Social life

<p>I'm deciding between Hopkins and Wellesley and to be honest, it's come down to the question of social life at Wellesley for me. Other than that, Wellesley seems like an almost perfect school, but I've spent the past four years at an all girls school and the prospect of four more years is a little disappointing--I love Wellesley, but it isn't necessarily the kind of atmosphere I would have hoped for in a college.</p>

<p>I was wondering if you guys could answer some of my questions about the social life/partying/social atmosphere at Wellesely. I've looked back at older threads, but nobody asked exactly what I asked and some newer opinions would be nice too!</p>

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<li> Do a large percentage of Wellesley women party/go out to Boston/wherever people to go to socialize, or is it a smaller, envied selection of students?</li>
<li> Are there ever any parties on campus, do people ever do drugs (like, smoke weed) on campus, are there casual small parties at school, etc?</li>
<li> How do boys at nearby schools regard the Wellesley girls in general?</li>
<li> How hard is it to find a party and get yourself to it on a given Friday night?
Any other input in the same arena would be very appreciated! And please don't attack, I'm just looking for some answers!</li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Before I start this message, I want to say that I have met quite a few girls here who have been to all-girl schools prior to coming to Wellesley. Although there continues to be a lack of men, I think they have the advantage of not noticing it as much as other students (and to be honest, I don’t even usually notice it lol).</p>

<ol>
<li><p>It’s 50/50, or degrees of variation from that. For every girl I know going out on the weekend, I know someone staying in & doing homework or just hanging out with friends. And again, this varies from week to week, depending on what parties or events are going on at other campuses. If you decide to come here, whether or not you go out on the weekend is going to depend on a variety of factors - how much work you need to get done, if your friends are going, if there’s something interesting going on in Boston or at other colleges, etc. While I wouldn’t say it’s a large percentage, it’s definitely a sizeable one that goes out on the weekends (and quite a few who don’t!) Those who do go out are definitely not envied though, or held in contempt…it’s just a matter of personal choice. I hope this answered your question, but all I know is what I see. </p></li>
<li><p>There are parties on campus, usually held by organizations or clubs. There tends to be one every other week held in the first floor of the campus center. These usually aren’t large, but can be (again, depending on who decides to go). There are also 3 societies on campus (basically sororities but not exactly) who also hold parties. Sometimes they have really interesting themes (there was a Bad Romance theme before break that was popular), but whether or not you enjoy those parties is also a personal thing. Honestly, some girls love them, other girls despise them & think the girls (and guys) that go to those parties aren’t exactly the most respectable…to put it lightly, but it’s all a matter of personal opinion. If you come here you’ll have to see for yourself what I mean.</p></li>
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<p>As for other parties (I’m assuming you mean dorm parties), while I won’t say they don’t happen, I’ve never seen one. I’ve heard of a few occurring in some of the other dorms on campus (a.k.a the west side) but really they’re not too prevalent. This is definitely not like a state university where you try and do homework to the blasts of music from the floor above or your neighbor. It’s usually quiet here on weeknights, maybe a little louder on weekends. It depends on where you live though. I have heard of a few people throwing some friday night parties in their room, but the stories of these are few and far between. There truly is not a lot of partying in dorms. As for drugs & pot, again, I’m sure there are people who do them, but really all I’ve seen is cigarettes (because prob anyone smoking pot isn’t going to do it in a public place lol). I don’t think we have any big drug problems, and if we do, I am unaware. </p>

<ol>
<li>How do boys think of us…well:</li>
<li>We are all a bunch of lesbians</li>
<li>We are all a bunch of prudes</li>
<li>We are all a bunch of sex-crazed feminists who love any person with a *****</li>
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<p>Does that make any sense? If it doesn’t, welcome to the world of perceptions of Wellesley women. I’ve heard it all from guys on other campuses. Some of them don’t respect us. But look at what they think of us! None of those even go together! And honestly, for the general population of students here, it’s NOT true. You will find boys in the Boston area who respect Wellesley and women, I don’t mean to make a stereotype. But everyone has a different slant on who we are, and there’s not a whole lot we can do about that. It comes with the territory of an all-women’s institution that men will start to say nasty things and assume we’re all lesbians. If this is going to bother you, then maybe Wellesley isn’t the right place. I’m only going to say this once though - you can’t become too concerned with what other people (wrongly) think. You know the truth, and that’s all that matters. </p>

<ol>
<li>If you want to find a party, you’ll find one. Trust me. I know girls who made it their main objective in the beginning of the year to find parties and men, and have that type of constant social scene. There is a bus that takes you into Boston & drops you off right in front of MIT and Harvard. MIT frat parties are generally more well-advertised than Harvard parties. They will also be more common in the beginning of the year. There is also a shuttle that takes you to Olin & Babson during the weekday. So travel really isn’t a problem. Finding a party is slightly more difficult, but again, you’ll hear about parties from friends & upperclasswomen and even facebook. </li>
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<p>You said it yourself, your decision has now come down to social life. I’ll be honest - Johns Hopkins probably has a greater one than Wellesley (at least in terms of parties). In fact, I know it to be true. But, if you’re willing to put partying aside for one of the greatest educations in the country, then Wellesley is your place. I hope my answers helped at all in determining whether Wellesley is right for you. There is a social scene, and you can find parties. But it does come down to how much effort you want to put into it. </p>

<p>Best of luck with your decision!</p>

<p>I just wanted to add that, having said all of the above, I’m going to a party this weekend at Harvard because an organization that I’m in is invited. It should be a lot of fun. So, again, it really isn’t that hard to find a party lol, they’re just not typically on campus. </p>

<p>Again, I hope you find what’s right for you. :)</p>

<p>If you want to find a party, you can find one, any day/night of the week, and you can find people to go with you too. If you want to stay in, watch a movie, order pizza, you can find people who want to do that with you too. Parties are easily accessible, especially since Boston has so many colleges/universities. Boston really is the quintessential college city, and I love it. How much you party/ where you party depends on who you hang out with – dependent on both your friends at Wellesley and your friends at other schools.</p>

<p>Parties on campus are put on by student orgs. On average, they happen about once every other week (I am referring to BIG, campus wide parties – you can find smaller parties any weekend/ weekday if you look or know people). The beginnings and ends of semesters are more popular, and you can have multiple large parties on any given Friday and/or Saturday night.</p>

<p>Drug activity on campus is pretty minimal. There are people who do stuff behind closed doors (just like every other college), but in general that stuff happens off campus. If you choose to partake in such activities, then you have your friends who do similar things. If you don’t do it, your friends probably don’t do it either.</p>

<p>Most freshmen boys/ boys new to the Boston area will initially think Wellesley girls are easy, sluts, etc or you’re gay. It’s sadly the generic stereotype of any women’s college; if you go there, you must crave men to come off campus … or you’re a lesbian. Once people are around Boston for awhile, they realize that Wellesley has really good people. We’re smart, driven, and classy. Yes, there are girls who like to party here also, but one wild partier doesn’t justify stereotyping an entire campus.</p>

<p>Good luck with your choice! I personally like Boston more than I do Baltimore, since I wanted to go to school in a really collegial environment; I like that Boston has such a rich diversity in schools and students.</p>

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<li>& 2. I agree with hoppipolla. It’s pretty 50-50. And I don’t think that the students who go out to party are “envied.” I don’t understand why you’d think so? If you want to party a lot, you’ll most likely get off campus. There are parties on Wellesley’s campus that are thrown by organizations but the ones I’ve been to generally… well… suck. People do throw parties and drink in their rooms. Tower and Lakehouse are known to be the two dorms that are the most social. Random note: I’ve never seen a keg at Wellesley.</li>
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<p>As for the drug scene, Princeton Review once cited Wellesley as a “Got milk?” school. Meaning we’re pretty dry and straight edge. – Still I know several students who DEFINITELY aren’t dry or straight edge. So it just depends. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Obviously we’re all lesbian whores who live in a convent-like campus. Sarcasm aside, I think that welles10 hit the nail on the head. As relationships take time, it takes time for guys to shed their misconceptions of Wellesley. I think that they are kind of fascinated with why we decide to go to an all-womens college… and that can be a good conversation starter. </p></li>
<li><p>I’d say on-campus parties are every other week. I don’t really seek parties out, which is why I’m not the best person to ask. But I imagine that you can find a party every Friday night. Seldom on Thursday nights. It isn’t too difficult to get to a party since the exchange/senate bus is around. It takes about 40 min - 1 hr to get dropped off at MIT/ Harvard, which is a little annoying but worth it. Also there’s a shuttle that goes to Babson/Olin, should you choose to party there.</p></li>
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<p>There have been kegs at CPLA’s election night parties and also at one of the events held on Munger Meadow (perhaps it was after Marathon Monday last year?).</p>

<p>oh that’s true. in that case, i have seen a keg here.</p>

<p>It might be worth pointing out that JHU is an officially “dry” campus and Wellesley is not.</p>

<p>^Wow. I didn’t know that about JHU!</p>