<p>I'm not a huge fan of college rankings since I feel like all they're doing is trying to sell magazines (USNews?!) or guidebooks (Kaplan, Newsweek, PR!). So Washington Monthly is probably doing the same thing, but snap to them for the twist.</p>
<p>Wellesley comes out number 2, behind Bryn Mawr. I think W was #1 last year but guess they have to move things around year to year (like Yale, Harvard, Princeton's flip-flops in USNews).</p>
<p>"Unlike other college guides, such as U.S. News and World Report, this guide asks not what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for the country. It's a guide for all Americans who are concerned about our institutions of higher learning. Are our colleges making good use of our tax dollars? Are they producing graduates who can keep our nation competitive in a changing world? Are they, in short, doing well by doing good? "</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0609.collegechart.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0609.collegechart.html</a></p>
<p>For those who are there (or are alums), does Wellesley really have a sense or culture of service? In what way? Curious.</p>
<p>Non ministrari sed ministrare.</p>
<p>Yes, there's a culture of service :) Many orgs are service-based (Wellesley Words on Wheels, for example), and there's a day of service every year where students can volunteer their time. </p>
<p>While I won't say that service dominates the campus atmosphere, it's much more prevalent in retrospect than I had originally thought. Perhaps students don't go rushing out in hordes to selflessly fling their time and energy into volunteer projects, but donating one's resources is regarded highly by the community and students do offer what they can.</p>
<p>I've never thought of Wellesley as a big service school. My sister graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 2006 (#63) and if you had to ask me which school had more people doing comminity service, I would tell you hers. I've never been much of a service person, and I see Wellesley as a school where people are focused on their classes.
On the other hand, I agree completely with Ringer's comments. When I actually think about service on campus, I remember how much does happen. One of my roommates last year was in charge of ASB (Alternative Spring Break)! The other did WOW her first year, and we were both in Girl Scouts together. In addition there's BASIC, a Habitat group, Day to Make a Difference and there have been collections for hurricane Katrina. Tons of students went campaigning (for John Kerry) in NH in 2004. And then there's Sisters Keepers (for which there will be another rummage sale in the fall)</p>