<p>For the longest time I was SURE I wanted to go to Wellesley, but now the regular decisions are out I find myself totally forgetting about it and instead trying to pick between stanford, yale, MIt, and dartmouth. Partly because they gave me much better financial aid than WEllesley. Does anyone have strong opinions about these other schools vs Wellesey? Why wellesley is better? I'm trying to revive my enthusiasm for Wellesley....
Thanks</p>
<p>well i think i'm gonna pick wellesley because ill get a feeling of CONTROL. u go to mit u are in the city and party scene and i guess if u are a person that has lots of selfcontrol then thats fine, but i know ill get tempted by my friends into going partying b4 my studies are all done. bu u go to wellelsey theres not that much campus parities, so u can study when u want to study, n then go to boston on the weekend. they have a very solid academics, and i hav no doubt that ill get into some good grad school or transfer if i cant take it to stanford or something, but u can take classes at mit while ur at wellesley, so the main thing is u get a private, wealthy lac education with access to big facilities like mit n harvard... best of both worlds. plus i hav a friend who had like better grades than me that went to stanford last year n now shes, for the first time, not a 4.0. i dont doubt that wellesley will be hard, bu im gonna try my best there and FOCUS on school while im college and party later. its better to get a great gpa in wellesley then a 3.5 at mit, rite?</p>
<p>i second the part about self control. senior year has been insane, because it seems like pot and alcohol are everywhere i go. i know that "having fun" in the most convienant way possible has affected my grades, and i also know that i'm not the kind of person that should use anything at all. part of me really doesn't want to go to wellesley b/c it's a sober campus, but then i remember that i shouldn't be wanting to get high a lot in college. so wellesley will be a nice place to get away from that. i can only imagine that colleges, especially elite ones, have at least as many drugs, probably more, than my high school. i go to a highly rated/regarded school, where the top students aren't known for staying sober, or even going to class sober unconditionally. </p>
<p>apparently wellesley class sizes are all really small. other than dartmouth, all your schools listed are the undergraduate schools of a university. as for wellesley, professors will be amazing, since they're only concerned with undergrads. also, i've heard that they cap class sizes at 25 or so, but that most have around 15. </p>
<p>lastly, i keep on hearing about how they provide opportunities that i haven't heard of anywhere else. for example..
-if you have an unpaid internship somewhere, the school will give you a stipend.
-they encourage you to learn how to play golf (on their golf course) to help you in a business career.
-in the career center, they have business suits from size 2-30ish, so that if you need to interview for a job, you can check one out rather than dropping $300.
-the percentage of female executives in companies is very disproportinate.. i think around 40% went to girls schools, even though a very low percentage of women choose an all girls education
-etc. oh, and the alumni network is supposed to be better than any of the schools listed. </p>
<p>but all the schools you listed are amazing, so good luck. i can't imagine deciding.</p>
<p>islander, those are some awesome info about Wellesley! I've never heard about those before so thank you for sharing them.</p>
<p>There are too many students at the top colleges who are serious about their studies for you to do well if you're using various substances or otherwise not exercising self-control in your social life, etc. <em>Everyone</em> who gets admitted to Wellesley has the intellectual chops to do well. For the first time in your lives, half of you will be below average. Many more will be shocked not to be in the top 10 percent. In that environment, if you don't have self-control, how do you think you're going to fare against everyone else?</p>
<p>You can probably avoid flunking out and a Wellesley grad is always a Wellesley grad. But you will have wasted a golden opportunity that will never come your way again.</p>
<p>TheDad, my daughter was asked about what you just said during her Wellesley interview, "How would feel about going to school with people who are smarter than you?"</p>
<p>maybe it isn't possible forever, but, coming from a school where having a 3.89 gpa doesn't put you on the top 10% (our school doesn't rank GPAs), i can assure you that it is completly possible to use substances/not exercise self control and still end up at the top of the class. for a while, at least. it just depends on the person. most people/parents refuse to believe that, so i can't change any minds.</p>
<p>I agree with that, Islander. At least in highschool, there are plenty of kids who drink on weekends and are right at the top of the class. Other substances aren't really common in my school, but drinking is a big thing. Some of the smartest kids I know get pretty drunk on weekends- and their teachers would never guess.</p>
<p>Islander, at Wellesley you're pitching in a different league. I think I've been around more colleges and seen lots more college students for many more years than you have. From serious schools to party schools.</p>
<p>I'm sure you're right, TheDad. I was never contesting that it's different in college- just sharing how it is at my highschool.</p>
<p>i hear a lot of stories from my friends of these super smart people that feel like "oh i got into harvard," or "oh i got into mit' so the war is over or something... like all hs they'v been working for that acceptance, to think that "im going to harvard, my future is set." it's like senioritis where you think, oh i worked hard all these years, what does it matter if i get a B 8th semester? i dont care anymore! haha for once i dont care if i dont get an A! i dont have to stay up until 3a.m. tonite! i can sleep at 10p.m. if i feel like it. i can go party tonite if i feel like it. i dont have to make myself study for that test tomrrow i can just fail it hahaha. they think that the pressure is off and that they got accept into college and even if they get a B they're still coming to harvard in the fall....</p>
<p>and then they continue to think like that in college and not do as well and party cuz they've never partied b4 and now they are enjoying it so much that they cant give it up... its not like someone who partied hard in hs and "converted" into a nun and THEN that person can say no to parties, but if someone who's never indulged now sees all the great things (s)he never did, they get tempted. i mean... do ALL mit/harvard students have 3.8+? lets not even say 3.8, lets say 3.5 or even 3.0 ... some students are probably struggling to get a 3.0 and then tehres some that just party too hard and flunk out... there goes a sad sad sad story. so NEVER get too full of yourself no matter where u go.</p>