<p>Zinthafan, I also got an unlikely too. I feel your pain…</p>
<p>Ladies, it’s not absolutely wise to think that just because you have all the “necessary stats,” you will get in. That might sound a little pompous to others. Especially in the college admissions process. What were your essays like? What else did you do to show Wellesley you wanted to be there? As is with most other elite schools, it’s about fit, or it’s plainly a hit or miss chance.</p>
<p>Wellesley really looks at fit.</p>
<p>pm me if you have any concerns about what I just said</p>
<p>zinthafan, I understand how you feel. I’m in the same boat. 2300+, 4.6 weighted GPA, national officer leadership positions, but a “possible”. I know Wellesley looks for fit like all schools do, but still… I’ve had a few people message me telling me they also have similar stats and they were designated either possible or unlikely, and idk something is just weird. No trying to stir up anything. Just a comment.</p>
<p>I would like to second what ILUxpssh said. From what I’ve seen and heard, fit seems to be an extremely important factor in Wellesley admissions decisions. </p>
<p>I believe one crucial element in determining “fit” is whether an applicant truly craves the educational and social experience that Wellesley has to offer. Apparently, many people who aspire to attend an Ivy will tack Wellesley onto the bottom of their list of colleges as a safety. I’m not saying that is the case with anyone here in the CC forum, but perhaps Wellesley might suspect it is if an applicant’s Why Wellesley essay sounds too generic or not enthusiastic enough. </p>
<p>I think a “possible” is a wonderful opportunity for an applicant to communicate a hearfelt interest in Wellesley to her regional admissions rep. I recommend exercising some caution when contacting the admissions office, however. Just telling them about all the new honors and awards you’ve received but not emphasizing your genuine feeling for Wellesley could backfire. Keep in mind that a discussion of one’s own accomplishments requires keepting the focus on yourself. It might be better to shift the focus onto what a wonderful, appealing school Wellesley is, and how perfectly suited it is to your specific preferences, needs and goals.</p>
<p>Zinthafan: It could be you are not the type of student they are looking for. Don’t feel bad if your application truely reflects who you are, better knowing it now than when you are in school later. I was surprised when my daughter gets “Possible”, she got “Defer” from Yale last Dec. You will have decent school to go I am sure, that’s what I told my daughter. Best fit is the best. You will do the best when the school is the best fit. Good luck on your other schools</p>
<p>My Why Wellesley Essay was very good, I thought. I had a personal anecdote about the college and really emphasized the reasons for my interest. I’ve also visited twice and had an interview. I thought I was a very good fit. I don’t know what else I could do to express interest… oh well!</p>
<p>Father of a “likely” here who’s been checking out some CC forums for colleges my D applied to. I’ve got one suggestion that may be useful for “possibles” or at least future applicants: you should make it clear to the Admissions Office why you’re not only willing, but EAGER, to attend an all-women’s college. I think my D did a very good job on her “Why Wellesley?” essay tackling that issue. She was advised by my sister, who it so happens is a dean at a women’s college. She told my D that WC’s want students who are enthusiastic about what WC’s see as their mission, and are turned off if they get the feeling that the applicant’s willing to settle for a WC if she doesn’t get into a more prestigious co-ed school. This is all common sense, of course.</p>
<p>Wellesley is looking for the same as any other school: 90% accepted matriculating, like Harvard has. Obviously, no other school, except Harvard, has that. That being said, Wellesley wants as high of this kind of retention it can get. Like Tufts and WashU in St. Louis, albeit on a lesser degree, Wellesley is not going to accept students they don’t think they are going to retain(AKA Wellesley does NOT want to be a safety school). This doesn’t mean that they aren’t going to accept top applicants, but they aren’t going to give top applicants an automatic acceptance, like some other schools might. As an applicant to a small liberal arts college whose target class size is under 1000, you have to prove that you want to go there–that’s why the essay question is “Why Wellesley” and why “necessary stats” alone are not going to get you in.</p>
<p>Thank you guys so much for the comments. I did think I had a good Wellesley essay, but it was perhaps a bit too general. I’ll admit I’m not the most excited about a WC school but after my interview I fell in love with the school nevertheless. I guess I’ll wait until RD!</p>
<p>owleyes,</p>
<p>If you honestly “fell in love,” I would recommend not sitting back and waiting passively, but rather taking a proactive approach to letting them know that you really want to be a Wellesley woman, and why. I would reach out at least once by e-mail to your regional rep or, maybe even better, in a handwritten letter sent by snail mail.</p>
<p>While I actually was/am excited about going to a women’s college, I didn’t write about it in my essay and I’m about 99% sure that’s why I got a possible. I went back to read it and quickly realized that’s why. What I was thinking I might do is send a new essay in… would this be a good idea or overkill?</p>
<p>No one should ignore the randomness factor that we on the outside feel when equally prestigious and selective colleges accept one while not accepting another. My daughter and one of her best friends applied to both Smith RD and Wellesley EE. They are both very talented, qualified candidates, with excellent grades. My daughter is more of a math/science kid, while her friend is a better writer. My daughter has had more leadership opportunities; her friend has higher test scores. The friend was given a “possible” evaluation from Wellesley, but got an early acceptance letter from Smith the other day. My daughter got a “likely” from Wellesley but not a peep from Smith. Maybe they’ll both get in to both, but it’s obvious that Wellesley liked my daughter more than her friend, while Smith liked her friend better. We would all go crazy if we tried to figure it out using logic.</p>
<p>TheStartingLine - technically, no school really hopes for 90% matriculation. Most schools are amazed if they can get even a 50% matriculation rate. If they expected a 90% matriculation rate, the accepted pool would be much smaller and the acceptance rate would be much lower than 33.75%, as it was for entrance at the Fall of 2010. However, your point about the admissions game isn’t terribly wrong. Yes, of course, Wellesley doesn’t want to be a safety school for anyone. However, that doesn’t mean that Wellesley is automatically a safety for every high-stat applicant. There are many high-stat applicants who absolutely want to go to Wellesley, and there are even those who didn’t even apply to the Ivies. But I don’t mean to destroy your point; I just wanted to clarify. Your point about proving why you want to be at Wellesley is very legitimate, but it’s not completely up to that. Wellesley knows that its student body is a very self-selected population that knows how and why Wellesley caters to their academic and nonacademic needs and interests. Wellesley adcoms want to see that shine through in your application. If it hasn’t worked, you can express renewed and ongoing interest in a nice handwritten letter, as marama mentioned. </p>
<p>Don’t be passive. Be persistent about why you want to be at Wellesley. That’s the kind of student Wellesley wants - a driven one.</p>
<p>And to theblusrstillblu, don’t send a new essay. It will be overkill, especially at a time when adcoms are stressed and inundated with applications, supplements, and other submissions. If you really want to do something about it, write a smaller letter detailing ongoing interest and why Wellesley, as a women’s college, is perfect for you. And if you must be persistent about it, send no more than two small letters. Small notes can make a difference in the long run. </p>
<p>Don’t beat yourselves up over the essay too much. I noticed grammatical and syntax errors in my essay way after I was accepted.</p>
<p>Of course Wellesley is not expecting 90% matriculating–this is the sort of unattainable dream, but it is something that helps drive admissions. (This was said to be by a dean of admissions at a high-ranked university).</p>
<p>The pool isn’t as self-selecting as you would think, at least from my area. I live very near to Wellesley, and so many kids apply to Wellesley just because they can, because the supplement isn’t that hard, because its a reasonable “match” school. But reality is that they don’t want to go there. My school has naviance, and if you are familiar with its scattergrams, you will definitely see top-level applicants waitlisted.</p>
<p>It technically isn’t a dream about the unattainable, either. You can’t assume that what applies for one school applies for all. Different schools have different expected yields and acceptance rates. Thus, some schools are known for using different tactics for obtaining such yields and low acceptance rates.</p>
<p>You’ve said it, the <a href=“applicant”>i</a> pool* isn’t as self-selecting. I mentioned that the (current) student body of Wellesley in itself is, however. Correlation is not causation. Naviance scattergrams are based on statistics, not subjective factors that affect admissions decisions and the like. You’re right, many kids apply to Wellesley because “they can,” “the supplement isn’t hard,” and “it’s a reasonable match school.” But does that mean they’ll automatically get in? As you implied, no. Obviously those who were waitlisted or rejected were deemed by the adcoms as relatively “unfitting” for Wellesley. Those who are accepted and thus truly wish to come to Wellesley are the ones that are in the self-selected student body. You’re supporting my conclusions with what you just said about “top-level” students getting waitlisted.</p>
<p>All said and done, congrats to all of the Likelies! Yellow class, woo! Possiblies and Unlikelies, don’t give up! Small letters go a long way! I’ve heard of Unlikelies getting accepted because of their persistent and ongoing interest in Wellesley. Just make it known, ladies!</p>
<p>**If you need any advice from a current student, please, by all means, pm me<img src=“I%20know%20my%20stats%20profile%20says%20Class%20of%202015,%20but%20I’m%20actually%20in%20the%20Class%20of%202014.%20There%20must%20be%20a%20glitch%20in%20the%20system%20because%20it%20keeps%20on%20saying%202015%20even%20after%20I%20try%20to%20fix%20it.” alt=“/b”></p>
<p>Okay, sorry, I must not have been clear/I was continuing a point I made a couple of pages ago about it not just being about being a top applicant, which you might not have read. My point is along the lines of, Wellesley isn’t going to accept people just because they have the stats. Sorry for the confusion. </p>
<p>However, I stand by the unattainable dream. The admissions person I spoke to used to work in Wellesley admissions, BUT it is possible tactics have changed, as that was a while ago.</p>
<p>I will admit, that I misread your self-selecting point, and assumed you meant applicant pool. For that, I apologize.</p>
<p>I think the thing about Wellesley applicants self-selecting may depend, in part, upon the college guidance counselor at each school from which applicants are applying. At my daughter’s school, the counselor–who used to be Dean of Admissions at one of the very top LAC’s in the country–dissuades candidates who don’t “make the grade” from applying to a bunch of unrealistic schools. There is definitely a culture at her school of applying to maybe one or two lower reaches, several matches, and maybe one or two safeties, but not really low safeties either.</p>
<p>He kept cautioning my daughter not to be misled by the relatively high acceptance rate at Wellesley. In his opinion, the applicant pool in general is, indeed, highly self-selecting (albeit with some exceptions), and he says Wellesley is as selective as any co-ed school that accepts 17-18% of all applicants. He says that in order to understand the true selectivity of a women’s college, you have to halve the acceptance rate, because normally only half the applicants accepted to a similar school would be women. The other half of the slots would be taken up by men. </p>
<p>Another thing her counselor told us is that Wellesley has a reputation for being a very competitive school full of extremely smart, hard-working, goal-oriented women. That is another factor which makes applicants self-select. If they want more boys, more fun, higher GPAs and a more laid-back atmosphere, they will choose somewhere else. </p>
<p>Finally, he attributes the tighter acceptance rate at Barnard to the fact that they are flooded with applications from people who want to live in New York and want to have Columbia University across the street (and on their diploma). With so many more applicants, naturally they will turn a larger percentage of them away.</p>
<p>Got a likely!!
So in the letter, it reads that I should be expecting something more official in March…and that I should come to the campus weekend in April. Isn’t that basically an acceptance?</p>
<p>camilla— was the letter you received sent through snail mail or through the net?</p>
<p>The letter is found online on the student’s MyWellesley account. There’s a button that says Early Evaluation–you click on that, and it brings you to a letter telling you what your status is.</p>