Hey guys! I committed to UMass, but was informed I got off Wellesley’s waitlist last Friday. I was really excited but also kinda conflicted. Ideally, I would want a collaborative and supportive environment, somewhere that isn’t constantly painful and stressful. From what I can gather Wellesley is really intense academically and known for grade deflation. I’m worried that if I go to Wellesley my mental health and GPA will tank. I understand Wellesley has a LOT to offer, but I’m not sure if I can keep up/if it’s worth constantly being stressed out. At UMass, my classes would still have some element of competitiveness but it would be less (based on what I’ve heard from current students who have taken CS classes. I like the small class sizes that Wellesley has along with the strong alum network that’s kinda like a sisterhood. There’s a lot of interdisciplinary departments (Media Arts and Sciences, CogSci) that seem really cool, and bc Wellesley is so small I’ll have more 1-1 time with professors and opportunities to research with them, which would be really nice. Additionally because Wellesley is an overall stronger school, if I want to major in the humanities and change my mind, I will still be getting a very strong education. At UMass I did an overnight and observed some classes. I like (some of) the architecture at Umass, the lecturers for the CS and Public Health classes I saw, and the vast resources UMass has for CS majors and Linguistics majors. At Wellesley I wasn’t able to visit, so everything I know is from collegeconfidential, my alum interview, the Wellesley website, and my friend(s) experiences visiting Wellesley and talking with the students. Could someone with insight on what Wellesley is like in terms of the rigor provide an accurate image of what it’s like to go there/how intense it is academically? Also I could use insight from anyone honestly.
Also money will be a factor. Umass is about 30k/yr for me, I haven’t gotten my FA package from Wellesley yet.