<p>After months of tedious college searching and about a dozen visits, I believe that Wesleyan and Wellesley are my top choices. Because I am interested in applying ED, I would like to get as many opinions as possible to help make an informed decision.</p>
<p>About me:
I am interested in studying chemistry and neuroscience, and I plan to be on the pre-med track.
I'm very involved in musical theatre, dance, and singing at my school and in my community.
I'm the president of the Gay Straight Alliance at my school and I would like to continue pursuing my passion for social justice in college.</p>
<p>What I'm looking for in a school:
Strong science department and plenty of research opportunities
A strong sense of community; warm, passionate, kind people; a collaborative atmosphere
Liberal leaning- I'd prefer a school with mostly liberal, accepting students
Theatre opportunities
Strong academics and smart, engaged students, but not a cut-throat atmosphere
Close relationships with professors
Small, discussion based classes
and of course.... Good financial aid</p>
<p>Thank you so much if you can give me any insight into the two schools or which one you think would be best for me and why. I am so excited!</p>
<p>This is going to sound totally unhelpful, but based on everything you just described, you may want to look at Haverford. I’ll be a freshman in the fall, but from what I’ve been told and what drew me to the school, it has incredibly strong sciences, places a huge emphasis on peace, justice, and human rights (a whole concentration is dedicated to it!!), values a cooperative rather than competitive environment, and harbors an incredibly strong sense of community. Sorry, I know this might not help with regards to your Wellesley v. Wesleyan question, but I figured I’d throw it out there considering everything you said you were looking for seemed to be a huge part of Haverford’s culture. </p>
<p>Haverford seems really great, but it’s a little smaller than I’m looking. My high school was so small, so I need a slightly larger environment for college. Thank you anyway, and congratulations on choosing such a great school! Good luck!</p>
<p>Personally, I love Wellesley. I don’t know Wesleyan however. I used to visit Wellesley to use their library some times and I just really like it and the campus and the women there. However, I didn’t attend it, so I don’t know the students and experience personally. I did look at it for my D for neuroscience and was impressed by the resources they offered students and the support the school spoke about. However, I did not visit the school with D because ultimately she decided the neurosci program was too small. It had two tenured faculty and two assistants, as I recall. She wanted more depth of field and more available courses on-site. I think Wellesley NS had some sharing of resources with MIT, but don’t quote me on that.</p>
<p>Wesleyan is about the size of some of the unis she examined. Having grad students and more faculty in a department is very helpful. However, no matter how many faculty the website says they have, do some research on how many hours those faculty teach in neuroscience as opposed to biology or compsci or other departments from which they originated. It is an interdisciplinary field and faculty from several departments may teach neuroscience courses. How often do they teach them? What’s the variety of courses they offer? If Wesleyan has neuro grad students, how is it arranged so that u/gs can get access to the faculty, labs, and other resources? Who in the department has active ongoing research in neuroscience? what grants have they brought in? how well does the school provide for equipment maintenance and repair? D chose a uni with a hospital because that would increase her research opps. She chose a long-established department rather than one getting started. These are things you might consider as you shop for a department. I don’t know how the LGBT community fares at Wesleyan, but I have no reason to think that Wesleyan is any different from most northeastern mid-size schools.</p>
<p>Regarding music, Wellesley has a strong music department. The choral director, Dr. Graham, is excellent and her choirs tour regularly with Ivy league colleges and overseas. A friend teaches violin and chamber music there; both professors describe students as rather driven and competitive. I don’t think they’re cut-throat though: the wealth of traditions helps students form lasting bonds and it’s hard to get students to leave campus, my friend said. The town of Wellesley surrounding the campus is very sleepy and suburban. </p>
<p>My D had a friend at Wesleyan 2 years ago (horn player) who hated their music scene (he transferred from orchestra to band immediately) and transferred to BU the following year. However, Wesleyan’s strong in ethnomusicology and has an alternative band scene. On the Wesleyan tour the guide mentioned all the theatre opportunities which makes sense, given their strong film studies dept. Wellesley is not a school that springs to mind for theatre in N.E. (look to BU, Harvard, Yale, Connecticut College, Syracuse, Hartt School.)</p>
<p>Wesleyan U is probably one of the most liberal minded colleges in the U.S. and should be very LGBT friendly; Wellesley seems more balanced politically (more preppy.)</p>
<p>Wellesley’s financial aid packages are generous; Wesleyan is need-aware for the last 10% of the class, but recently instituted a 3 year program if a student is willing to study year round. Wesleyan’s President is highly respected for the positive changes he has brought to the school in recent years and has re-invigorated their outlook. </p>
<p>Also, Smith is on my radar, but I’m worried it isn’t academically rigorous enough and that it doesnt have enough research opportunities in the sciences. I may be wrong.</p>
<p>^ I think you’re wrong about that perception of Smith.</p>
<p>Regarding Wellesley v. Wesleyan. My perception (from recent visits to both schools and a sibling who’s a Wesleyan alum) is that Wellesley is a bit more conservative, in general, than Wesleyan; but also you’re really splitting hairs here. Both schools are essentially open-minded and both are large enough that you’re going to have liberal AND conservative pockets of students. At neither school would anyone LGBT be ostracized the way they might at other, more generally conservative schools. Wesleyan is known for being one of the earliest “politically correct” aware campuses. LGBT activism dates back to the 70’s. That said, there have also been some recent issues with off-campus frats, rapes, etc. Of course you won’t find THAT at Wellesley. Both schools have active LGBT communities.</p>
<p>I realize you’re trying to figure out a factor to help decide which one to apply ED to. When you visited, where do you feel the most at home? I found the “vibe” extraordinarily different on these two campuses. Which appealed to you more?</p>
<p>@dancingtocollege sorry to not answer your question but it sounds to me like you would really like Vassar. Very strong in the sciences, and probably one of the most LGBTQ friendly campuses in the country. I don’t know if the arts are actually that good but people to refer to Vassar as the “actress college” due to some celebrity grads. Assuming you’ve looked into it, do you perceive Vassar to be less prestigious/selective than the two W’s?</p>
<p>Vassar seems like the obvious answer to your requirements to me.</p>
<p>Also: Wes/Wellesley are not cultural opposites, that is just plain wrong. Maybe opposites ends of the liberal spectrum. Both schools are very LGBTQ friendly.</p>
<p>–Your support for the LGBT community makes you a better fit for Wellesley.–</p>
<p>Your statement is not supported by any evidence and may in fact be insupportable. </p>
<p>How could you know that Wellesley is a better fit for the OP than Wesleyan? And of all the pieces that make up the OP, what does her support of the LGBT community have to do with making Wellesley a better fit?</p>
<p>I have no problem with you, @AnnieBeats. :)>- </p>
<p>I’d have to agree with the above. Wesleyan is quite well-known as liberal leaning and I doubt LGBT stances would really make the difference between the two schools.</p>
<p>If you really don’t have a preference, ED might not be the best choice, as it is meant for people who clearly have a first choice among the two.</p>
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