<p>OK, here’s a question in this same vein…how do you deal with grade deflation at Wellesley? Does it make intelligent/competitive people even more competitive and scary? Or is it just a fact of life that everyone accepts?</p>
<p>Юля??? Ж)
Very funny, this might be true in my case as well 
Nice cartoon! (manga?)</p>
<p>LaMariposaAzul, grade deflation is something that is accepted. Some would argue that it hasn’t really changed anything, others would say otherwise. I think coming to college is all about adjusting to how things are here – when you come to Wellesley you probably aren’t going to be the smartest girl in your class anymore or getting all As every semester. Every girl at Wellesley was that really smart girl who did everything in high school too. When you all come together in one classroom, you might not find that you’re the top of the top anymore, but that’s ok. :)</p>
<p>But getting into a good law school/grad school matters, and with Wellesley not giving out As, it’ll be impossible to be a competitive candidate.</p>
<p>It is not impossible to be a competitive candidate even though Wellesley has a deflated grading system. Many girls get into very competitive programs each year (this year, I know people who have gotten into Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Stanford, Caltech, Berkeley, UCSD, UChicago, UPenn, and many many others). </p>
<p>Wellesley sends schools information on our grading system and graduate schools take that into account when looking at applications.</p>
<p>OCCTransfer, many grad schools know about Wellesley’s system. It helps that there have been some newspaper articles written about this, too. And people deal with the whole grade deflation. You learn to get excited about Bs, which is how it should be, really. You know you worked hard for a good score, so when you get it, you truly know you deserved it.</p>
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<p>You’ll find some high strung people, but you’ll also find some chill people. Wellesley has tons of Californian students. Yay West Coast!</p>
<p>@Helen: Yes, I’m Russian. :)</p>
<p>Yay for chill Californians :)</p>
<p>Grade deflation? Again? Already? Really?</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/wellesley-college/684807-wellesley-notorious-grade-deflation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/wellesley-college/684807-wellesley-notorious-grade-deflation.html</a></p>
<p>Yeah, I’ve read that thread…I guess my question was poorly phrased. I was hoping for comments about whether or not it makes a noticeable impact on how students are around each other–does everyone get more competitive? do people resent it?–as opposed to the graduate school side of grade deflation, which I’m really not all that worried about. I’ve been subjected to a lot of comments about how Wellesley women are really, intensely competitive…and, while competition with myself is the way I am, I absolutely hate tons of competition with peers. I’ve had to put up with a decent amount of person-person competition in high school, and I frankly don’t want it to feature so prominently in my college experience. So, re-phrasing my question: Does grade deflation affect the community or collaboration in classes too much? </p>
<p>Sorry for the mix-up, I’m really trying to not be too repetitive! Thanks :)</p>
<p>People whine about the policy a lot, but as I’ve said in my prior posts, I don’t necessarily think that the whining is justified at all. I think that if the reality of the grading situation was the same as what the grade deflation policy outlined, without there being such a policy, no one would ever know. It’s the pointing it out that becomes an issue.</p>
<p>Most of the whining I saw was online: there is some resentment from students and the faculty who handle the policy badly (“oh, I would have just given you an A, but now I have to give you a B because of the grading policy”). There was an infamous community thread a few years back called “I deserve an A” (for my $40,000 was part of the justification there…) after some student got a paper back that had an A- crossed out and changed to a B+.</p>
<p>The only time I’ve heard the grading policy discussed allowed was before class when I was taking Art. I was a junior and was only semi-aware of the grading policy, because as I’ve said, it doesn’t do squat. The person discussing in seemed to think that it pitted us all against each other and was the end of the world, and I wasn’t really sure that she and I went to the same school. Ironically, I got a B in that art class (with very few grades or feedback, but I thought it was well-deserved) in what was my poorest semester grade-wise at Wellesley.</p>
<p>Of course, half my classes were science classes, and I was glad for whatever grades I could get. About a third to a half of my physics class worked together on problem sets on a regular basis, and I would describe nothing about our group as competitive. There were people who were smarter than others, there were people who cared more than others, and there were people who were prepared more than others, but we weren’t ever against each other in any sense.</p>
<p>Somehow, that was an anomaly of my year. Apparently the physics majors in the year ahead of us didn’t get along so well. One weekend junior year, there was a sleepover consisting of myself and three other physics majors (two of us lived across campus). We went down to breakfast together in our PJs, and one of my friends heard a senior say that she didn’t realize that the junior physics majors were <em>friends</em>. The thing that shocked us about her comment? We didn’t realize the senior physics majors <em>weren’t</em> friends.</p>
<p>Interesting, WendyMouse. I can say that the physics majors get along well now – at least I know there’s a group within 2010 and one within 2011. The 2011 group is really really close, doing psets together almost every night and they hang out on weekends sometimes too. I have found overall that there is more collaboration in the sciences than in the humanities…</p>
<p>Классно! Are you in the Russian club by any chance? What’s the Russian community like at Wellesley?
I’m coming for the Open Campus, so maybe we’ll meet :)</p>
<p>I can’t blame Wellesley for not accepting me. I didn’t go to the “required” interview for transfer students. :/</p>
<p>helen_mes, I know the Russian department is very very close knit at Wellesley. My roommate from before is a russian major and through her I think I have met the entire Russian department! They’re a really friendly bunch, the professors are awesome and approachable, and well, Russia is awesome! I’m sure you’ll love it! And since you’re probably on campus now (and not reading CC), I hope you have a great time while you’re here!! :)</p>
<p>My daughter graduated a couple of years ago…all I can say is that this is an amazing school. Do not miss this opportunity. No it isn’t nursry school–you’ll have to seek out help if you need it–but we found it to be a warm, supportive place in the best senses of the word. My D truly made friends for life, and has found that the alumni network is rabid, and worldwide.</p>
<p>Thanks!! Yes, I met the professor who teaches Russian Hisotory and she was pretty awersome, then I went to a Russian lit course taught in Russian (the prof was super amazing, but he is not going to be at Wellesley next year 
) I loved the whole thing And I’m enrolling at Wellesley!!! Finally, a decision was made There is a class that goes to Russia (not sure for how long) - do you think I could go as a freshman/sophmore? how much does it cost? </p>
<p>Also, how/when do I register for courses and should I try to satisfy distribution rec. as soon as possible or leave the for later?
THANKS!</p>
<p>Helen_mes, there is a class that goes to Russia over Wintersession (the month of January). I know most of the people who went on it this past January and most of them were juniors and seniors but I’m sure there were a few sophomores who went as well – I think it depends how much Russian language skills you have, since the class is either a 200 level or a 300 level. The wintersession schedule for classes that are offered will come out in the fall; I think the course is probably offered every other year (most wintersession courses where you can travel abroad happen about every other year, depending on funding and interest level of the students).</p>
<p>And congratulations on deciding on Wellesley See you in the fall!</p>
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<p>Whoops sorry for the late reply!</p>
<p>Да, в Уэлсли-колледже очень хорошая программа!</p>
<p>I know what professor you are talking about, but I can assure you that all the other professors are equally amazing! If you’re interested in taking Russian at Wellesley, I would take the placement test. I was placed in intro because I didn’t know how to write and didn’t know a darn thing about grammar 
but if you get placed higher, then I know that you would definitely be able to participate in all kinds of programs. I think there are still plenty of opportunities for students taking the introductory level, though.</p>
<p>I am actually not in the Russian club, because I am already busy with swim team things and what not. Still, if I’m not taking Russian next semester, I think I would like to get more involved. There are actually a lot of Russians at Wellesley, as well as people who love Russian things. The Russian department is a very tight-knit community. My first semester, my Russian professor took us to his house and we had an awesome Russian dinner that he had cooked for us. My other Russian professor plays us snippets from Russian movies and cartoons.</p>
<p>Congrats on your decision! 
I look forward to seeing you here next semester!</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply Yeah, the Russian department was one of the many things that sold me on Wellesley :)</p>
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<p>What kind of classes would you like to take? I’m a weird case, since I can speak Russian well but have a lot of difficulty with writing (I went into Wellesley not being able to write at all, I’ve improved a little but am still working on it). If you have any more questions about the Russian class, feel free to pm me!</p>