Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are talking about this school. Applications are up, acceptance rate is down and it’s as rigorous as ever. It’s been a top LAC for a very long time and it’s a wonderful college for a largely self-selecting group of students. My kid is there now and seems very happy.

Be honest- is your DD gay or bi?

Nope, had serious boyfriends during HS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, familiarize yourself with the Seven Sisters. (Pause while DCUM is Googling the meaning)......

To be honest, I don't think applicants really think about the term. The Wellesley and Barnard students I know were only interested in those 2 among the 7 sisters. There's a big gap in "perceived" quality even though in reality it is minor.

But why Tiger if you can't properly Tiger?

Anonymous wrote:Wellesley consistently ranks in the top 5 among the US News LAC rankings but I hear about it for less than the others.

It seems like a great school- urban location, access to MIT/Olin/Babson, tons of opportunites, great alumnae network. I understand that being a women's college means less interest but it still receives roughly 75% of the applications of similarly ranked coed school.

Because it is $80K/year and they give ZERO merit aid. My DD likes them, and has been talking to them for athletics. It would be a GREAT fit for her on every level. But 2 years would wipe out the 529 and we cannot bankroll that yearly cost.

Anonymous wrote:It is intense but Wellesley women love to exaggerate about how hard Wellesley is.
Yes, it is hard but no tougher than dozens of other schools. My best friend was an academic star at Wellesley. Went from Wellesley to MIT for a PhD and almost flunked out because the rigor was so much higher. I was at Wellesley and went to grad school at U Chicago. Grad school kicked my butt. Yes, I survived but kids coming from ivy schools and big state universities like Berkeley were better prepared than I was. I enjoyed Wellesley but it is an isolated cocoon if that’s your thing

Yes, definitely going to a big state school will better prepare you for U Chicago grad school than Wellesley. Thank you for your honesty. We will throw DD’s app in the garbage now. Everyone make sure to do the same.

It is intense but Wellesley women love to exaggerate about how hard Wellesley is.
Yes, it is hard but no tougher than dozens of other schools. My best friend was an academic star at Wellesley. Went from Wellesley to MIT for a PhD and almost flunked out because the rigor was so much higher. I was at Wellesley and went to grad school at U Chicago. Grad school kicked my butt. Yes, I survived but kids coming from ivy schools and big state universities like Berkeley were better prepared than I was. I enjoyed Wellesley but it is an isolated cocoon if that’s your thing

Anonymous wrote:OP, familiarize yourself with the Seven Sisters. (Pause while DCUM is Googling the meaning)......

To be honest, I don't think applicants really think about the term. The Wellesley and Barnard students I know were only interested in those 2 among the 7 sisters. There's a big gap in "perceived" quality even though in reality it is minor.

OP, familiarize yourself with the Seven Sisters. (Pause while DCUM is Googling the meaning)......

Anonymous wrote:I think Wellesley ended grade deflation, so I don’t think the stress culture is as high.

They did, but the median gpa at wellesley is still considerably less than that of peer schools. STEM and econ at Wellesley in particular is tough.

Ok, have we talked about our dear alma mater enough OP? This thread shows a lot of the info in a nutshell. Apply if you want to, don’t apply if you don’t want to. Pluses, minuses, all in all a great choice for many.

I think Wellesley ended grade deflation, so I don’t think the stress culture is as high.

Roughly 40% of Wellesley students are gay or bi. It's high, but definitely not 100%. And almost everyone there is extremely driven and academically serious. Intensely so. If you're going to have a flippant attitude about college, Wellesley will chew you out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will be blunt. My girls are not gay and want to be around guys so they will not look at AWC.

Unfortunately, it seems like these women's colleges have become this. We were told to look at Smith and did a hard pass. My DD loves boys too much and WANTS a boyfriend. It's too bad because I cna see the advantage of an AWC.

Somehow, being at a women's college wasn't a problem for all of my (many) Wellesley classmates who dated and then married their Harvard or MIT boyfriends.

While most Wellesley alums appreciate what the College has done for women's empowerment, the fact that it's a women's college isn't always the main reason--or even one of the main reasons--that they chose to attend it. While I wouldn't go as far as another alum on this thread in saying that Wellesley is where "fun goes to die," the College does offer one of the most rigorous undergraduate educations on the face of the planet, and I'd argue that the intensity of its academic standards is what primarily attracts applicants and matriculants.

Trying to convince my kid to look here. She’s bi if that matters but it seems like every HS girl is now anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are talking about this school. Applications are up, acceptance rate is down and it’s as rigorous as ever. It’s been a top LAC for a very long time and it’s a wonderful college for a largely self-selecting group of students. My kid is there now and seems very happy.

Be honest- is your DD gay or bi?

Do you live in the DC area? Feel free to take a quick poll of all the Wellesley-MIT marriages here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are fed pro-diversity views & images 24/7. Maybe some people actually believe all this diversity hype, & think you need all kinds of people around you to have a well-rounded education?

This was an interesting article.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/magazine/when-women-become-men-at-wellesley-college.html

So, your problem with this is that Wellesley does not accept women who are planning to become men? Why should they?