<p>Wellesley is my dream school. The close-knit community, personable professors, the tree-filled campus, the location (Boston! Boston! Boston!). No Greeks, stone dry (not rain-wise, of course), resource-rich....la sigh. The only issue I have is the all-female designation. I'm a girl, but I've never really got along with girls. All my best friends are guys; mostly because I'm hard-core science. And I'm from frumpville. My friends and family tell me it's a bad idea to go there, because I'd crack with all that estrogen concentrated in one area :)</p>
<p>So, my question is, can people who are used to a coed environment adapt easily to the change? I'm so scared of spending the next four years without variety. But my heavens, Wellesley is nice. It's what Harvard should be.</p>
<p>The all-women's thing is not a big issue...if you dwell on it, you make it an issue. You can leave campus on the weekends...it's not a big deal. If you come in thinking that you can't deal with the environmet, you're setting yourself up to hate it.</p>
<p>Na, I'm not dwelling. It's just something to take into consideration. I totally intend to hop off to Boston every chance I can get. And my classmates/parents are freaking out on me; they're not sure I'm straight now :rolleyes:</p>
<p>You're ok with a reasonably party-free campus? Check.</p>
<p>You don't want a Greek scene? Check.</p>
<p>You will find girls here you like. I haven't met a single person who hasn't. We've got everything from Wendy Wellesley frightening rugby player to Wendy Wellesley future president to Wendy Wellesley frat boy's dream. Finding people you like will not be an issue. Yes, it's an adjustment to not have guys, but it's an adjustment that 600 Wellesley women make every year. And at the end, most of them find that they're better educated for it.</p>
<p>And yes, I'll warn you in advance. You'll hear plenty of "don't come back a lesbian", "why would you ever do that", and "....but isn't that a girls' school?". But remember that they have no idea about Wellesley and it's your decision to make.</p>
<p>You aren't alone. I know a lot of people here who came not because of the all-girls atmosphere, but in spite of it: they really liked the school and what it has to offer. Judging by the way you decribed what you like, I think you'd fit in at Wellesley</p>
<p>I actually have a friend who came here because all her friends were guys and she wanted to know what it was like to have friends who were girls.</p>
<p>I'm a science/math dork and here the science dorks are all girls. As are the computer geeks, the Star Wars nerds, the Harry Potter fans (joyously overrepresented at Swelles), the Browncoats, the LOTR fans, and the entire sci-fi club. Go figure.</p>
<p>And while there are people who wear skirts, Uggs, and carry Louis Vuitton bags (not to mention sell their spares on our For Sale forum) there is a huge population on campus who sit around in their hoodies and wonder why they haven't figured out that that half hour they spend every morning applying makeup is a half hour of life they will never get back.</p>
<p>I think you'll adjust. Seeing the adolescent male is always a shock, but with 98%-no-boys, you forget that there are boys and girls, and then you just see people (who all happen to be female).</p>
<p>For the record, I'm one of the "in spite of" girls. I didn't want an all-female environment, but I couldn't pass up Wellesley. There are times when I really do miss boys, but it's getting so that most of the time I forget we don't have them until I see one. I get off campus a lot, and I think I'd have a much harder time with this if I didn't. But what Wendymouse said is true- it makes you less conscious of boys vs. girls (outside of the dating scene, obviously) and more conscious of people as individuals, which is a very good thing.</p>
<p>It sounds like you have already visited there. If not, IMO you should. But
I wouldn't pay much attention to well-meaning people who make flat-out, negative assertions about what you can or can't do. I'm willing to bet that you are capable of making whatever adjustments might be necessary to reach your dreams.</p>
<p>As a hard-core science person, you do realize that you can cross-register at MIT. But my guess is that you'll be fine. </p>
<p>Also, consider one more thing: what if you are scared off of Wellesley by this issue? How will you feel in five, ten years? Will you wonder what you have missed at your "dream school"? </p>
<p>My advice is to try Wellesley. You can always transfer out if you need to, but IMO you won't need to!</p>
<p>IloveOSU87: Would you share your experiences with, and general impression of, Wellesley? You make negative digs but never really come out and say what it is you don't like about it. It would be really helpful to girls considering Wellesley. Thanks!</p>
<p>Let's also note that OSU and Wellesley are very, very, VERY different places. If IloveOSU87 really does love OSU, it's not surprising to me that she doesn't love Wellesley.</p>
<p>Well, I attended (virtually) the Wellesley online chat last night. It was awesome! I asked this exact same question, and the student moderators all said a lot of their friends were the exact same way. They pointed out that Wellesley women are much different from catty high school girls, who I don't get along with very well. Plus, half the people there were premed, and one student was a Neuroscience major, which is my primary interest.</p>
<p>Thank you for all your input! I'm definitely applying, and we'll see how it turns out.</p>
<p>E22, quite correct though I can't figure out whether OSU refers to Ohio State, Oklahoma State, or Oregon State. As may be, but all three are very different from a womens' LAC.</p>
<p>My mother was walking down the hall and remarked that it smelled like the boys floors at my sisters' schools. According to her, "Girls are pigs."</p>
<p>I'm in a committee of students picked to talk with President Chapman-Walsh about our visions of W in the future. One fascinating point brought up by one of the girls was that a very large number of us (at least in the committee) had exceptionally strong friendships with guys as opposed to girls, and that many of us had the same dilemma as you. In some ways, our gravitation towards guys might have something to do with our strength of being being better matched with guys. </p>
<p>The estrogen here is a strange sort of estrogen. It's a hard sort of estrogen, built on drive and ambition and thirst for excellence. Sort of like testosterone with the ability to be caring at the same time. </p>
<p>From what you say of yourself, I think you'll actually like W a great deal.</p>
<p>Ironically, I think you'll find that the majority of Wellesley students always had better friendships with guys than girls in high school. Which I think makes a difference... it means many people of the same, non-catty mentality who you'll probably actually get along with great.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input! I still really love Wellesley, and if I don't get a scholarship to another school, it will be on the top of my list. I just have to print out your responses to show the doubters at my lunch table :)</p>
<p>Another "guys' girl" checking in here - Class of '04. Throughout high school I had always gotten along better with boys, but for some reason the all-female aspect of Wellesley didn't deter me from attending at all. I understood from the beginning that I would finally be in the company of many women who were much like me in the sense that they considered academics their highest priority. I was eager to finally have an opportunity to befriend and work alongside women like that. It sounded like fun to me. Before even arriving at Wellesley I had zero concern about the dearth of males.</p>
<p>All 4 years that I was at Wellesley I had NO problems at all meeting men on or off campus. I met many guys from Babson, Harvard, MIT, in addition non-students (older ones who had already graduated). In a place like Boston, it's really not hard to do. Sure, you will have to be more proactive about it than you would at other schools, but I didn't think think the "extra effort" was anything to gripe about. "Extra effort" to me was going to parties on campus, going to various events at other schools (dance ensemble performances, acappella concerts, plays, parties, politically-themed gatherings, etc. etc.), or participating in other activities not necessarily affiliated with any college(s). All of those things are going to be a lot of fun regardless of whether you end up meeting guys.</p>
<p>I will grant to you that there are plenty of women at Wellesley who didn't find it as easy to meet men (for friendship or otherwise) as I did. Given what I've just said, though, it was always a mystery to me as to why it was so difficult. I don't mean to say that I'm better than those people, but it sounds like they weren't trying that hard, or that perhaps they were looking in the wrong places and needed to seek out some different activities where they would meet different types of guys who you wouldn't necessarily encounter at a frat party or a nightclub.</p>
<p>Even without the men, I had a handful of close friends with Wellesley students who I had WONDERFUL times with doing all kinds of things. I had other Wellesley students with whom I wasn't quite as close, but who would still encourage me to join them to attend parties or casual gatherings, etc. - even something as simple as sitting with them to have dinner. With women so clever and hilariously funny, I definitely didn't feel that men were necessary to constantly have around. I suppose, however, it's also worth mentioning that although Wellesley women are for the most part extraordinary - not to mention always surrounding you - you will still need to be proactive even with finding the right Wellesley women to befriend. Wellesley women are all very intelligent and share the same passion for academics, but that doesn't mean that everyone there is destined to be best buddies with everyone else.</p>