<p>for all the girls that got "maybe/possibly," what can we do to increase our chances or emphasize that Wellesley is our first choice? </p>
<p>current ideas:
another essay
teacher rec
...i already sent them an update 2 weeks ago, maybe i'll send another</p>
<p>I'm sure they will accept you. You seem so motivated and I bet they recognize that :-)</p>
<p>but 25% chance? on the outside, it doesn't know that i'm sad or anything (i'm actually calm and ok with it) but inside...my gosh, this is so cheesy but i'm nervous as heck. I think my biggest mistake was just always visioning myself attending Wellesley and not really paying enough attention to the other schools that I applied to. Everything happens for a reason but i hope that it goes in my favor this time :) is anybody else going to write a letter explaning why you want to go to Wellesley?</p>
<p>i think if wellesley is your top choice then writing a letter telling them that would be really a good idea.</p>
<p>If you'll excuse a bit of free advice from a non-Wellesley parent who has been around for several admissions cycles, by all means write your letters to stress how much you want to be at W, present any new info, etc. But if you got a "Maybe", then it's best if mentally you consider it a "No" and move on, concentrating your hopes & energy on your remaining choices. If you get into W and decide to go, you can treat it as an unexpected surprise. The risk of not engaging with your other choices is that if you don't get into W and you haven't warmed up to your other choices, then nothing else looks good and you're in a funk as you try to make a decision under a deadline while being sad that the final bubble burst.</p>
<p>thanks! although i've been fixated on Wellesley for so long, my first choice in-state would be Occidental so yes, i'll try to shift my focus onto the other colleges from now but omg, i really do hope that they see how much i want to go through my letter :)</p>
<p>Bear in mind one thing: intensely wanting to go ranks at about 137 on the list of things an adcom will consider. <em>Lots</em> of people want to go very badly.</p>
<p>but what would be on top of the list that we can change asides from awards?</p>
<p>hmm, here's what i'm considering (i'll also do this for my other colleges cuz decisions aren't out until another month so i have some time to squeeze in new info to improve my chances for my other schools)</p>
<ol>
<li>letter explaining why i want to go</li>
<li>extra rec (from a teacher that has not written a rec for me before but would be glad to)</li>
<li>call my alumni interviewer (some alumnaes are really nice and mine offered to help if i needed anything so i will be asking her what i should do about this "possible" situation and maybe ask her to write a note to Wellesley about how it's a perfect fit for me</li>
<li>i keep on putting this off, but i have to contact a current Wellesley student who i saw in the viewbook cuz she is in the exact major that i'm aspiring (environmental justice)</li>
<li>ask the school about what i can do to improve my candidacy</li>
<li>scholarship notification </li>
<li>if you live close, u might consider visiting the campus (again) and writing about this experience
I can't think of anything else besides crazy stuff...like solving global warming....</li>
</ol>
<p>Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>I think that contacting a current Wellesley student who has similar academic interests as you is a good idea in order to learn more about their experience, however, I don't think that this sort of communication is going to help with changing your admissions status.
Wellesley College students, in general, don't really participate in giving in-put on applicants or advising the admissions committee. There are designated students, who apply and are interviewed and selected, that serve as members of the admissions board and actually read applications and have an equal vote in the deliberations process.
Also, Admissions should have a list of students who have signed up for activities such as letter writing to prospective students/serving as overnight hostesses. You might want to contact them if you are looking for a student that has expressed an interest and willingness to help with your questions.
I'm not saying the student in the viewbook who has your identical prospective major isn't likely to respond to you, she most likely will, but Wellesley students tend to be extremely busy and generally over committed individuals.</p>
<p>Dianal: the cold hard truth is that for many students there is nothing to add and you just have to wait it out. Sorry.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, do get enaged with some of your other choices or you run the risk of coming down with an awfully hard bump if it doesn't pan out.</p>
<p>thanks millionlittlepieces! i am aware the Wellesley students are extremely busy but i actually got the opportunity to contact a current student via CC :), i don't think that she's the girl from the viewbook but she gave me alot of new information about the ES department regarding changes and stuff so i'm all set with that, i was just suggesting to dianal that maybe she could contact a Wellesley student who's in the same major as she is :)</p>
<p>thedad,
should a 'maybe' really put us within the category of not being accepted. should i truly move on?</p>
<p>^ ^ bump...i wanna move on but being me, i'm too stubborn to give up</p>
<p>question: Why are we all relying on TheDad so much when he even isn't affiliated with admissions?</p>
<p>Just a thought. It tends to be that we all want to hear something in this period. Just about anything that gives us direction. Experience (what TheDad has) lends to some credibility but not absolute advice so we should also take things with a grain of salt and be open to the advice of many rather than directly consulting one parent no matter how many cycles he or she has been part of.</p>
<p>"a little over 25%" != rejected...Dostoevsky (I like your username or at least I like his books a lot) I think you need to define move on. </p>
<p>Move on as acts as Wellesley has rejected you is a no. Move on as..not depend on Wellesley as your only choice, yes.</p>
<p>Dostoevsky, the odds are against you, probably 3-1. Yes, you can get admitted, but planning upon it given those odds doesn't seem prudent.</p>
<p>Dianal, you clearly don't like getting input you disagree with, so I advise you to believe whatever it is you want to believe anyway. You're correct that I'm not affiliated with Wellesley admissions. However, nobody posting here is either and I have the advantage of having had my D been admitted to W after a likely letter, having followed four previous cycles of admissions here on CC, not just Wellesley, and being one of the parent posters that the owners of CC asked to stick around after their offspring were admitted to college and I've been happy to oblige. </p>
<p>You seem to expect W to hand you advice on a plate. There's been plenty here. It's entirely possible that you have nothing to add. But if you're deserving of being admitted to W, then you're capable of analyzing your own circumstances and coming up with some solutions. You're not even asking, "Which is better, X or Y?" You're saying, "somebody, please save me." Which pattern do you think is more is more mature? More attractive in a prospective student?</p>
<p>P.S. I take a particular interest in W because I've come to be a believer in womens colleges. Also it has a special place in my heart because of the Early Evaluation practice. My D's second reaction was, "Oh good...I don't have to go to <name of="" safety="">." After having been rejected outright EA from Yale with a 3.9/1580/2240, good recs and essay, it was great to have the pressure relieved.</name></p>
<p>And while Smith and W are certainly rivals in some senses, they have a lot in common. I'd like to think that a W parent would help a prospective Smithie were circumstances reversed.</p>
<p>the dad,
thank you for your advice. it's true. as far as maturity, sensibility, reason, and every characteristic attributed to this proccess goes - YOU should know all is tossed out once a student falls prey to the college application proccess...particularly a little more than a month left for decisions to be made. i am very happy for your daughter and i can see (conspicuously and understandably) that you are very proud of her, as well. But recognize that not everyone on this site has such peace of mind. Be sensitive to the limbo each student without a 'likely' or 'accepted' is tossed into - as a father - and smoothen your acute advice: </p>
<p>"'You're not even asking, "Which is better, X or Y?" You're saying, "somebody, please save me." Which pattern do you think is more is more mature? More attractive in a prospective student?"</p>
<p>Most students who post here are bright and ambitious, if we seem like we are despondent, that is far from a plea to be saved - but a need for peace of mind. A second route they could pursue. Not someone to tell them to exactly 'give it up', 'consider yourself rejected', 'you have nothing to add'...and if you would like to say such comments, don't add such an insensitive remark as to gloat about your daughter. I understand where you are coming from, but as far as the effect you might have on some of the girls reading your comments, I am disgusted.</p>
<p>DCA, it is exactly because I remember the stress that I do not "smoothen" the advice. </p>
<p>The hard truth is that the with a Possible letter you are likely to be rejected. I can't do anything about that and trying to soften the blow isn't a kind thing to do. Remember that "nice" does not always equal "kind." I view my "job" here as giving the best advice I can to get as many of you off the beach alive as possible. Bruised feelings or egos don't weigh much against that. </p>
<p>Few people will believe me but while it's incredibly stressful now, in about eight months you'll be looking back at what seemed like a mountain has dwindled into insignificance and you'll feel that way whether you're attending W or another college.</p>
<p>Fwiw, I never mentioned my D until someone questioned my cred. I don't need to brag about her on CC and you can prowl through my nearly 4,500+ posts to verify that. (I do use her experiences to highlight some of the advantages of LAC's in general and womens colleges in particular but that's a different matter and I generally manage to file the serial numbers off first.)</p>
<p>I can live with input I don't agree. I can even like it and switch sides when argued persuasively and inarticulately! What a concept!</p>
<p>But frankly, I'm not a huge fan of your attitude towards all these fragile self esteems especially this period. Wellesley prides itself in being collaborative and supportive something you aren't representing at the moment. If I read all your posts without knowing Wellesley students myself, I would be turned off.</p>
<p>Shooting down applicant's self esteem isn't exactly the most helpful at this period. But I do agree that inflating a student's chances is also detrimental. Give advice. You can even leave unfavorable stats but don't say there's no chance. Leave the interpretation up to us. I think we’re intelligent enough to analyze it.</p>
<p>When I read what you just wrote." Dostoevsky, the odds are against you, probably 3-1. Yes, you can get admitted, but planning upon it given those odds doesn't seem prudent." Just the way you structured the sentence, demonstrates your pessimism and negativity. You present the bad first and implant it and then provide a possibility. A more favorable and political answer would had been, "you have about a 1 in 3 chance(I think it's closer to 1 in 4)..Good luck!" it leaves the answer for interpretation and the girl (who probably has enough intelligence) will know that the odds are against her but there's still a chance." With this high achieving schools, it's important to make plans for the worst...thus we apply to safeties. But hope is what we live on.</p>
<p>You can't say I haven't been asking whether X or Y is better because you don’t know what I do privately. I have been privately with those affiliated with Wellesley, who’s credibility I do trust. </p>
<p>I reiterate again. I was simply surprised that there wasn't that personal touch that I love about Wellesley. That's all. Perhaps I'm comparing Wellesley to a school that's a lot more personable and tries to make applicants feel better. Here's the differentiation since I've stated this so many times subtly throughout my posts and yet you have not caught on.</p>
<p>I THOUGHT Wellesley would be more personable and would try to make the process less harrowing. I don't NEED them to give me a checklist. I HOPED that they would provide points for me to focus on in my additional information.</p>
<p>Need. Is a very strong word. I am completely capable of drawing up what I have I just wanted a little more insight as I've been provided through the Caltech forum and people. (Yes, I know what a contrast..there's a long story as to how I applied to both) If I was asking somebody to save me, it would be equivalent to asking somebody write out my resume and have a student persuade the admissions office to let me in. I'm not. As Dostoevsky pointed out, I'm simply asking for further input. As advantagious and millionlittlepieces graciously gave. I never know what I can evoke or dig up in these forums.</p>
<p>But thanks for staying on these threads and providing the information that many applying girls are looking for. We're glad for the facts and trends but not for the negative attitude. Your response would probably be like...oh but I should have to baby around mature prospective Wellesley bound applicants. Remember how your daughter felt after getting rejected from Yale? </p>
<p>When you tell us there's no hope..it almost feels like a rejection for many. Now imagine if she was deferred. We would feel that pressure. Please don't give decisive decisions out like that when you aren't affiliated. </p>
<p>Btw even after these comments, I really appreciate your presence on this site as parents like you who have endured through these processes understand the trends and cycles that tend to occur and provide informative insight. Perhaps it's been too long since you experienced that anxiety..but I urge you to be more sensitive to those around.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>