<p>I'm a prospie trying to get a feel for how I would fit at Wellesley. Academically I think I would definitely thrive and I recognize how amazing the education is but I'm apprehensive about social life. What is the social life like at Wellesley? Do students often go off campus and see shows etc in Boston or is social life centered mostly around the campus and the area immediately surrounding it. One of the things that attracted me to Wellesley was its proximity to Boston and while I wouldn't go off campus all the time I may want to head into Boston maybe once or twice a month. Is this typical for a Wellesley student? What is the "party" scene like? How about guys? Do girls usually go off campus for parties or to meet guys? Is it easy to meet guys at Wellesley? While I'm not boy crazy or anything I definitely don't want to never meet them lol. </p>
<p>In short, could a current student just give me a rundown of how they spend time outside of the classroom and on weekends? (besides hitting the library obviously!)</p>
<p>Gosh, such a huge variety of things to do. First of all you could EASILY go off campus and into Boston a couple of times a month. No question about it. That would probably be an average or below average amount of off-campus-going. There are a fair number of parties on campus–not every week but not just once or twice a year. Between parties and concerts put on by student activities, parties put on by the societies (I guess each society probably has one/semester?), and parties put on by cultural orgs (in my time, especially the various Asian orgs), it’s not as dead as I think people think it is. Guys come to these parties, so your creepy dude quota can be filled without even leaving campus! Especially first year, many students go to frat parties at MIT and BU. I didn’t, but you shouldn’t have too much difficulty finding people to go with if you are interested. Older students who hang out at frats tend to have made friends there. Also there are parties at Olin, which makes for a unique experience. There’s a pretty good room party circuit; my senior year my friends and I went to so many room parties before Remix (the big all-campus Fall party) that we never actually made it to the actual event!</p>
<p>I actually didn’t go to any normal parties until I was a Junior and Senior. My first year especially I did a lot of hanging out with the people on my floor, talking, watching movies, and playing board games, which was great (seriously). Another fun thing are tv watching parties in the dorm tv rooms; I had a lot of fun my senior year watching Jersey Shore with my friend and the 20 other random people who showed up. I like to shop and every Saturday there is a bus to the Natick Mall (and Target). When I went into Boston I usually actually stuck around Harvard Square, shopping at the bookstores, the Urban Outfitters, and having fancy dessert at Finale. Also, I tried to go on excursions offered by the college–I went to a couple of Red Sox games, I went to NYC almost every semester via the college, I went to Provincetown. I guess I actually had a lot of fun, looking back!</p>
<p>Thanks so much! Just a follow up question–what’s the deal with the societies/how do they play into social life at Wellesley?</p>
<p>Upfront: I’m not very pro social club, so while I think I give a fair description I won’t deny that I have a bias. Societies are like Wellesley’s version of sororities. The three main ones are TZE, ZA, and Phi Sig, and when I referenced society parties, these are the societies that I was thinking of. Here’s a blog entry from a society member: <a href=“https://blogs.wellesley.edu/admission/oakinolu/the-calm-before-the-storm/[/url]”>https://blogs.wellesley.edu/admission/oakinolu/the-calm-before-the-storm/</a> . The blog author explicitly denies the society = sorority description, and I do feel like societies are MUCH less intense than the average sorority. The three societies in question are allegedly formed around a cultural focus; in practice they are mostly social clubs that put on parties and (the cultural focus) host some lectures. They are a moderately large part of the social scene and I do think that their role as party-hosts is a plus for the student body writ large. You don’t rush a society, you “tea” it to join–very posh, no? 
I don’t feel that there is a campus pecking order, however–it’s not like society members are “better” than non-society members or don’t mix with non-society members. The campus is not stratified in that way. If I were Queen of the Universe and were founding Wellesley all over again, I probably wouldn’t have societies, but they have a long history at Wellesley and even given the opportunity I don’t think I would try to get rid of them, either. </p>
<p>I do feel that there are many groups at Wellesley, such that many students are fairly strongly aligned with at least one–be it a society, an acapella group, a sports team, one of the coops (El Table, Cafe Hoop, the Pub, etc (? I might be missing something)), or something else. That said, as befitting my personality, I was pretty “unaffliated” and did not suffer unduly–after all, you only need to find one other weirdo like yourself and you’re set! (This is a light joke at my own expense and, I suppose, the expense of my friends). </p>
<p>Hope this helps. College campuses are like small communities and the social interactions are a little hard to describe in writing.</p>
<p>There are 4 societies…you’re missing the Shakespeare Society, which I guess wouldn’t really be considered a part of Phi Sig/TZE/ZA but is a group that requires tea-ing (similar to rush in the Greek system) and dues (though the Shakes does have aid if you/your family cannot afford the cost), etc.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: was not in a society, just trying to include everyone here.</p>
<p>I think of the Shakes as a very different entity but they are a society and I should have mentioned them (the blog post I linked mentions them).</p>
<p>Note to prospies: shakes should be considered as a separate entity from the other 3 societies. This is imperative to know when meeting anyone in a society of any kind. </p>
<p>Moving on to a new social topic…clubs? Student government? Athletics?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for answering my questions. A few more… Do students at Wellesley stick to one sort of group and then interact mostly with those people or is there more integration? (ex: all the field hockey players hang together or all the actors hang mostly with actors) Since Wellesley is a women’s college how does the idea of sisterhood affect the community? And finally, Why did you choose Wellesley? Now that you attend (have attended?) what would you change about it?</p>
<p>Also I have a question (prospie tagging on). @advantagious said that 2 times a month is average or below for Wellesley. So was I correct when I got the vibe that Wellesley was kind of 9-5 job campus, and then once Friday and Saturday rolls around (almost) everyone leaves? I don’t actually think that’s bad, just saying, I actually think it’s kind of nice, but I’m curious to know if that’s right.</p>
<p>^^Noooo, not that extreme at all! I’d guess a fairly decent percentage of the campus goes off campus at some point each weekend, but the campus does NOT empty out, and people go at different times–Friday evening, during the day Saturday, Saturday evening, and during the day Sunday. Your perception of how “happening” things are on campus on the weekends is going to vary by personal taste, but basically I feel like there is a lot of room for people of different preferences–want to go off campus all weekend, every weekend? You won’t be alone! Want to go off campus occasionally? You won’t be alone! Want to go off never? You won’t be alone! </p>
<p>If the concern is that people “say” you can go off campus, but in practice no one does, I can put your mind at ease–people absolutely go off campus.</p>
<p>Thank you so much!</p>
<p>I knew people left, but I guess it might have just been my hostess for the Diversity Weekend when she talked about how much she and her friends left, it sort of extended to the rest of the community. That makes me feel a little more at ease :)</p>
<p>Completely agree with advantagious on this one – regardless of how much or how little you want to socialize, there will be others looking for the same thing as you. If you want to go to every party, watch tv and bake cupcakes, read or actually do homework on Friday night, you’ll find your friends at Wellesley. The campus does not empty out on weekends – there are friend groups/circles who do.</p>
<p>I’m also a prospie (trying to make a last minute decision here!). While I do like the idea of going off campus to socialized sometimes, I really don’t like the idea of frat parties. Are there non-frat parties to go to that are a little more chill?</p>