Wellesley vs. Smith vs. Bowdoin

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wellesley College
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And now comes the just-as-difficult decision process. Any help is greatly appreciated!

About me/my concerns…

Academics: I come from a small, poorer public school that is not remotely diverse. The work, for the most part, is not challenging. I am incredibly excited about having the opportunity to go to an academically rigorous school and be with people who are just as eager to learn as I am. However, I’m a bit nervous that it will be over my head. I’m an introvert and I get stressed easily. I think I could do the work at Wellesley and Bowdoin, but I just don’t know what to expect in terms of how I would fare emotionally/stress wise. I’m most interested in German (want to start learning Arabic too, can I take two languages at once?), linguistics, psych, anthro/cultures, women’s/gender studies, math, maybe education… clearly I have no idea what I’m majoring in, but there are some reference points.
Study abroad comparison??
Performing/visual arts opportunities for people who aren’t majoring/minoring those areas?

Social stuff: Women’s colleges vs. Bowdoin: I love the thought of going to a women’s college, and even though Bowdoin is a fantastic school, I don’t know if I want to give up that opportunity. So many of the strong, incredible women I know went to a women’s college. I also know that Smith and Wellesley are specifically labelled as “non-party schools,” which definitely appeals to me. I know that there will be parties there too, but I’d rather be away from that. I’m also not an athlete (I just run and do recreational stuff), so I’m nervous I’ll maybe have a harder time fitting in at Bowdoin? How sports-oriented is it there?

Social stuff: Smith vs. Wellesley: I visited both campuses last year, Smith in April, Wellesley in July. I immediately felt at home at Smith and like I was with “my people.” I really loved Wellesley too, but I didn’t get the same sense of community because I was there during the summer and students weren’t there. Like I mentioned earlier, I’m an introvert, so I’m okay with there not being a huge social scene. I do want to find friends and be with people like myself though. (I’m a bit on the crunchy-hippie side, liberal, an accepting atmosphere for LGBTQA is important to me, I play fiddle (New England dance/Acadian/Irish style), clarinet, sing (chamber/classical), make lots of art, love reading, love the outdoors.)

ANY help/thoughts/answers would be wonderful. Thank you so much!

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Congratulations, you have 3 great choices! From your posts I can tell you will be happy, in good company, and intellectually stimulated wherever you go. UMass is said to offer an amazing array of language courses, so please investigate whether you could take advantage of those as part of the 5 College Consortium at Smith. “Education” was not an available major or minor at Wellesley when I was there.

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Wow Congrats! And I feel like we have a lot in common. So you have already heard back from Smith?

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@Oregon2016 @DonnaAEG Thanks! And really? I’d love to get to know you!! Do you know where you’ll be next year? Yes, I received an early write from Smith.

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After glancing over your post I just want to point out that Bowdoin and Wellesley are SO different. Bowdoin is a great school, and the students are nice and collaborative. But, Bowdoin is so so isolated. You will definetly have a different experience than at Wellesley where students can easily go into a city. Also, I sat in on three classes at Bowdoin and I personally didn’t think they were as good as Wellesley’s. Where Arabic is concerned, I sat in on the same class at both and was very disapointed with the Arabic class at Bowdoin. Afterwards I was notified that the teacher was the only Arabic professor! The class was also much larger than the one I took at Wellesley, which, in my opinion, was taught much better (Arabic was taught in Arabic not in English, transliteration was discouraged, the teaching methods were diverse and not just worksheets). Wellesley also has more than one Arabic professor.

On a broader note, Wellesley is an all women’s college. And, while at Bowdoin there are parties every weekend (and when I was there for the Explore Bowdoin fly in) it was supposed to be a dry weekend, but instead the parties still happened and most people got drunk while the remaining sober students sat in the halls of their dorm rooms chatting as drunk people stumbled by. Let’s just say they have “chem free halls” for a reason.

That’s just a little of what I’ve experienced at both schools.

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My vote goes to Smith! There is a much greater sense of community and less stress/competition while still being strong academically.

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My two cents:
I’m a sophomore at Wellesley and I came in very underprepared because my HS wasn’t the best. I have to say, it was a struggle and continues to be. However, this mostly applies to intro classes where most of your classmates have had similar courses in HS. You just need to be willing to put in 5x as much time and effort as everyone else and ask for help EARLY. The professors are really understanding and helpful - our student to faculty ratio of 7:1 helps with this. The classes are also small. You WILL feel stressed and overwhelmed at times, but you will never feel alone- provided you know how to ask for help and have the drive to do so.
That being said, you mention you get stressed out easily. It sounds like this is something you want to improve on, but it’s critical that you find ways to cope with stress wherever you end up. If you end up at Wellesley, it’s very important to stay true to yourself and not let the rigorous atmosphere get to you. If you make it through, you will come out a stronger woman both in confidence and sense of identity.

In terms of Arabic, I have taken advanced Arabic and I have a lot of friends in beginner/intermediate. I enjoyed the small class size and discussion based curriculum. I heard great things about the other classes. Keep in mind the beginner classes meet 5 times a week, so taking two languages may be too much.

Oh and Wellesley does have an Education department, but only offers a minor program.

Best of luck!

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It sounds like you would be better off in the social scene at Wellesley or Smith. I was a lot like you in college–not a big partier or drinker–and I really liked Wellesley. If possible, you might want to attend Spring Open Campus in April. If traveling is a problem, the admissions office has been known to give out travel grants if you ask.

Ultimately, I can only speak to my experience at Wellesley. It was a fantastic school, the academics were rigorous and interesting, and the professors were more than willing to help. I have several friends who went to Smith and had a similarly wonderful experience there. I would advise you to visit Wellesley when there are students on campus and then go with your heart.

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Academics at Wellesley ARE intense but you would not have been admitted if they were not sure you could handle it. Wellesley does offer shadow grading the first semester to give you a chance to adjust. You will likely choose classes after a placement test, thus, those who already took the subject in high school would likely place into the class appropriate for them and those who had not taken it already would place into their appropriate level. The required writing course offers a few sections that have extra help and smaller class sizes, and all of the science classes seem to offer student-led (meaning, led by someone who did well in the class already) optional study sessions to help you stay on track. But I’m sure that all of these schools offer these things! Look through the course browsers at each school and see how you like what they offer. Click on professor bios and read those, and to to ratemyprofessors.com and see what people say about the school’s best and worst professors. Wellesley does have a Dept. of Education which offers two minors. They also offer teacher certification/licensure with or without that minor. Good luck! You have three fantastic choices! Do you mind if I ask if your financial package offer was the same or similar at all of them? My D got significantly more money from Wellesley than from Smith. I’m curious if that’s typical.

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Is there any way for you to go to accepted student visits? It sounds to me like Smith and Wellesley are your top contenders, can you go to those two? Not sure how far away you are, but some schools will give you an airfare voucher – ask admissions. Not all schools do it, but it would not be considered an unusual question.

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@redpoodles Thank you so much. I really appreciate all the helpful information! My financial aid package was similar at all three. Smith and Wellesley were the best, although W gave me slightly more aid. I got a few thousand less from Bowdoin. That’s interesting that there was such a difference in your daughter’s. I didn’t get a scholarship or anything special from Smith, so it wasn’t that… :confused: Hopefully you’ll be able to call and figure something out?

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@WendyWellesley13 @intparent Thank you! I live in Maine so I think I will be able to go to open camups! Just figuring out logistics.

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@Juniperann My D is a first year at Wellesley now. :slight_smile: She also felt intimidated (who wouldn’t) but now she’s settled in and signing up to welcome the class of 2020. :slight_smile:

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@juniperann, you mentioned an interest in German. My D is a W senior and a German major. She has had positive experiences with the German department. There are not many German majors and they are a close knit group. The German Club arranged for the German Consul General in Boston to give a talk on campus about the euro and migration crises and Germany’s role. The Department historically has paid for the majors to visit a German-speaking city with the professors during Senior Week (a nice touch). My D spent her junior year in Berlin at the Freie Universitat (the program was administered by Middlebury), although you can also go for one semester.

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@juniperann Hi and I apologize for the lateness of my reply. I also got accepted to both Wellesley and Smith:) I think that I’m leaning towards Wellesley rn. But I received FA package from neither of the schools. Btw, have you joined the fb groups?

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Excellent choices! I should mention that I am a Wellesley graduate, and my daughter is also choosing between Wellesley, Smith, and others. In terms of Wellesley vs Smith, be sure to go to the Accepted Students day and really try to feel where you are most comfortable. The dorm situation is different between the two, as are the surroundings (Northampton is a small city, while Wellesley is a town outside a large city). You should figure out where you feel most comfortable and imagine yourself spending four years there. Both are wonderful places.

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Congratulations! You have some excellent choices. I am the mother of a Wellesley student (she is in France for the year) who will be living at French house next year. She’s an introvert and a classical musician (piano, voice) and really plugged into the music scene her first two years. She had a first-rate piano instructor, who is on the faculty at New England Conservatory, sang in the Wellesley College Choir, and in the Collegium Musicum (early music) her sophomore year. She’s not a partier either (although this year in France may have changed that!), but found plenty of people to socialize with.

Her roommate from sophomore year is a Middle Eastern studies major and has taken Arabic all the way through. (She spent last semester in Morocco, in fact.)

My D took both German and French her first year, so you can take as many languages as you want. Wellesley’s program in Aix-en-Provence is one of the best study abroad programs anywhere. Kids from other universities apply to it as well. I imagine all of W’s study abroad options are very well-run.

One of her childhood best friends is at Bowdoin. She is a brilliant kid (a math major) and has found plenty of company there. But she does complain about the heavy party scene. Any isolated, high-intensity, coed LAC is going to have a lot of partying to relieve the pressure.

Smith isn’t as isolated because it’s in a rural town with lots to do. (I went to Mount Holyoke and spent quite a bit of time in Northampton.) You will find a vibrant LBGTQ scene there as well.

If you’re worried about intensity at W, yes, that is a real concern. My D, who has depression and anxiety, learned to manage with medication, regular therapy (off-campus; she rents a Zipcar to get there every week), and by staying out of high-stress study areas. For example, she goes to the greenhouses instead of the library, and never studies in the science building even when she is taking a science class.

Sorry for the rambling, incoherent post. Good luck to you in your decision. You will end up at the right place!

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OP congrats! Having just come back from touring Bowdoin, we really liked it. This said, if you are leaning toward a women’s college, you are right: it is a special time in your life, one which will never be repeated. Spend it in a special place, which, if you are open to the environment, will help you thrive. The fin aid is also important – their generosity will mean less stress for you. I second the posts who suggest going to the accepted students’ days at Smith and Wellesley, and taking it from there.

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For example, she goes to the greenhouses instead of the library, and never studies in the science building even when she is taking a science class.

I went to Wellesley, and one of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t discover the greenhouses until senior year. Relaxing, quiet, and highly recommended! And great to go to the tropical houses in the middle of winter - like a free vacation.