<p>My daughter is a "likely" at Wellesley (she hopes to get her packet in the mail today) and has been accepted Bryn Mawr with a $15,000 merit scholarship. We did not send in financial aid forms to either college as we ran the numbers on the FAFSA website and it is highly unlikely we will get aid. Right now, she is leaning towards Wellesley as she has visited the school and likes it but it sure would be nice to have $15,000 less per year to pay. She has not visited Bryn Mawr. Some questions:</p>
<p>How would you compare the colleges academically and in getting accepted into grad schools or getting jobs after graduation?
How would you compare the cultures/atmosphere of the schools?
Does Wellesley offer any type of merit scholarship? If so, should we approach them about the offer we have at Byrn Mawr?
General pros/cons of the two schools?</p>
<p>All of Wellesley’s aid is need based so I don’t know if approaching then about the Bryn mawr scholarship could do much if you didn’t apply for aid</p>
<p>I visited both Bryn Mawr and Wellesley last summer and Wellesley became my obvious first choice.</p>
<p>Both are extremely gorgeous (Bryn Mawr has a much smaller campus) and have the advantage of being close to great cities to experience the cultures yet far enough to focus if needed.
But I could clearly tell the difference in the amount of academic resources available and Wellesley clearly has a much greater network than Bryn Mawr. There is also a lot more prestige that comes with Wellesley.</p>
<p>But I understand your concern in terms of aid because Wellesley is need-based. So, you may want to discuss this as a family to decide what’s best in the long run.</p>
<p>The other thing you might want to consider is what type of major your daughter is interested in, because that might play a role at which school is more suitable. Because for me, both communities are fantastic and the students all seem very driven. It all comes down to which school will help further your daughter’s interests best.</p>