<p>I'm an International Applicant in an international school in Belgium. At a recent college fair I went to the Wellesley stall and I have to say, I loved the impression I got from the lady. I wasn't even considering Women's colleges before then. I am going to apply to Wellesley but my counselor suggested looking at Bryn Mawr as well and making it clear in my application that I knew what distinguished Wellesley over other women's colleges like Smith, Bryn Mawr etc. Is there anyone here who's applied to both, is at one of them, or has visited both and could tell me how they compare? Some additional info-I'm planning to do a double major in English and Biological Sciences and I'm looking to continue music (Violin, Choir and A cappella etc.) and sports (Cross Country, Track, and Badminton) in College.</p>
<p>I wasn’t looking at Wellesley vs. Bryn Mawr, but when deciding where to apply I was looking at Wellesley, Barnard and Smith. I decided to only apply to one of “the Seven Sisters” in order to keep my number of applications reasonable. I looked at factors like location and academics. While I’ve heard great things about Barnard’s writing program, I decided living in NYC wasn’t for me. English and Biology will probably be popular majors at any of the women’s colleges you’re looking at, but you might look more into the particulars of each school’s program. Between Wellesley and Smith, I chose based mostly on atmosphere and “fit,” but also based on relative prestige (where I live people seem to recognize Wellesley, but not Smith as much).</p>
<p>Then, when it finally came down to deciding between schools, I was deciding between Wellesley and Scripps, a women’s college in California. While Wellesley had prestige (and J-term!) on its side, I wound up preferring Scripps because of its small community with-in a close-knit consortium of colleges, academic rigor, easier flight home (2 hr vs 5 hr), better weather and, the trump card, financial aid (if fin. aid is important to you, you should see which schools offer better financial aid for international students, as the process can be a little different). I think that I would’ve been happy and successful at any of the women’s colleges I was looking at, and it came down to a matter of personal preferences (seemingly trivial, or not).</p>
<p>Hope this helped</p>
<p>Yes it did, thank you so much! Financial Aid is an important factor for me, Wellesley and Bryn Mawr both provide substantial aid for Internationals (it’s still ultra competitive, but that was a given). I heard Scripps is a great school, but I had to rule it out since I’m only applying to the East (the West Coast is wayy too far out). I guess it goes back to what you brought up about choosing for personal satisfaction, and I don’t find that trivial at all.
Anyone else?</p>
<p>I applied early decision to Wellesley and absolutely LOVE it. However, I also live about 20 minutes away from Bryn Mawr. Both schools have their ups and downs. Wellesley is farther away from a big city, but public transportation is a little better in Boston and the city itself is more accessible. Wellesley has a very collegiate feel and it gets a little colder in Boston. Wellesley has great research opportunities, and you can also cross-enroll at MIT, which is a very attractive option for some people. </p>
<p>Bryn Mawr is a really great school too. The campus is a little more straight forward. The campus is kind of based around a big green, with buildings flanking the outside of that space, as opposed to Wellesley, which has a more meandering campus with a few more hills and trails. Bryn Mawr seemed nice when I visited, and the dorms are absolutely gorgeous. At Bryn Mawr you can also cross enroll at some other schools in the area- you can choose from Haverford, Swarthmore, and I think you can take a few business classes at U Penn. BM really stressed their honor code, and the integrity of their students. The research at BM seemed to be good, but I was unable to attend the science open house and both of my tour guides were sociology majors. </p>
<p>I also was not considering a women’s college until I went. I had a very different impression of both schools after I visited, and I know that might not be possible with you living so far away, but I definitely recommend trying to take a look at online tours, and try and attend a chat with admissions counselors. I did one with Wellesley a few weeks ago and I really learned a lot about the school. </p>
<p>I really hope this helped and good luck to you in your search!</p>
<p>I’m a first-year at Wellesley and I love it here. I wasn’t considering women’s colleges at all, but loved the atmospheres at Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Wellesley. In the end I decided the same thing as the first replier, I only wanted to apply to one women’s school to keep my numbers down. I kind of applied to wellesley on a whim in fact. But after I got in, I got an AMAZING financial aid package, which made me really start looking into it. I kid you not when I say I didn’t get financial aid from ANY of the other schools I got into (around 8 I believe), but Wellesley gave me well over half of all costs in financial aid. Basically, their endowment is huge and one of the most awesome parts of the school, because everyone knows rich colleges are the best… I mean they can afford really good financial aid for a LOT of people, and then we also have a ton of perks like really good lectures, guests, facilites, and just random things that the college will help offset the cost of… for example there are always awesome $20-$25 tickets to national tours of shows in boston, or concerts, ballets, or the like. We are only about 12 miles from Boston, but even that is not bad as we have the Peter Pan coach bus that goes back and forth into boston (and to Cambridge) hourly. </p>
<p>The people here are literally the nicest I have ever met, anywhere, in my entire life. It feels like everyone (faculty, staff, STUDENTS) are super supportive and really want you to succeed. That being said, Wellesley is known for its competitive and high-pressured nature; this school is not for the faint of heart. I wasn’t doing so well in my calc class, for example, and my first-year adviser said that if I thought I was going to get a D in the class I should drop out and take it over again next semester (this was in like mid-November). It’s not that they care about their number/letter grades or what have you, it’s that they really want you to do well and know what’s best in mind for you specifically and for your future.</p>
<p>The campus is also gorgeous… I live on the generally unfavored East Campus, which is much farther away from most things than the other dorms are. However, the 20 minute walk to the theater (where I am frequently) is made much more pleasant by the beautiful campus… I’d be much more begrudged about it if it wasn’t, haha.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about sports here, except that crew (rowing) seems to really be the only super-intense/nationally competitive sport (also apparently golf is as well…) but I do know that our music department is really, really good. I work in the music library and regularly interact with the faculty, who are all super nice. A lot of my friends are taking music courses and love them. I also have friends in a cappella groups who ADORE them, and my roommate is in the College Choir which she also likes (and I think sounds reallllly good, I’m considering joining next year). We have the brandeis-wellesley orchestra which I believe a lot of musicians on campus are involved in, though i’ve never heard them in person. I believe you can also be a part of some of the MIT orchestras (probably by audition of course), which isn’t all that bad because the bus between our campuses is free during the week, although it can take up to an hour to get there if it’s rush hour (normally though it’s about 30 minutes). </p>
<p>Let me know if you have any other questions! But i’d highly recommend coming to wellesley if you’re accepted; we also have a HUGE international population and a lot of diversity, which I think is one of the really cool and unique factors about the school.</p>
<p>I’ve applied to Smith, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke, Barnard and Bryn Mawr. I think that Wellesley is the most competitive and definitely a reach and Barnard may be as well (I’m not sure if my perception is correct).</p>
<p>My decision will definitely come down to financial aid. I’m in NY and may just wind up at a SUNY if things are too pricey other places. But, for me, fin aid is definitely going to be the first consideration (after acceptance of course!)</p>