Wellesley vs. NYU Stern vs. Berkeley

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wellesley College
1

<p>So I've been accepted to all three schools - Wellesley, NYU Stern, and Berkeley. Obviously I'm psyched to have been accepted, but now I'm not sure which one to go to. There are reasons for and against choosing each school, but I'm still not completely sure where I would be happiest. </p>

<p>Wellesley - My parents have wanted me to go here since I was born (in Boston). Seeing as they're Chinese, the fact that Madame Chiang Kai-Shek went there is a big cultural boost for them. Of course I would never choose my college based on what my parents wanted for me, but their happiness would just be an extra plus. Another reason why Wellesley appeals to me is that I want to pursue a liberal arts degree.</p>

<p>The main problem I have with Wellesley is the fear of having no social life. I don't want to turn out super aggressive and competitive. After working so much in high school, I don't want to be constantly studying and working during college. Also, I think boys are fun to be around, and I've heard that you have to make a genuine effort to meet them. I also know that a lot of Wellesley women are perceived to be promiscuous due to pent-up sexual frustrations they have to harness in during the weekdays. </p>

<p>NYU Stern - Obviously NYU Stern is a prestigious business school, but I'm not all too sure that I want to be stuck in such a large school. I know that Wellesley and NYU could not be more different, but I honestly could see myself at both schools. Another plus for NYU is the location and the opportunities that come with it. </p>

<p>UC Berkeley - Berkeley has a great name and the weather in California is nice (though I honestly don't care too much about weather as a deciding factor). However, I know that a large portion of the student body is Asian, and being Asian myself and having been surrounded by Asians most of my life, I would appreciate a school with more diversity. Furthermore, I know that many of the UCs are struggling with the budget cuts and some students have not experienced delayed graduations. Lastly, homeless people are known to frequent the area and I've heard the drug culture is quite prominent (not that I care THAT much). </p>

<p>I know that this is a long post, but basically my questions come down to these:
1. Which school has the best reputation? (I know I shouldn't choose my schools based on reputation, but since I'm so torn between them, this would help.)
2. Which school would give me the best opportunities? I really want to go on a foreign exchange program at least once during college.
3. Which school would give me the biggest boost in terms of finding a job after the graduation?
4. Which school would boost my chances of getting into a good graduate school?</p>

<p>Financial aid and other expenses are not factors I need to consider.</p>

<p>Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it.</p>

2

<p>This is a hard one to give advice about. I would say that all schools that enjoy some degree of prominence also get tagged with some negative stereotypes–my parents went to Princeton and that makes many people assume that they are wealthy snobs, which really isn’t true at all. Without going off on a feminist rant about it, it is true that people sometimes have negative stereotypes about the sexuality of Wellesley students–we somehow manage to be sluts, lesbians, and frigid *****es all at once, which is really impressive if you think about it since it isn’t actually possible to be all three at once, as far as I can tell. Anyway it isn’t actually true that Wellesley students are like prisoners desperately waiting to get out on parole. It is true that if you want a very traditional college social life Wellesley probably isn’t the best school to choose, although I know many people who manage to have said traditional college social life anyway. If you want a social life it really isn’t that hard to make it happen at Wellesley, but I am not able to tell you whether or not you will be happy here. </p>

<p>1) In terms of reputation I think it is difficult to answer, as all three schools and well-known and highly reputed, and in certain programs one school might shine above the others. Probably to the common man Berkeley is the most well-known of the three. Among those in the know I would say that Wellesley and Berkeley have somewhat better reputations, at least overall, than NYU (I also applied, was admitted, and strongly considered attending NYU so this is not a slam against the school). But the Stern program is also extremely well-known and highly reputed. Personally as an econ major I’m not hugely enamoured with the idea of getting an undergraduate degree in business, and it definitely isn’t true that there aren’t huge opportunities available for students at Wellesley–I just a had lunch with three other senior econ majors and they all already have jobs at major banks. Again, though, that it is my personal and surely biased opinion :). Berkeley is a great school but if I were thinking about attending I too would be very wary of the state budget cuts. </p>

<p>2) It is pretty easy to go abroad from Wellesley (possible exception is if you are a science major, although that tends to be true many places and it definitely isn’t impossible). I went abroad, had a wonderful time, and managed to complete a double major on time, and besides the established programs that tons of people go on you can petition to go basically anywhere in the world. I really can’t speak to the relative ease at NYU or Berkeley. </p>

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<li><p>See what I said in number 1. The Wellesley alumnae network is definitely pretty amazing (not only do we have alumnae like Hillary Clinton and Madeline Albright, but they actually have both set up programs to broaden opportunities for seven-sisters schools and Wellesley students respectively in government and international affairs) and there are tons of resources for planning for your future at Wellesley. One advantage that we probably have over Berkeley and NYU is that the professors are super-engaged and generally love to give help and advice. Helping us is a much larger part of their job than it is for the general professor at a research university, and the professors who come here know and appreciate that. Again, that’s not to act like you won’t get a job from Berkeley or NYU, just some nice things about Wellesley. </p></li>
<li><p>Wellesley has great track records for getting people into grad school. I really think that a liberal arts education is a huge asset to grad school admission in general. Of course if you are the star of your class at Stern or Berkeley you won’t have any problems, but Wellesley has tons and tons of experience getting students into grad school. </p></li>
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<p>None of these choices is bad or worse than the others. Honestly, I think you’re going to have to decide which school appeals to you more on a visceral level, because they each have a very different feeling and each will give you a similarly good education and lead to a good job. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Also, to speak to the workload/competitiveness at Wellesley, I would say that it is certainly difficult, but that students tend to put more pressure on themselves than the college–that is to say, if it feels very intense it is more self-motivated than outwardly motivated. I guess by reputation Wellesley is an intense place but it doesn’t really feel that way to me–it feels like a lot of work, because it is, but I still have long meals and go out and watch tv, so it is not like I’m chained to my desk.</p>

4

<p>Thank you so much for your thoughtful answer! I’m currently leaning towards Wellesley based on all of the good things I’ve heard about it and there’s a huge chance that I’ll end up there in the fall!</p>