<p>I’m also really not into female bonding type things. I’m not a total feminist at all but I don’t have enough money for any other school. Will I suffer in this kind of environment?</p>
<p>Also, when are freshman preview days? I hope I haven’t missed them yet.</p>
<p>SusieBra, don’t worry! In high school, most (probably almost all?) were guys – I was really hesitant about coming to Wellesley and being around girls all the time. But I told myself that college was going to be a new experience and I’m glad I did it. Eventually I was going to have to learn how to get along better with girls, instead of just hanging out with guys all the time. And after four years, I have the entire rest of my life to go back to hanging out with guys all the time; you’ll live!</p>
<p>Freshman preview days are called “Spring Open Campus.” It is on April 21-23, so you haven’t missed it yet. There’s a link in another thread on here about it. Definitely remember to rsvp for it (you also should have gotten something in the mail about it, or at least I’m assuming brochures were sent out). Come check out the campus and see how you like it!</p>
<p>SusieBra, surprisingly I have met a lot of girls here who have had many guy friends in high school (one being myself) but they still seem to be pretty comfortable at Wellesley. Wellesley does have cheesy traditions, such as Flower Sunday, but no one forces you to do mushy girl bonding that involves painting your nails and giggling over Cosmo magazines. There are some girls who have managed to make friends with guys from MIT fraternities or Olin or Babson or whatever. As long as you are open minded and are able to take initiatives (such as getting off campus and meeting new people) you can settle in pretty well.</p>
<p>great advice! thanks. do you know anything about the wellesley college exchange program?</p>
<p>i have a love/hate relationship with girls in general.
guys are just easier.
but wellesley girls seem to have overcome typical, painful girl-ness.</p>
<p>Susiebra,</p>
<p>I’ve been following your posts on a couple of different threads here and I’m curious: When you say “female bonding type things,” what specific “things” are you picturing? When you think of a women’s college environment, what do you expect? And please feel free to be honest here. </p>
<p>Let us know exactly what your hesitations are (the more specific the better), so that current students and alumnae can address them. It seems you’re pretty OK with Wellesley’s academic offerings, so what exactly outside of the academics is turning you off?</p>
<p>Wellesley has exchange programs with MIT, Olin, Babson and Brandeis for classes. We have lots of study abroad options or you could also take part in the 12-College Exchange program. There is also an exchange program with Spelman College, a historically black college.</p>
<p>i also don’t understand when people say ‘i’m not a feminist’ - feminism just means you believe in equality between the sexes</p>
<p>women at wellesley don’t sit around talking about what it means to be female or man bash all the time- maybe some do, but most don’t</p>
<p>hi, i’m a junior and i plan to apply to Wellesley next year</p>
<p>other than the stellar academics and opportunities that Wellesley offers, it’s my first choice because i don’t want to be distracted by boys during class.</p>
<p>is that a bad reason? hopefully, other gals feel the same way?</p>
<p>mp11, that is not a bad reason to think about applying to Wellesley. I know that especially towards the end of senior year of high school I was getting really fed up with the boys in my classes – how they acted during class, disrespecting other classmates and the teachers (granted, not all boys do this, but that was how things were going at the time)… and I felt that I could go to Wellesley to “escape” from that and really concentrate on the material I was learning in my classes.</p>
<p>thanks, welles10! your response was insightful and encouraging.</p>
<p>“I heard that people often stereotype girls who go to women’s colleges. Is there a particular image Wellesley girls have when viewed by people from other schools?”</p>
<p>there have been really good responses to Fluff’s question, but this one was overlooked. Could someone provide some insight? If you meet someone from *insert name of school in Boston" and tell them you go to Wellesley is there a certain type of reaction, or is it just “oh, okay”…</p>
<p>That would be the frat rat from the quiz. For one, frats present a situation where enough people from Wellesley would go to make the school memorable.</p>
<p>isn’t that rather paradoxical? Wellesley girls are super-intelligent party girls…?</p>
<p>Not necessarily.</p>
<p>One of my former roommate’s former roommates was one such person. She was known for being a party girl and very ditzy around guys. Academically, she graduated in three years while double majoring and took two labs as part of five classes for several semesters. Dunno how she did it, but she’s still in an ivy-league grad school according to Facebook. Prudently, her facebook profile has become less interesting than it used to be.</p>
<p>It’s a matter of actually working when your working, really.</p>
<p>so, do you people look at you differently and negatively when you tell them you go to welles? (thanks for answering my questions WendyMouse!)</p>
<p>I live on the West Coast, and my child is a Wellesley student. So far, I have seen only positive reactions to my replies to people inquiring about where my child goes to college. I get a lot of “Wow, she is smart” comments. One former colleague had a “lightbulb moment” when I joked about the Wellesley -MIT relationship, “That’s how my brother met his wife!”</p>
<p>that’s good to hear. To be honest, some people know Wellesey and are aware of its prestige, but others don’t. I was just wondering about the reactions from the other students in the Boston area…</p>
<p>This is just from my own experience and observations.</p>
<p>It’s really how you act. If you act ditzy and crazy in a party situation, people are more quick to associate you with negative Wellesley stereotypes (“she’s sexually frustrated and ditzy and spoiled”). If you act poised and intelligent, they’re going to associate you with the positive stereotype (“she’s a kickass Wellesley woman”).</p>
<p>My boyfriend, who goes to MIT, might slightly be biased because he’s dating me, but he thinks that Wellesley is a really respectable school. I’ve introduced myself to Harvard and MIT grad students who seem to greet me with respect when I tell them that I am currently attending Wellesley.</p>
<p>I guess my point is that there appear to be two stereotypes that are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, and it is up to you to decide which one you want people to associate you with.</p>