Wellesley hosted Spring Open Campus for accepted applicants this week (http://www.wellesley.edu/admission/soc/socprogramschedule).
Sharing my impressions and takeaways for the benefit of the community here.
- The staff, faculty, and alumnae were extremely welcoming and happy to answer questions. Their enthusiasm for helping prospective and current students was obvious and pervasive. The Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Joy St. John, is a rock star! President Johnson projected the poise and intellect expected from her position.
- Throughout the event, Wellesley students were inclusive and frequently took the initiative to introduce themselves to our daughter. These were not students with an official role in the event...just everyday Wellesley students that noticed her Prospective Student ID badge.
- Regarding the admissions process...Wellesley wants students to be successful and happy. So essays are very valuable to the Wellesley admissions committee to explore beyond GPA and test scores to find high-achievers that will excel in the Wellesley environment. Many talented applicants with excellent credentials are not admitted...because the admissions committee doesn't seem them as a "fit" where they will be successful at Wellesley.
- The Wellesley community is very diverse, with a wide variety of cultures/ethnicities represented. The common thread was intellect and passion.
- The overall focus of the event wasn't to "sell" accepted students. It was much more about providing information, answering questions, and enabling prospies to socialize with students at events so that they could determine for themselves if this was the place.
I highly recommend attending SOC or similar events as you evaluate Wellesley. The stay in the residence halls, meals in the dining rooms, attending a class, social events, and interaction with students were valuable and simply reinforced our daughter’s confidence in her decision to choose Wellesley.
Please feel free to ask questions, or if you attended SOC add your own observations.