<p>Hey nice to meet you ladies!
I was accepted to Wellesley as an EE candidate... and am very excited to visit campus on the 20th...
I posted this same thing (or pretty much same thing) in Carleton as well.. but I wanted to hear the Wellesley side too...</p>
<p>I've been fortunate enough to be accepted by more than a handful of colleges.. and now decision time begins. I've really narrowed down to Carleton College (MN) and Wellesley.
Both are great schools... but unfortunately I can only economically and physically attend one.
I'm visiting both campuses each for a second time this month... Carleton this week, Wellesley on the 20th.... and will probably decide from gut feeling... and listening to other students.. but if you've got input so it can get me thinking, I'd appreciate it.
I've listed some pros and cons of both.</p>
<p>CARLETON
+ Daces Moses House - The Chocolate-Chip Cookie House - open 24 hours stocked with baking ingredients so that students can go in and bake chocolate chip cookies whenever they want to.. or play games... basically a great chill method that is my idea of chilling....
+ Trimester System (3 classes per semester.... I can focus more?)
+ One LONG winter break (Thanksgiving-New Years)
+ Idea of fun @ Carleton = cooking with friends, watching a movie, etc = Idea of fun for me
+ Unlike Wellesley, it has men nearby.
+ Grew up in the Midwest: Midwestern philosophies
+ Competitive with self: not cut throat.
+ Seems to me, there are more down-to-earth students
+ Quirky and creative = that's me.
PRINCETON REVIEW RANKINGS
+ Administration... school runs smoorthly.
+ Professors bring material to life. 2nd place.
+ Academic Experience. 14th place.
+ Accessibility of Professors. 14th place.
+ Happy Students 12th place.
+ Students from different backgrounds interact. 6th place.</p>
<ul>
<li>Closest city Twin Cities: and not very accessible either (from what I hear- shuttles are expensive and not frequent)</li>
<li>Dorms <em>shudder</em></li>
<li>Minnesota Winters</li>
<li>Worried about the campus food: and off campus... in Northfield it seemed like there was only that one Indian restaraunt (which was yummy - but I don't think I can afford it every time I get sick of campus food and can't get to the twin cities)</li>
</ul>
<p>WELLESLEY
+ Name Recognition of Most Prestigious Women's College in the US.
+ Closeness to Boston but not IN it
+ More per pupil spending than any other college in the US
+ Sisterhood friends for life
+ Stone Cold.
+ Ability to take classes at MIT, and through the college consortiums' Wellesley is in.
+ 4 hard years... but 4 rewarding years.
+ Seems to have a little bit more courses/ curriculum strength in the Poli Sci dept.
+ East Coast: a fresh start?
PRINCETON REVIEW RANKINGS
+ Professors bring material to life. 9th place.
+ Academic Experience. 11th place.
+ Accessibility of Professors. 11th place.
+ Beautiful Campus
+ Dorms like Palaces</p>
<ul>
<li>"We'll Sleep When We Die" </li>
<li>More than the average number of "competitive cut-throat" students</li>
<li>Even weekends it seems like Books Books Books > Chill time (and when I mean chill time I don't mean like party all the time but just a movie? or baking cookies? or something?)</li>
</ul>
<p>I don't think name recognition should be the sole factor when deciding on a school. Both Wellesley and Carleton are continually 4th and 5th place for Liberal Arts Schools.
But Wellesley's name recognition as well as competitive rigorous 4 years can really help me out when I apply for Grad School or for a job (particularly if I might return to Japan to work - apparently many Japanese companies don't even interview you if you don't go to an Ivy, a Sister, or a school with a state name on it <em>note: in Japan the most prestigious universities have a Prefecture/State name associated with it, which I guess is the theory used here</em> even though there are numerous private colleges that are just as good as the Ivies<em>coughCarletoncough</em>) Wellesley has produced some of the most amazing female leaders on this earth : Hilarly Rodham Clinton, Madeline Albright, broadcast journalist Cokie Roberts, Good Morning America Diane Sawyer .... as well as other numerous company executives, journalists, researchers, activists, government officials, Supreme Court justices... the type of people I am inspired by....
Then again, Carleton seems like such a great school and such a match for me right now... a nice competitive-with-self atmosophere...</p>
<p>Considering how great both these schools are academically, and that I'm not getting any financial aid at either, I'm okay with both city suburbia and ruralness... I think the question really boils down to:
A college where it'll be quite easy for me to be socially satisfied but compared to a more 'known' school may be difficult later on for (international) job opportunities (now-happiness)<br>
vs.<br>
A college where it may not be the most socially satisfying four years but later on I will come to value the education as I go to grad school and find jobs (later-happiness)</p>
<p>As I said before, I'm visiting both campuses each for a second time this month... Carleton this week, Wellesley on the 20th.... and will probably decide from gut feeling... and listening to other students.. but if you've got input (as to why you chose/choose Wellesley) so it can get me thinking, I'd appreciate it.</p>