<p>I'm considering applying for the Davis Scholars program for either Spring 2012 or Fall 2012 depending upon whether spring transfer applications will be accepted this coming year. There's a catch, however. I transitioned over seven years ago. It's my understanding that FtMs are allowed if they enrolled as women and later transition, but I've heard conflicting reports as to whether trans women are welcome at Wellesley.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wellesley.edu/Activities/homepage/counterpoint/archives/08_Dec.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.wellesley.edu/Activities/homepage/counterpoint/archives/08_Dec.pdf</a> seems to say that yes, it's "a matter of time" before a trans woman is accepted.</p>
<p>tim</a> | Wellesley update seems to indicate that trans women are disqualified.</p>
<p>Can anyone provide insight?</p>
<p>I would inquire directly at the admissions office, but I don’t believe there has been a transwoman student at Wellesley and common agreement seems to be that the chances of acceptance are iffy at best. I don’t think there is an official policy, though, and it may not be that anyone has really pushed the issue. I know that is not a very satisfactory answer, but I think it is the best anyone not employed in the admissions office can reasonably give. I can say that vocal campus opinion supports the admissions of transwomen (hundreds of people, including many professors from diverse departments, signed the petition against the admissions office’s policy with regards to Tim), but of course administrative decisions do not always step in line with popular opinion. I do think it is a matter of time because I really doubt that the student body is going to become more conservative on this issue and thus as time passes more and more students and alums will support the admittance of transwomen. The question for you, of course, is how soon that time comes, and again I doubt that anyone not in the admissions office/administration in general can give you a meaningful answer.</p>
<p>Thanks! I definitely will call the admissions office tomorrow.</p>
<p>Wellesley says, “if you identify as female and check female on the Common Application, we consider you to be female and eligible for consideration.”</p>
<p>Interesting–I wish you luck!</p>
<p>elizabeththegrey,</p>
<p>I’m just curious. If you decided to undergo medical procedures for gender reassignment, why does the all-female environment at Wellesley beckon to you? Also, do you think you presently look and feel more like a man or a woman?</p>
<p>marama:
I think you misunderstood what I meant when I said that I am a trans woman. I’ve been living as female since I was sixteen, and I’m now nearly twenty-four. I’ve never felt male, despite having been assigned male at birth.</p>
<p>Thus, it makes perfect sense why I feel as if I’d fit in well at a women’s college. I’m a computer scientist working as a systems administrator; only 3% of my colleagues are also women, so I’m looking forward to an environment that is less hostile. But the primary reason that Wellesley is of interest to me is the Davis Scholars program, which would provide me with support and peers who are also non-traditional students. I interrupted my education in order to work to support myself, and am seeking to work and simultaneously finish my degree as a part-time student.</p>
<p>TBH, whether I’ve had medical procedures performed is none of your business. If you’d been a little bit nicer about asking, I might even have pointed you at my blog where I discuss some of the physical processes involved in my own gender transition, but I happen to be open about my history. Other trans people you might encounter might not be. And having medical procedures has nothing to do with whether or not someone is “female enough” - many people can’t afford those medical procedures, even if they want them (some people don’t want surgery, for instance), so there are serious issues of class privilege associated with demanding that someone “must have surgery X” to be considered gender Y.</p>
<p>I happen to have passing privilege, but it’s really irrelevant whether I “look indistinguishable” from a cisgender female individual. I lucked out, but it’s unreasonable to demand that people “look right” to your standards in order to be considered “female enough”.</p>
<p>Oh, my goodness, I most certainly did misunderstand you, but not in the way you think!!! For some reason I thought you were a woman who had transitioned to being male. That’s why I was asking you what made you want to study in an all-female environment. In your case, of course it is clear why you are seeking to enroll in a women’s college. Furthermore, I can’t see any reason for Wellesley to think of denying you admission based on gender. As you say, the exact characteristics of your anatomy are irrelevant; it’s one’s personal identification as female that’s important. </p>
<p>It was because I thought you had transitioned from female to male that I was asking about your general appearance. In San Francisco, where I live, there are so many variations on this theme that I never take anything for granted. I have an acquaintance, for example, who is quite busty but also sports a thick, dark beard. She uses the prefix Ms., but dresses in male clothing. I’m not entirely sure what her future gender identification will be, but I believe she is transitioning from female to male. While her situation is, obviously, completely different from yours, I’m bringing it up so you’ll understand what was in my mind when I asked you about your appearance. </p>
<p>In any case, I’m not surprised you took offense at what you thought I was saying. Sorry for any upset I may have caused you to feel, and best of luck on your acceptance to Wellesley. You have just as much of a right to be there as anyone else.</p>
<p>Apology accepted 
Thanks!</p>