming out. It’s a journey that will take months, and securing a place at Wellesley would be one more step to solidifying my family’s acceptance. I don’t care that everyone in my life knows that I’m a woman, but I’d much rather prefer it to happen on my own terms. Also, as @greyduck mentioned, Wellesley provides financial aid for situations just like mine, and the Wellesley application process is need-blind. [br]
I made this thread so that I could have my academics and other aspects of my application criticized, not my validity as a woman and family situation. Please, drop it.

15

@Stellacastory, none of us was criticizing your validity as a woman or even questioning it. But when you ask people whether your application is strong and include personal information, we naturally want to consider you holistically, just as the admissions committee at Wellesley will do. It’s not reasonable or fair to give a lot of information about yourself, then expect people to disregard it. That’s not how the ad comms operate (a fact for which I am very grateful) and it’s generally not how CC operates.

I am sticking with my original comment to you. Your application looks to be in line with those of many accepted Wellesley students, but it will be even stronger if you interview. You have an interesting story to tell, and the interview is the place to tell it. I wish you the best of luck.

16

I never criticized your standing as a woman. I merely asked how long you’d been living / presenting as such because admitting transwomen is new to W and one of the considerations is your commitment.

There’s a small, but super/vocal minority at W who have a major attitude, swagger, and attempt to shut down anyone who disagrees with them (and shout oppression). I daresay you will fit in just fine. I was on your side. Well, good luck I suppose.

17

@stellacastor - I think you’re the one who needs to chill. Another Wellesley mom of a recent grad here. The issue @Pizzagirl raised is something that immediately came to my mind when I read your post and is a legitimate concern.

Your academics/ECs are strong enough that they shouldn’t exclude you from consideration. Your gender identity wouldn’t normally be a consideration but since you are applying to a Women’s College, it is.

If you don’t consistently identify as a woman, I would take @greyduck 's advice and provide additional info to admissions. Otherwise, it may hurt your chances for admission.

Regarding financial aid: Wellesley is generous with need-based aid, but your parent(s) will need to provide lots of information/documentation. If they are not supportive and are unwilling to provide this, you need to discuss your situation with the financial aid office to see how this will impact your ability to receive aid.

You posted here asking for feedback/chances, so please don’t be rude when we reply to your post in the spirit of helpfulness. We are not trying to be discouraging. Like @Pizzagirl I am supportive of the LGBTQ community. However I don’t always know the proper vocabulary. DMAB? MTF? M2F? If you want to encourage dialog, please don’t attack.

Best wishes.

18

If you aren’t fully committed to be a woman, please don’t go to Wellesley. It’s not fair to compromise THAT institution’s gender identity, as students have tried to do by protesting the use of “sisterhood” / female-gendered language to describe the student body as a whole. Wellesley remains an institution for women, not an institution for not-men.

19

@Pizzagirl: Officially, Wellesley College states (multiple times) that it’s dedicated towards remaining an institution for women no matter what the admissions policy is. The student body doesn’t change this. Many students here do not identify as women and are not “fully committed to be a woman”, but this will not change the mission of the institution nor the fact that the college continues to use female-gendered language in all its materials and statements.

Whether or not a person is “fully committed to be a woman” (a statement I will not explore for fear of further derailing the intent of this thread) should not affect their decision to attend Wellesley. If Wellesley decides to admit a student, they belong. They have a full right to attend without a fear of somehow weakening the mission of the college.

@college_query: I do not think the issue is a lack of proper vocabulary, but a line of questioning that many commentors did not realize was invasive. Nonetheless, @stellacastor 's response was not an attack, but a valid personal response to an unintentionally rude question. Everyone who is weighing in does not have bad intentions, but that does not mitigate the troubling nature of those questions. Which stellacastor has already explained why they are troubling.

@stellacastor: I’ve seen threads like this before and I think this one is going to grow increasingly off-topic and into the nature of debating womanhood, admissions policies, and the identity of an institution. Or it’s going to grow into an unrelated debate on speech policing vs. open opinions. The best course of action would be to drop the thread as it is before it spirals out, even if others continue to post. These kinds of threads really are never ending until we walk away. (We’re so close to the new year! One last debate-filled thread before everyone kicks off 2016, right?)

I hope you have found the wide range of opinions helpful and wishing the best of luck for your app.
And again, you’re always welcome to contact me with specific questions about Wellesley College. I was waitlisted and then accepted off the waitlist. My app resembled yours in many ways.

Cheers!

20

“The student body doesn’t change this. Many students here do not identify as women and are not “fully committed to be a woman”, but this will not change the mission of the institution nor the fact that the college continues to use female-gendered language in all its materials and statements.”

That’s exactly what I’m referring to. If I as a W adcom had a whiff that a candidate would be the kind who would throw a fit and scream oppression if referred to (in the general sense) as “part of a sisterhood” or object to other female-gendered language, I’d leave that one on the shelf. I’m not suggesting that this describes the OP one way or the other. They have enough of a transition to manage when a naive first-year from Arkansas finds herself rooming with a transwoman still possessing different equipment. A little sympathy to the institution managing a major transition is in order.