I was accepted to Wesleyan, Williams and Wellesley for the class of 2024 and am not sure which to pick! I am interested in studying sociology (with sprinkles of public health, education and economics) and theater.
I genuinely have NO idea which to pick and I am very overwhelmed.
Go with your heart.
In a tie, you should always choose the school that begins with a W.
Ohh. That’s a problem.
Well,
That’s my seat of the pants breakdown.
Agree with all the above. No wrong choices here. The only tie breaker I can think if is town/gown atmosphere. Do you want a fairly robust downtown on your doorstep or something more removed? Wesleyan for the former; the other two for the latter.
Wellesley is, of course, all women and is known to be intense, but super supportive. If you want to be high powered and respected in your career, this is a good place for that.
Williams is, personally, my last choice of the three. It has a bit of an “old money” atmosphere. Lots of private schools kids, but by all accounts, happy students. Very prestigious.
Wesleyan would be my choice. I like quirky, arty students. It’s great for creative people who are also looking for great academics. A bit larger than the others, making it feel a little less LAC -like.
Ask yourself what atmosphere you want. No bad choices. All have something to recommend them in terms of location, though Williams might be regarded as a little isolated by some.
Wesleyan does not have distribution requirements and is a university so has funding for research. It is very socially liberal. As someone said, a good # double major there.
My friend’s son who went there has a wonderful career and was fully funded in his grad program. I know people who went there who loved it. Williams has tutorials, which I think would be pretty neat. The campus itself is in a more remote area than the other two. I know people who went there and all think it is the best college there is. Some businesses specifically recruit from Williams. I’m sure that is true of the other two as well. Weselyan being the only all-female school of the three is unique in that way. I have heard that it is intense but great. I know someone who is there now and loving it. I don’t think you can go wrong. I would try to read Students Review about each school, College Niche, etc and read both positive and negative reviews (keeping in mind the happy middle don’t always post on those sites). Maybe you can call and ask to be put in contact with some current students. Look for youtube videos of each school to get a feeling of each. All three are really good schools. What a nice problem to have! Congrats! 
Opps-typo with calling Wellesley Wesleyan!
You may know this, but in case you don’t, Babson College, the best small college for business in the country is also in the town of Wellesley. Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, which might be the best small college for engineering sits on a campus immediately adjacent to Babson. You essentially have 3 “little Ivies” clustered together. Wellesley offers cross registration with both Babson & Olin. They also offer cross registration with Brandeis, just 2 towns away, and with MIT, which offers a lot more than just engineering. The “T” provides easy access to Boston.
You’re to be congratulated for getting into such high quality and highly selective institutions. Other than size, your 3 schools couldn’t be more different. I would think that should make the decision easy, but this is an emotional time . . .
Go to the school with the best selection of hummus, yogurt, and foods that are filled with cream.
Thank you so much @chocokat098. My mother made me make this post, and she really values your opinion.
You must like the letter W !
Congratulations! Three great choices! You can’t go wrong here. Truly, the three colleges are more similar to than different from one another in many respects— all top small liberal arts colleges.
The biggest difference and the most important question is single sex vs. coed. Major difference in social environment as a result. That should decide Wellesley or not-Wellesley right there!
Theater screams Wesleyan, although the other two have decent departments, too. (And Williams has Williamstown Summer Theater Festival.) Wesleyan has great alumni in film, TV, theatre… and Lin Manuel Miranda wrote his first hit, In the Heights, when he was a student at Wesleyan and first performed it there!
Parent of current student at Williams. I don’t agree with the prep comment someone made about Williams. The main social vibe is nerdy. Big range of backgrounds and socioeconomic levels among friends on campus. Williams has a great environment for freshmen with the close-knit freshman “entries” (dorm groups) and Ephventure orientation programs. It is easy to find people to hang out with when you first arrive on campus. Williams has the tutorials (2 students, 1 professor), super intense and exciting academics, great alumni network… and it has the highest scores and rank of the three colleges.
Wellesley and Wesleyan have a suburban ambiance. Williams is rural, with gorgeous mountains and greater isolation than the other two.
Good luck. Think seriously about coed vs. all-female. Then make a choice and don’t look back.
My son is a Williams grad, in art/art history. Wesleyan was one his top choice. (Can’t comment much about Wellesley except to agree with @TheGreyKing about the obvious point of differentiation.)
You’d get a wonderful education at all three.
To me the major differences between Williams and Wesleyan are location/environment and, to a lesser degree, personality/culture. Wesleyan is located in a small town, easily accessible to both New York and Boston. Williamstown is a mountain village, with profoundly beautiful scenery and access to outdoorsy activities. Williams kids manage to get to NYC or Boston once or twice a term, but those who seem the happiest are those that take advantage of Williams insular rural environment.
There’s a fair amount of overlap in culture and personality between Willams and Wesleyan students, but I would characterize Wesleyan as somewhat more progressive, activist.
I wouldn’t agree that Williams is lacking in “creative people.” The music, art, dance and theater programs are all excellent, and many students participate in the arts even though they major in other disciplines. There are three world-class museums on or near campus.
Williams has very strong sociology and economics departments. Public health is a cross-discipline concentration that draws on expertise from several departments. No education degree per se, though many Williams grads get certificates from other institutions.
Theater is a small but robust program, with participation open to all Williams students. The aforementioned Williamstown Theater Festival is a highly respected summer stock venue. It’s not administered by the college but it’s influence rubs off, e.g., terrific facilities, visiting professionals.
Williams has distribution requirements. A student, like you, with diverse interests will have no problem fulfilling the requirements. 40% of Williams students double major.