<p>OK, I have 10 days to decide which to go to.
I am interested in English, Art History, and Studio Art (specifically photography). Which school has stronger literature and art departments?
I plan to study abroad in France and take French.
Also, I am a very artsy person and would like to be around fellow artsy, literature-minded people, while getting the best education possible.</p>
<p>Wellesley +: prestige, great academics and teachers, more selective, beautiful campus, near Boston, highly successful graduates
Wellesley -: very annoyingly privileged town, weird isolated feeling, more stressful </p>
<p>Smith +: a part 5 college consortium, renowned art museum, beautiful campus, cute town
Smith -: not as intellectually/ politically diverse, less selective/ prestigious</p>
<p>That'd be great to have opinions from any current or past students, or anyone knowledgeable about the colleges.</p>
<p>I can shed some light in your direction about Wellesley since I am a W alum. I have only heard positive reviews about Wellesley’s English Department. In fact, English is one of the most popular majors at Wellesley, along with Economics, Political Science and French. </p>
<pre><code>The Art Department is very well known and encompasses both art history, studio art and interdepartmental majors. You can double major in art history and studio art. You can also minor in either of these subjects! I suggest you leaf through the course catalogue (you can access it online) to get an idea of the breadth and depth of course offerings within the art department. Alumnae are very fond of the arts at Wellesley, and are ardent supporters of Wellesley College Friends of Art which organizes art events at museums, galleries, lectures, annual Holiday Tea and so forth in various cities. WCFA members are very active! I noticed that you pointed out that Smith has a renown art museum, but Wellesley does too! In addition, Wellesley is only only 12 miles away from Boston where you can enjoy more museums such as the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Gardner Museum, even museums at Harvard, which are all easily accessible thanks to the Wellesley exchange bus (runs weekdays for free every 45 minutes) and Senate bus (runs weekends for $3/ticket).
If you are thinking about going on a junior year abroad to France, Wellesley’s program in Aix-en-Provence is very popular. Everyone I know who has gone on this program loves it! Some of my classmates who went to Aix still have mini gatherings (-:
At Wellesley there are all types of students…artsy and literature-minded students are well at home on campus as much as pre-med and other students. W’s sense of sisterhood ties everyone together whether you are artsy or not. I loved it when I was a student there and still feel connected to the Wellesley community.
If you have not visited yet, I strongly suggest you visit both Wellesley and Smith to get a feel for the community at each of these schools. Both schools have a lot to offer. In the end, I suggest you follow your heart. Good luck!
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