<p>My daugter, who will be starting at Wellesley in the fall, has never been particularly fond of laptops. Is it possible to get by with a desktop computer at Wellesley? Do many (any?) students use desktops?</p>
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My daugter, who will be starting at Wellesley in the fall, has never been particularly fond of laptops. Is it possible to get by with a desktop computer at Wellesley? Do many (any?) students use desktops?
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<p>Desktops are just fine! All of my closest friends had desktops, and they managed without any trouble. If your family lives far from Wellesley, the laptop's portability is an advantage--there's no worry about shipping or storing it--but a desktop won't be a hindrance in any other respect. There are plenty of computer clusters on campus if your daughter wants to leave her dorm room to work on assignments.</p>
<p>Most students use laptops, but plenty of people take advantage of the desktops available at the computer labs in the libraries, res halls, science center, and Pendleton Hall. I prefer to do work on a desktop, but I own a laptop for the portability -- because taking a break from having to do work in an academic setting is refreshing. My compromise is having an external keyboard and full size mouse that I plug into my laptop when I return to my room. I have a "desktop" most of the time, but a laptop when I need it. Another option that I'm thinking about doing for next year is buying an external display. If storage isn't a problem (e.g. you're planning on driving to Wellesley) then this may be another idea to consider. However, getting back to your original question, I know of only one friend who has a desktop... but she also owns/uses a laptop. :)</p>
<p>I have a desktop on campus that I brought from California and there are pros and cons. Storage is an issue, but I usually just pop out my hard drives when I go home and make arrangements for the case and monitor. Also working on projects in groups can be sort of difficult because of portability issues. </p>
<p>For the most part, it is not too big of a deal. There is the benefit of being able to walk away from the distractions when you need to study or you need to pay attention in class.</p>
<p>I have a laptop, but make large use of public computers. In fact, I'm using one right now! In that respect, I could probably get by with a desktop, but I've liked the fact that I could take my macbook on plane trips that I took during the school year, both research and grad school related. I think the big problem with desktops is that they eat up most of your desk. With the laptop, you can clear off your desk if you really want to use it for something other than websurfing.</p>
<p>Two people who started college at another school, my sister and a HS friend, both started school with desktops and bought a laptop by their senior year. To be fair, I bought a macbook after five semesters at Wellesley (I'd bought the HP machine December of my senior year in high school) because it wasn't terribly portable, and I wanted to take advantage of the mac's Unix roots (I did not know I would ever care about Unix when buying my first laptop).</p>
<p>noranda,</p>
<p>Yes, I'd definitely suggest calling and speaking with the financial aid office directly because they'd be able to give you information specific to your situation.</p>
<p>That said, the new finaid policy eliminates <em>student</em> loan from financial aid packages. EFC (expected family contribution) is still calculated according to all the information that was provided on all those documents. Depending on how much that EFC is, families might still take out loans to cover it. Now, as a Davis Scholar and an independent, I'm not sure how the EFC is calculated or if it's applicable in your situation. Best to call the office and make sure. But just wanted to clarify that Wellesley's finaid policy (and most of the new finaid policies announced at other schools) <em>don't</em> automatically eliminate the parental/family contribution to pay for school. It eliminates the part of the package that would have been <em>student</em> loan and replaced with grant money. Also, the $60K isn't just based on income, but includes certain assets as well.</p>
<p>sorry if this question was asked already since i didn't really read through all the posts.
But IF i'm accepted to Wellesley and all that.
Is there any off-campus housings that i can take up?
Renting, for example, an apartment complex or something?
or is that forbidden?</p>
<p>if it's allowed, would that be practical?</p>
<p>There isn't much off-campus housing around the college. There are sometimes ads on Craigslist for people renting out rooms in their private homes, but there are very few real apartments. If you have a car (enabling you to live in a nearby suburb) or you're willing to commute from Cambridge (where the hourly, free bus to campus runs every weekday) or places with easy transportation to the commuter rail or to Cambridge, then living off campus is a little more feasible. Still, you miss out on most of campus life, and it's a tiring daily commute. Housing is also quite expensive around Wellesley, especially if you want your own space (rather than living in someone else's house).</p>
<p>I'm not sure what the policy is for first-years and living on campus, but I would strongly recommend staying on campus. Accommodations are convenient, and the sense of community is far superior to anything you would find in the wider Wellesley area.</p>
<p>okay, thank you.
then i'm guessing the "borad of dorms" decide and match up people for dorms?</p>
<p>Yes, the Office of Residential Life goes through housing applications and matches students. By and large, the process works very well.</p>
<p><em>borad</em> ...lol
okay thanks for your answers</p>
<p>oh, another question.
for the MIT/wellesley program, is there a seperate appliation process you have to go through?
or do you just talk and request it from your couselor (do we even get a counselor?)</p>
<p>I think it all comes with the package of being a Wellesley student, or at least, that's how it sounded on the tour and info session.</p>
<p>My D visited the school this summer and did not get a good feel for the school. Please explain ... even in vague terms the general feel of the campus on any given academic day. What is the "energy" like? Who are the folks who love W? Who are the folks who are unhappy? Who thrives at W? </p>
<p>THX</p>
<p>You need not apply to take MIT courses, unless of course, the class itself has prerequisites. You enroll and go.</p>
<p>okay, thanks
another question, what's the average length/word count of the common app essay?
cause i think mine is WAAAY too long...</p>
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okay, thanks
another question, what's the average length/word count of the common app essay?
cause i think mine is WAAAY too long...
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<p>dai17yi, somewhere around 500 words should be fine. </p>
<p>However, I don't think I'm the best person to give any advice concerning this subject - my essay went a little over 1,000 words! :\ The only thing that made it "okay", was the style in which it was written. It flowed very quickly and most sentences were simple and to the point, though they were part of a much more complex, overall, structure.</p>
<p>PM it to me if you would like someone to read it!</p>
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My D visited the school this summer and did not get a good feel for the school. Please explain ... even in vague terms the general feel of the campus on any given academic day. What is the "energy" like? Who are the folks who love W? Who are the folks who are unhappy? Who thrives at W? </p>
<p>THX
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<p>MQD, I wish I could have firsthand experience and describe to you an academic day, but I'm just going to become a Wellesley student. But I'll say that the first time I visited Wellesley, I didn't get quite a good vibe either. I stayed with some girls who talked about all the boys they partied with at MIT and it was very weird. But after my dream school rejected me, I gave Wellesley another chance. I roomed with my friend and met some other admitted students, who were all very nice and offered a different perspective. My two visits revealed to me the diversity of the student body; if you want parties you can find them, but if you want something else than there are plenty of other options, too.</p>
<p>Of course, your daughter should always listen to how she feels about a place. If she doesn't feel like she could be happy at an environment at Wellesley, I would advise her to consider somewhere else. I personally feel like I can be happy any place I choose, and I chose Wellesley over other places because of academic opportunities.</p>
<p>I am responding on behalf of my D and wanted to share that she too did not have a great first visit to campus. I believe one of the reasons is that viewing WC in a physical sense leaves a perception of a low key and quiet environment. Yet it appears the ture vibrancy and legacy of this school comes from a caring student body and faculty who are committed to helping bright young women develop self confidence and gain a first-class education. I hope I am correct in this assumption and will report back after we have some data in hand.</p>