<p>Not to sound like a college essay topic.. but why did you guys choose to apply to Wellesley? It seems like a pretty unique atmosphere, and I'm interested in knowing what about it appealed to you.</p>
<p>I'm thinking about applying, but I'm sorta 50/50 on how I can handle the all girls-ness of it. I know there are benefits for going to a woman's college, but on the other hand, I don't want to feel isolated.</p>
<p>So persuade me to love it as much as you guys do :]</p>
<p>It's kinda weird that people have so much to say about the negatives of Wellesley.. but never mention the good things</p>
<p>^^^what are you talking about?</p>
<p>Ok, I'm up to the challenge! I'm only an ED applicant, but here are the reasons I'm applying:</p>
<p>The Academics - From everything I've heard, Wellesley is top-notch. The teachers are great, the course offerings are really wide, it's rigorous. It's on par (or better) than the really big-name schools, but it's acceptance rate is a little higher (probably because it's all-women), which is helpful for me getting in.</p>
<p>The Location - You get the pluses of being by a major city (and a really cool city at that), but you still get the wilderness feeling. The campus is GORGEOUS. There's a lake, lots of trees, old and beautiful buildings. Amazing.</p>
<p>Community - This is where I find the all-women thing really makes a difference. Everyone is so friendly! When I visited, everyone left their dorm room doors open, Seniors hung out with first-years, lots of people came up to talk to me. The women there were all very different, but they seemed to, for the most part, really get along. </p>
<p>Partying - I visited another small liberal arts school, and everyone spent the entire Monday night drinking. Wellesley women instead spent it hanging out and talking. Some of the seniors were drinking wine, though, which was kind of cool. From what I've gathered, the social scene is there if you want it. If you like parties, you can go to Boston and meet literally thousands of boys. I'm pretty social in the sense that I like to be around people (including boys!), but I also like down time. The idea of separating school and partying really appeals to me.</p>
<p>As far as dating goes, I've talked to a friend at Wellesley and at other small, liberal arts schools about it. I actually like the dating scene at Wellesley better. I have a friend who goes to a school with about 1,200 people and has an ex-boyfriend there. She sees him EVERYWHERE. Socially, it gets awkward. With Wellesley, you get a little space. </p>
<p>As far as the issue of isolation goes, I didn't get that feeling at all. Wellesley's so close to Boston and about a million other colleges, so you can go to the city pretty frequently, and even the town of Wellesley itself isn't off in the boondocks.</p>
<p>I could probably go on for hours. Obviously, I've never been a student at Wellesley, so I can't verify that my feelings are true. I don't think it's for everyone, but it's a pretty awesome school.</p>
<p>Menagerie, thanks for the post, it really confirmed some things that I thought about Wellesley, and brought to light some other positives (yeah, it is pretty awkward seeing your ex boyfriend at school everywhere!)</p>
<p>And cecils15, on the live journal, most conversations are centered around the reasons they dislike it as Wellesley, and sometimes how they wish they went somewhere else.</p>
<p>Wellesley's actually really not all that close to Boston/Cambridge - it takes about an hour by bus to get there.</p>
<p>Chewie, are you a current Wellesley student?</p>
<p>Yes, I am! <em>feels proud</em> hahaha</p>
<p>Yeah, don't let that whole "13 miles outside of Boston" stuff that they put in the admissions info deceive you. It takes a good hour by bus to get there.</p>
<p>A 60-min bus ride sounds like an ordeal to me...So does that mean Wellesley girls don't go to parties at Boston a lot? Then where do you socialize (beyond campus)?</p>
<p>As an alum who’s been through the curriculum, and has had the time to reflect on my Wellesley experience over the last couple of years, I have a couple of things I want to share. I think it’s important to realize that college is what you make of it, so it really depends on the person when it comes to social life… or anything else for that matter. </p>
<p>Yes, 60 min can be a long ride (though outside traffic hours, you’re usually there within 40 min), but what better time to catch a nap or bring along some flashcards?</p>
<p>There were semesters where I NEVER left campus, other than the occasional trip to CVS. I felt too busy with waaay too much to study, and it seemed like hanging out with friends was enough. Sometimes it’s really easy to feel that way, and there are a bunch of people who are like this for their entire 4 years. I was a hardcore science major, and I think I used that as an excuse to say that I was too busy to go out. It was suffocating, and mental health was of huge concern. I absolutely needed to get the heck out of there, and took a semester off. I think a lot of people can relate. But I learned that it doesn’t have to be that way!</p>
<p>My senior year, I started dating an MIT grad student who lived in Cambridge (bad idea… but that’s a completely different matter altogether) and I probably spent at least half of the week in the city and commuted on those days. Those were semesters that I had the hardest and heaviest courseloads, but for some reason I had the best grades ever. So yeah, you can choose how you want to live your college life. It’s just a matter of prioritizing things that are important to you.</p>
<p>I also have friends who majored in the humanities, and only had a few days of classes/week, and seemed to always be partying. Not saying all humanity majors are like that, but it is totally possible to party away even at Wellesley.</p>
<p>Someone asked about the positives of attending Wellesley. I have to say, the learning environment at Wellesley is something you won’t be able to experience in many other places. The entire school is there to cater to your learning needs. It’s totally isolated, everyone around you is passionate about learning, and there’s like nothing to do other than study on campus! This passion for learning extends outside the classroom too, so if having a spontaneous round table discussion about world affairs, philosophy, science, etc… isn’t your thing, Wellesley might not be the best school for you. If you’re at all homophobic, it’s not for you either. It’s probably the most accepting place in the world, and I’d even say that lesbian/trangender students were the cool kids on campus. </p>
<p>The faculty are ALWAYS available (I could email my professors questions at 2 am, and more likely than not, I could expect an answer by 2:15 am). They will meet with you, and several of my professors made themselves physically available late at night the night before exams. They know exactly how you’re doing in the class, and if something’s off, many will actually seek you out and talk to you to make sure everything’s alright. All of the equipment and research opportunities are there exclusively for the students! Where else are students free to go and play with NMR machines whenever they feel like it? I had friends in other schools that were never even allowed to touch the machines. You NEVER have grad student TA’s teaching your classes. You don’t have to worry about how you look on campus, and you never have immature 18-22 year old boys ruining the learning environment. </p>
<p>Also think about the money the college puts into your education as well. The actual cost of attendance was well over $80,000 per student just a few years ago. The college’s large endowment pays for about a half of it, even for the students paying full tuition. It’s not like that at all colleges. All of this extra money goes towards increasing the quality of the students’ educational experience. From a science major perspective, I have to say, the quality of the lab courses you get at Wellesley is far superior to most schools simply because Wellesley has so much more money to spend per lab. While students in other schools are only allowed to do really ghetto labs that are more busy work than anything else, Wellesley can afford to provide sophisticated labs that involve experiments that are done out in the research world today. </p>
<p>The one major downside to the college catering to students’ every need… is that students can be super whiny and entitled. That can get old really fast… If you’re someone who’s lived out in the “real world” I can imagine that this might be very grating. But you know what, college IS the time to grow and mature, so I guess there’s nothing wrong with that. You can’t expect sheltered high school students to be full-blown adults yet. </p>
<p>Once you’ve graduated, or you’re a senior looking for jobs, employers automatically KNOW that you’ve had a quality education. When I went out on job interviews, several employers expressed how pleased they’ve been in the past with Wellesley alums/students because they seem to have the passion and drive “to make a difference” in whatever they do. I guess that’s something that contributes greatly to the learning environment as well. Wellesley students aren’t the types to just try for the sake of getting a good grade, or do things just for the sake of putting things on their resumes. They’re generally super driven to succeed at whatever they do (even menial jobs). </p>
<p>I’m currently in a graduate program that only accepts 2% of their applicants, with a very rigorous curriculum… but honestly, it’s a breeze compared to Wellesley. So I guess bottom line is that I think Wellesley will be a great place for you to go if you want the learning experience of your life. They have so many opportunities for you. Other schools do too, but I think it’s a lot easier at Wellesley to actually seize them. Social life can be a bit more challenging if you’re looking for the “college social life” that most people imagine, but it’s really what you make of it. </p>
<p>Hope that answers some of your questions. Feel free to email me if you have anything you want to ask (I don’t think I’ll be checking these boards very frequently).</p>
<p>@WellesleyAlum Your answer is really detailed and helpful!! I have an interview with an alumni tonight and it’s great to read your ideas about the school before meeting her in person! Thanks!!</p>