<p>A good friend of mine told me the other day that I probably wouldn't like Wellesley because of the amount of "competition" on campus between the students. How much of the nurturing/non-competitive feel exists in class/around the school, especially in comparison to other liberal arts schools that you're familiar with? Thanks!</p>
<p>Wish I could answer your question with first hand experience, but I'm an incoming freshman. Still, seeing as how no one else has replied, I'll give my input.</p>
<p>I think Wellesley is a lot more competitive than the other schools I looked at, in the sense that everyone wants to do well. I know several girls who go to Wellesley, and they don't mention any academic animosity. My assumption is that you would find the occasional crazy girl obsessed with a perfect GPA but then you might find another girl who just doesn't care. My impression is that Wellesley has a very diverse campus so you might find a mixture of everything.</p>
<p>Wellesley is the kind of place where people tend to put quite a bit of academic pressure on themselves. Some people find that hard because they feel like they have to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak, but I really think that is perception more than reality. People really don't talk about grades very much in my experience, and, at least amongst my friends, are very supportive when one of us is having a tough time in a given class. It's also definitely not true that people won't share notes or help each other out in a class. Basically, it's like...people aren't competitive against each other or feel like they want/need to "beat" their fellow students, but they are more likely to be pushing themselves to always perform really well, which does cause stress for some people. </p>
<p>Professors, on the other hand, are by and large extremely nurturing. They really don't want students to stress out and overwork themselves and not relax, and are usually really understanding about holding super flexible office hours and getting feedback from students and just basically helping us to succeed. So from that standpoint, I feel like Wellesley is really nurturing. </p>
<p>The only other LAC that I applied to (and was admitted to) was Carleton College, and everyone there told me that the students tended to be hard workers but still pretty laid back about academics. I wouldn't really call your typical Wellesley student laid back about academics--I'm really not! :) But that shouldn't be confused with people being back-stabbing or working 24/7, because it is not like that either. We just want to do well. </p>
<p>I hope this is helpful. Wellesley is definitely the kind of place that either works for you, or it doesn't, and I think people really get a good answer as to whether it works for them or not when they visit the campus. Most people who recount visits to Wellesley seem to say that they really clicked, or that they couldn't wait to leave :). So if you can, definitely visit.</p>
<p>With the exception of one uppers who try to get you into who-has-more-work competitions, there's not that much to speak of academically. Everyone is perceptive enough to realize that how others do is beyond their control. I've found that when people have trouble with their classes, they tend to band together and help each other. I would be horrified to hear of any sort of backstabbing or sabotage.</p>
<p>I think a lot of the competition is internal. Almost everyone was "that girl" in high school who got stellar grades and participated in class and all the teachers adored. Or at least that's what you'll be thinking the first few months of classes. You just have to remind yourself that it's about doing YOUR best, not beating everyone else. And students definitely do band together to help each other out. I haven't heard of any sabotage. And professors really want to see their students succeed. If you're trying hard but struggling, they'll help you figure out why. People don't really talk about grades. It's more about how much work they have or how awesome their professors are.</p>