<p>i have gotten accepted to both wellesley college and usc. i dont know where to go. I think i like more wellesley but the only thing that both is that i feel that no one knows about wellesley. i dont know which one is ranked better because in usnews they are ranked in different categories. wellesley is 4 in liberal colleges and usc 27 (or something like that) in national universities. </p>
<p>i want to go to a college where ppl say wow or something like that. my brothers have been to stanford and georgetown, and i want to be help up there in the same category.</p>
<p>i also got in for cornell to be a sophomore in fall 2010. i got a guaranteed transfer admissions. </p>
<p>what should i do?
i will most likely go to cornell in the end, i think. i dont know. cornell is ranked 12 or something like that and it is an ivy. i know i should care about the name but i really do. i want to go to a school with a good name.</p>
<p>even if i end up in cornell, where should i go freshman year? usc or wellesley? i live in san diego and i really want to try out something different. but if i dont get into cornell because i dont follow the rules they give me to get the guaranteed transfer admission, i still want to know that i am in a good well-known "wow" college.</p>
<p>Personally, everyone that I’ve talked to has gone “ooh” at the mention of Wellesley. Hillary Clinton’s an alumni, Albright’s an alumni - the school is relatively prestigious. It really depends on what you prefer. Bigger v smaller schools, etc.</p>
<p>I don’t know about USC but I’m pretty sure Wellesley’s econ and IR departments are both amazing and renowned. If you’re interested in math, you’ll be able to take courses at MIT through cross-registration.</p>
<p>At Wellesley, you’re on the East Coast. I don’t know about you, but I’m from the West Coast and it feels like it’s much harder to find a good opportunity here. I feel like going to the East Coast you’ll have Boston, New York, and other major cities. But if you’re at USC, you’ll mainly be at LA. Also, I’ve heard nothing but AMAZING things from everybody I know about Wellesley’s alums. They make getting jobs and opportunities alot more easier. Wellesley doesn’t have a grad school, so it’s really focused on undergrads. There are a lot more resources open to us and more people we can turn to for help.</p>
<p>My friend went to USC and she talked about how the communications school and the theatre department were really good so if you’re interested in that, then USC is probably better.</p>
<p>I think on the prestige factor, Wellesley’s definitely ahead. Especially with Hillary’s presidential campaign, a lot more people know about it now. I know I saw a list where a lot of top investment banks recruited at Wellesley but not at USC. Everybody I’ve told about Wellesley have been really impressed and one of them asked me if it was an Ivy. There are probably more students who’ve been accepted to Ivies at Wellesley than at USC. For me, USC kind of has a party school image.</p>
<p>(Keep in mind I’m just an incoming first year though, so I don’t really have any personal knowledge about this. These are just some of the reasons why I chose Wellesley.)</p>
<p>thanks a lot for that. it helps… im from san diego and none of my friends (mostly hs students) dont know about wellesley and know lots about usc. but all the adults i meet seem to know about usc.</p>
<p>i think im going to go to wellesley next year. i have heard about usc and i dont think i fit the profile of the people that go there. I lived in mexico for 15 years and move to san diego two years ago and to be honest i dont think socal is my place to be.</p>
<p>its good to hear that wellesley has a good name as a school, that was my main concern.</p>
<p>what about cornell?
i know i shouldnt be thinking if i should transfer or not, but in terms of name, education, opportunities, which one is better? cornell or wellesley?</p>
<p>I think Cornell has more international name recognition, but within the top companies/grad schools in the States, they’re pretty much alike.</p>
<p>In terms of education, it depends I think. I’ve heard that Cornell is really good for engineering and their business program is 4th in BusinessWeek, but if you want a liberal arts education with smaller and more engaging classes, then Wellesley might be better. </p>
<p>I’m don’t know much about the differences in opportunities between the two schools.</p>
<p>The best way to know if you should transfer or not is to go to Wellesley first and see if you like it there :)</p>
<p>discoball is correct – the best way to know if you transfer or not is to go to a school first and see how it is. Do NOT go to a college, no matter where you go, with the intent of transferring. Give the school you’re at a solid chance, and if you don’t like it, then think about transferring. </p>
<p>As far as Wellesley v. USC v. Cornell for 2010…
For Wellesley and USC… they are vastly different schools. USC is quite large, in the middle of LA (granted not the best part of LA), has greek life, etc. Wellesley is much smaller, has much smaller classes, and is in a suburb of Boston. </p>
<p>Think about what you want to get out of college - what type of balance do you want between your academic and social life, what you want to study, etc. As far as name recognition is concerned, yes more people may know about USC than Wellesley. However, the people who really matter – people who hire you for jobs, grad school admissions, etc – they know what Wellesley is and it will count. Just because the guy down the street hasn’t heard of the school you go to does not mean it’s not a great school with wonderful opportunities. </p>
<p>Also, something a bit more minor to consider but could weight your decision is location. Do you want to be in Los Angeles or Boston? I don’t know where you’re from, but a lot of people who grow up in California do want to stay in CA for college. But even if you are from a warm climate, don’t deter yourself from coming to Boston because of the weather. Seeing snow for the first time was one of the great points in my college career! :)</p>
<p>I toured Harvard, Yale, Wesleyan, MIT, Bowdoin, Holy Cross and Wellesley with my mother. She remarked that of all the schools I looked at, Wellesley was the only school whose opportunities made her go “wow”. </p>
<p>Stereotypically speaking only, I can say the atmosphere at Wellesley will be completely different from USC.</p>
<p>While I have no personal experiences with Econ or IR, both are exceptionally popular at Wellesley, and I imagine the resources are quite good (Wellesley’s Econ department is among the best of the liberal arts colleges). Reputation-wise, Wellesley is considered to be the “best” of the women’s colleges. Anyone who goes to any other the other “seven sisters” will happily dispute that.</p>
<p>The econ department at Wellesley is definitely top notch. However, Wellesley does not have a business program. If you want to do business as an undergrad, USC may be a better choice because of Marshall.</p>
<p>when speaking of locations i dont like usc.
i am not a fan of la. i moved to southern california two years ago. I lived in Mexico for the other 15 years.
i am a lot more exited for wellesley. I used to be in an all girls catholic boarding school and i liked the all girls environment</p>
<p>as a school i like a lot more wellesley. in fact i like a lot wellesley, way more than usc. my only concern was that even though it is a great school it was not known by people. but i have been reading around and wellesley is more known and has a very reputation than usc. i am a very conservative person, i dont like the californian environment, and i LOVE winter. </p>
<p>i think ill end up going to wellesley. and if i dont like it i have the guaranteed transfer admission to cornell. </p>
<p>now, another of my concerns is that even though i dont like california i might end up living in california. for the past 15 years each member of my family has lived in a different country, actually, different continent. and know we are starting to all live closer. my two brothers just moved to la, and my mom and dad like in ensenada, right bellow the Mex-US border. do u think that being a wellesley or cornell alumni give me the same advantages in southern california than a usc alumni?</p>
<p>Um, i’m not going to be of any help, but if it’s any more comforting, i’m in the EXACT same dilemma (replacing cornell with NYU). I got a half ride to USC, but like you said, Wellesley has that great reputation. I’M SO STUCK! you’re not alone. :D</p>
<p>i’m actually from southern california as well so i understand your concern with having wellesley relatively less well-known than usc as far as the job market is concerned in our area. while i haven’t graduated yet (so i can’t fully attest to this) i think that companies and schools will know what wellesley is. also, the alumnae network can really help and wellesley has one of the strongest alumnae networks out of any college or university, no exaggeration. wellesley alums will do anything to help out their fellow wellesley sisters so you can always use them for help with job placement and the like down the road.</p>
<p>it feels good to know that someone is in a similar situation like i am. i personally like a lot wellesley as a school and everything. i used to be in an all girls catholic boarding school so i have an idea of how an all girls environment is going to be like. My only concern with wellesley was that i was afraid no one would know about it. but i have done some research and wellesley seems to have a better reputation. even though people my age dont know what wellesley is, people that are older seem to know about it and show some respect. in my case, money is not a big problem. i know the usc is pretty expensive, i dont know how much is wellesley per year. i didnt get any scholarships, so regarding money i dont really know what to tell you. </p>
<p>Welles10
ok so i like wellesley as an option even though my dad and brothers are for usc. my dad likes it simply because its closer from home. my brothers say that they think that one thing i must considerate when choosing a college is the experience i will have and they tell me that they are afraid wellesley will not provide that experience because it is an all girls school. by experience i mean listening to different points of view and hanging out with men. my two brothers did their high schools in all boys jesuit boarding school and i feel that they think that being in an all boys environment is completely different to that of being in a boys and girls environment. but in my case i was only in an all girls catholic boarding school for one year one year in a coed catholic school and the other two years in a public school. so i have been in boys and girls environments for a while and i dont feel that it impacted my learning differently than from being in an all girls school for a year. what is your opinion in that? do you think that being in an all girls school impacts your learning in a negative way? do you feel that if you were in boys and girls environment you can learn different new things or do you feel that being in an all girls school does not limit the type of ideas you see?</p>
<p>if you want i can sort of rewrite the question because i dont know if you can see my point.</p>
<p>USC and Wellesley will definitely give you two vastly different college experiences. I can understand your dad and brothers concern about being in an all womens environment. Especially coming from a co-ed environment, it can take an adjustment (probably less so for you since you’ve already had experience in an all womens school). Yes, you your classmates will be mostly girls (though guys can cross-register to Wellesley and you can cross-register to MIT, Babson, Brandeis, and Olin) so you will have classes with a few guys in them. And your professors will be a mix of women and men; I believe for professors it is about an even split. The thing about courses at Wellesley is that professors will give you more than one opinion. You are not presented with a certain opinion about a topic and expected to believe it – you can agree with it if you want, but more so you can challenge it and bring in other perspectives along with the perspectives of your peers. While your peers may be mostly girls, the male perspective is by no means disregarded or not considered. </p>
<p>Also, think about the types of classes you will have at Wellesley vs. USC. At Wellesley a majority of the classes are discussion based and you will have a chance to hear differing opinions from your professor and your peers. I would expect that USC being a larger school would have more lecture based classes where your professor or TA would talk to you in lecture and then you would possibly have a discussion once a week with a grad student – correct me if I’m wrong (though I live in SoCal I never considered going to USC…but I know the system I outlined is at least characteristic of the UC system.) At Wellesley all of your classes will be like that discussion group.</p>
<p>also in the cross registration program, does it only include MIT, Babson, Brandeis, and Olin? how easy is it to take classes in other schools? how popular is cross registration among wellesley students? basically, how does the cross registration work? does it appear in the transcript?</p>
<p>also how much do you personally like wellesley? was it hat you expected? what was something you didnt expect? what are things you like and dont like about wellesley? do you wish you could be at another college?</p>
<p>I think the cross registration program includes MIT, Babson, Brandeis, and Olin – if I’m forgetting one, let me know… There are other programs with other schools for study abroad… but I think those are the only schools for classes during the academic year. Cross registration is basically you register to take a class at another school - all the schedules are online and you can figure out which ones fit into your schedule and that’s something you want to take. The classes do appear on your wellesley transcript. I would say cross registration is pretty popular. I feel being able to take advantage of so many other schools for classes is a rather unique part of the Wellesley experience, and most everyone I know has cross registered at least once. Some people do it more than others; it’s more of a personal choice, and also depends on what you’re studying.</p>
<p>hey. if finances matter. USC is horrible with financial aid packages and wellesley is extremely good with it. Cornell, now I would go there… but between Wells and USC, you will get a better education at Wellesley, small class sizes, good safe neighborhood and no bimbos that shouldn’t have gotten into SC but they need perky butts to man their cheer team.</p>
