Hi! I am currently a high school senior struggling to decide if I want to apply ED to Wellesley or Barnard. If anyone has any advice, recommendations, or tips, that would be greatly appreciated!
Do you want to be on a gorgeous campus in the suburbs or in the center of a fantastic city? Do you want to be part of a larger university or part of a small but mighty liberal arts college? Both are great schools but will have very different feels to them.
^^^ It’s so right. My daughter couldn’t see herself at Wellesley. Too isolated. To be surrounded by lots of people in a hustle-bustle town was her number one priority. She is a happy freshman at Barnard. If you don’t care about school location and your priority is serious academic rigor, go with Wellesley.
Location is a big differentiator for these two excellent colleges.
Want a higher likelihood of being able to attend college classes, clubs and social events with MEN on a regular basis without having to take any transportation to do so? Barnard.
Like being right in a major city? Barnard.
Want an absolutely gorgeous campus, nice dorms and a safe-feeling upscale suburb around you? Wellesley.
Back in the ancient days, I loved Wellesley and would never have considered Barnard, because I did not want to live in a city.
But then I chose Williams above Wellesley, eliminating Wellesley exactly because I did not want to have to travel to other local colleges to meet men under party situations, which seemed less comfortable to me than casual daily interactions.
Visit each campus and ask questions. See which works best for you. Both are great schools academically!
Given that you are uncertain, why apply ED? As others have said, there are significant differences between the schools. I’d encourage you to apply RD, plus add some similar but less competitive schools as backups. (For example, Mt. Holyoke if you are keen on attending a women’s college).
Have you visited both? As noted above, they have such different feels and it’s difficult to get the vibe until you set foot on campus. You’ll get a great education at either!
Good luck!
My general feeling is that one should only apply ED if 1) there is an absolute top choice (which there doesn’t seem to be) and 2) there is no need to compare financial offers between schools.
And echoing the comments of others the schools have very different locations/vibes. I think @stemmmm gave a nice brief summation. Have you visited the two schools and if so you you have a preference?
I went to Wellesley, and the concerns about never meeting men are overrated (you have to put a little more effort in but it’s not that difficult) and getting into Boston is fairly easy. However, Barnard is also a great school. It’s all about which place feels best to you. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about what attending Wellesley is like!
It’s not just a matter of the ease of meeting men socially, but the general and academic environment. Taking classes with men; participating in clubs or other organizations with men, etc.
My daughter placed a high priority on diversity in choosing a college – she is white, but was not comfortable when visiting campuses tha lacked ethnic diversity. So it was the same with gender – my daughter wasn’t interested in dating men before her senior year, because she was maintaining a long-distance relationship with her high school boyfriend up to that point – but she certainly wanted men around. She also valued the woman-focused academic environment of Barnard, but her preference was for the more gender-diverse environment overall. She got that both because of the Columbia affiliaton and also because of the urban location… but with the urban location there also is less of a campus feel, as so much socializing and other activities take place off-campus.
Again, it’s a just a matter of personal preference, but much more than simply an issue of meeting men.