<p>Do Wellesley students take courses at MIT often? Which are the most popular MIT courses among students at Wellesley? How convenient is it to commute between MIT and Wellesley?</p>
<p>Would also love feedback on this topic.</p>
<p>I’ve been wondering that too. A good answer to this question would be greatly appreciated :)</p>
<p>I’d love information on this too, because I’m very interested in cross-registering at MIT!</p>
<p>It depends on the person how often (if ever) she cross registers at MIT. Many students take a class for “the experience” or for the sake of taking a class (say math, econ) at a higher level that is taught at Wellesley. </p>
<p>It’s about an hour each way on the Peter Pan bus. Also, the semester schedules don’t always line up well. (For instance MIT’s spring semester starts and ends later than Wellesley’s. This semester, Wellesley’s drop deadline was before the add period at MIT).</p>
<p>It wasn’t worth it for me to cross register, but plenty of Wellesley students do.</p>
<p>My D is in her third year at Wellesley. She took a class at MIT last fall and enjoyed the experience.</p>
<p>I had a chance to visit her this fall. Assuming the schedule is the same, the bus leaves hourly from Wellesley, and the trip takes a little under an hour.</p>
<p>Wellesley’s meal plan gave her credit so she could eat dinner at MIT when she was ovrr there, since she wouldn’t make it back to Wellesley in time for dinner.</p>
<p>As previously mentioned, MIT’s schedule isn’t exactly the same. D finished the fall term & left the last day the Wellesley dorms were still open, and was still working on her final paper for MIT at home and submitted it from here.</p>
<p>She’s studying abroad this term. Not sure if she’ll take anything her last year or not - I think she’d like to, if the timing of what’s offered works with her schedule. She thought about taking a class her 2nd year, and even attended one she was considering, but liked the classes offered at Wellesley better.</p>
<p>@college_query: On a separate note, where is your daughter studying abroad? How are the study abroad programs offered at Wellesley?</p>
<p>Are ALL MIT classes open for Wellesley students or just certain ones?</p>
<p>aangel42, she is in London. She’s having a fabulous experience. There’s no one else from Wellesley at her particular school, but there are other Wellesley students at other schools in London and in the UK.</p>
<p>During February she visited her roommate from first year who is studying in Aix en Provence the entire year.</p>
<p>Last year she spent her wintersession in Morocco with a Wellesley program.</p>
<p>Wellesley has quite a few already-approved study abroad programs in place. Since she receives financial aid, and since there were plenty of wonderful programs, she wanted to make sure that paying for it would not be an issue, and that the classes would transfer so she is on track for her major and graduation.</p>
<p>Some of the study abroad programs require a very high GPA. Because of Wellesley’s grading policy, her GPA, while good, is not as high as in HS. </p>
<p>[Division</a> of Student Life : : Office of the Dean of Students](<a href=“http://www.wellesley.edu/DeanStudent/gradingfaq.html]Division”>http://www.wellesley.edu/DeanStudent/gradingfaq.html)</p>
<p>Here is the link to information about study abroad:</p>
<p><a href=“Sign in - Google Accounts”>Sign in - Google Accounts;
<p>Regarding MIT and other cross-registered classes: I’m not aware of any out-right restrictions; but there has to be space in the class and the student must also receive instructor permission:</p>
<p>[General</a> Cross Registration Information](<a href=“http://www.wellesley.edu/Registrar/crossreggeneral.html]General”>http://www.wellesley.edu/Registrar/crossreggeneral.html)</p>
<p>Because students typically take just 4 courses each semester, and they need to coordinate their degree and major requirements, schedule, etc. it requires a bit of choreography to accomplish, but not insurmountable.</p>
<p>@college_query: Thank you so much for all of that amazing information! I was recently accepted to Wellesley RD - and also to Northwestern just yesterday, so deciding between the two is kind of difficult since they’re both so different! I’m kind of leaning towards Northwestern though, but I haven’t written off Wellesley yet either, so just trying to understand more about the two before I decide 
Plus I have a few other schools I’m still waiting for decisions for.</p>
<p>Your daughter sounds absolutely fabulous! What is she majoring in?</p>
<p>aangel42, you might want to get in touch with pizzagirl, who posts on CC.</p>
<p>She has twin children - her son is a freshman at Northwestern and her daughter is a first-year at Wellesley.</p>
<p>aangel42, D is a history major/middle eastern studies minor.</p>
<p>And pizzagirl is a great suggestion for comparing the 2 schools!</p>
<p>Best wishes on your upcoming decisions.</p>
<p>It is actually surprisingly easy to cross-register for classes at MIT. I am a first year at Wellesley, and although I haven’t taken any myself yet, I know a lot of people you have. Basically all you have to be aware of is that it takes 40 minutes to an hour to get there and the same to get back to Wellesley, so a class that meets more than three times a week might be a challenge to manage. However, lots of classes only meet once a week, so the bus time can be a good time to get stuff done (take Dramamine!) or just sleep. </p>
<p>Really, there are no classes that are off limits-- I know a sophomore who is in a grad class (you have to apply and be qualified, but if you are, there’s nothing stopping you).</p>
<p>As for study abroad, I can’t really comment on the process of traveling for extended periods of time, but as a first year heading towards her first summer as an undergrad, I can say that it’s surprisingly easy to travel over the summer for little to no cost. If you’re studying a language and want to go to a country that speaks that language, the specific language department is sometimes more than able to fund sometimes all of your trip-- the only thing you have to do is find a program and apply for funding. Opportunities to go to summer programs are widely advertised around campus. I am going to Tunisia this summer, I have two friends who are going to Germany, and one going to London School of Economics. </p>
<p>As obnoxious as I feel saying it, you really can do just about anything, even during your first year, you just have to be really proactive. You can’t just sit back and expect people to ask you if you want to travel the globe, but if you’re willing to go around and find the opportunities yourself, you’ve got the world at your fingertips… and plenty of caring mentors, professors, and administrators to try and help you fund your endeavors.</p>
<p>I am just curious which school you decided to go to because my daughter got accepted by Wellesley and waitlisted by Northwestern. Thanks.</p>
<p>@hzhao2004:</p>
<p>I haven’t officially enrolled at either college yet, but I am heavily leaning towards Northwestern (almost 95% sure at this point). I think one of the main deciding factors was the fact that I want to major in Economics and eventually get into something finance-related or get an MBA, and so Northwestern makes practical sense in that respect for me. I was also accepted to the MMSS (Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences) program at Northwestern, which was something I REALLY wanted to do at Northwestern, so that kind of officially sealed the deal. I also prefer attending a large university because I feel that I will thrive in that kind of environment and because I have many interests, which a smaller college might not be able to cater to as effectively. Plus since I’ve been accepted to Weinberg at Northwestern, I hope that I’ll still be able to somewhat get a “smaller college” feel at Northwestern too. Both campuses are gorgeous and I guess Wellesley might have the better location since it’s on the East Coast, but since I believe I’d do better at a more pre-professional school considering my academic interests and career aspirations, Northwestern seems to be the “right fit” for me I have also heard from many people that though Wellesley is (obviously) amazing in almost every respect, it does somewhat affect one’s social development to attend a women’s college, and does in a way undermine/diminish the college experience - though others claim that that did not affect their Wellesley experience at all. But I think that was a huge deciding factor for me…</p>
<p>But I wish your daughter all the best in her decision! Since the quality of education is undoubtedly excellent at both schools, ultimately it all boils down to the fit and the long-term prospects :)</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for your thoughtful and detailed response. It is very helpful.</p>
<p>With that being said, however, it might be better to explore during one’s undergraduate years - which is my reason to consider Wellesley. Why should I have such a pre-professional experience during my undergraduate years? That should be a time of self-exploration and self-understanding. I should really make sure that I’m pursuing my TRUE passion and not lock myself into something without being absolutely certain that there’s NOTHING else that arouses my interest as much as Economics does. If it does, then there’s no better place to be at than Wellesley - with its pure liberal arts foundational education. Not to mention the fact that it might actually be better to attend a women’s college over a co-ed college in terms of building your self-confidence and giving you access to more opportunities than you would otherwise have. Add to that a fantastic reputation, great academics, reputed professors, a brilliant and incredibly supportive alumni network, a GORGEOUS campus on the East Coast itself, and an incredible availability of opportunities - and you get a college that is more than just the rankings say it is (although even the rankings say that Wellesley is amazing, albeit slightly lower than Northwestern overall).</p>
<p>Either way, you can’t go wrong :)</p>
<p>aangel42-- USNWR rankings last I looked had Northwestern approx 12th among national
research universities with Wellesley approx 6th among liberal arts colleges. I am certain from study of Wellesley’s graduates that it provides a superb foundation for professional and graduate schools. By the way I have 3 degrees from Northwestern-- I bleed purple and white – but the daughter had no interest in a research first university. I enjoyed reading your recent posts. </p>
<p>.02 David</p>
<p>aangel42, in terms of business related / preprofessional courses, if you attend Wellesley you have the option to cross-register at Babson as well:</p>
<p>[Babson</a> College](<a href=“http://www.babson.edu%5DBabson”>http://www.babson.edu)</p>
<p>And to return to the original topic of this thread – MIT is well respected in the field of economics.</p>
<p>fendrock-- A little off topic but it brings an otherwise DEAD CC site alive. </p>
<p>.02 David</p>
<p>aangel42, this indeed is very helpful. It reinforces my inclination toward Wellesley for my D. She wants to major in economics so it seems that Wellesley is a superb choice for her.</p>