<p>I keep hearing that Wellesley is the number one women's college in the US, but how did that reputation come to be? Is it deserved? Is the quality of the education at Wellesley better? If so, is it logical to choose Wellesley over the other all-women 7 sisters colleges for this reason?</p>
<p>[I'm posting this is the Wellesley, Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, and Barnard forums]</p>
<p>Unless students/parents on any of these formus have had experience at all of the women's colleges, I doubt anyone really has the insight and objectivity to be able to give a definitive answer. Yes, US News & World Report consistently ranks Wellesley highest among the nation's women's colleges, but rankings are more arbitrary than they would like us to think. And that includes figures from any number of sources, no matter how objective they might seem.</p>
<p>All anyone can say is whether or not a particular school is a good fit for them. What the numbers do say is that you'll receive an excellent education at any of the sister schools; in the end, a prospective student will need to make a choice based on the program offerings and that gut instinct that says, "Yes. This is right."</p>
<p>Wellesley was perfect for me, and I'd like to think that US News & World Report knows what it's talking about, but I am a little biased ;)</p>
<p>Edit: to address some of the other questions you asked ... yes, Wellesley has honestly earned its reputation as a rigorous, quality educator. Yes, students earn their degrees. I recall seeing an article from around the 1920's in Time or Life or some such popular magazine that described Wellesley as the least studious of the seven sisters, but it certainly hasn't retained that aura. A degree from Wellesley does mean a lot (but not if you spend your four years wishing you were somewhere else).</p>
<p>yes, yes, and yes!</p>
<p>Answer to your last question: Check out the Revealed Preference Ranking here <a href="http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/hoxby/papers/revealedprefranking.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/hoxby/papers/revealedprefranking.pdf</a></p>
<p>The ranking takes into account all the people who apply to Wellesley and ranks according to how many people decide to go there over the other colleges. Wellesley ranks really high on the list, so its reasonable to say yeah, most people choose wellesley over the other seven sister colleges(by looking at this list anyway)</p>
<p>I don't really think schools can be ranked because they are all so different, and each person is different. While Wellesley may be a great school for one, it probably won't be the best school another.</p>