Spelman College Top Questions

What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?

Deleonne

I wish I would have taken more AP test and applied for more scholarships.

Nia

Again, I wish I had known that my school did not give out a large amount of financial assistance as promised.

Loren

I wish I knew how crucial it was to get scholarships.

Tierra

I wish I had known that I wasn't as finicially stable to attend Spelman as I thought I was. But since this is my dream school, I feel that I will have a chance to stay if I keep searching for good scholarships.

Paris

I wish that I had a better understanding of the grading system and the different teaching styles of professors. Although I am only going to be a second semester freshman, and I still have three more years, I wish to know the different teaching styles if every professor so that I may choose my classes wisely each semester.

Winter

Before coming to Spelman, I wish I had known what would be required of me. Although, I knew what was required of college versus high school, I did not take it as seriously. Studying is vital to your success at any college, but especially at one with higher standards.

Rachel

Something I wish I would have known before going to Spelman College is the amount of professional development opportunities offered. Since my time at Spelman I have been able to sit at round table discussions with corporate executives from Facebook, Google, and other companies. I have also been able to make genuine connections with admission counselors at top Business schools and Law schools of my choice. Spelman is a school that is conducive for learning and the amount of opportunities are limitless!

makayla

I wish I knew more about the campus life. The food is not good and the housing is really not worth the money we pay as students.

makayla

I wish i had known about the terrible food and disgusting housing, it is definitely not worth the money. I also wish I knew how hard it would be to get into clubs, its very hard and competitive.

Asia

I wish I knew just how hard it would be to receive financial aid. A part of me knew it would be difficult prior to attending, but there is nothing like finishing a semester and not knowing how you will return. Receiving scholarships from the school is even more challenging. It is discouraging because it feels like no matter how hard you work they always want more.

Kayla

I wish I would have known the great sisterhood that Spelman College provides before I came. I have no sisters, so I never really understood what a sisterhood consist of. When I first came to Spelman, I was greeted with kind smiles and warm hugs. The women here demonstrated to me what sisterhood is. They taught me that sisterhood at Spelman College is loving, caring, and looking over your fellow Spelman sister. This sisterhood helped me build connections, and it also provided me with long lasting friendships.

Gabby

I wish I had known how difficult it was to get financial aid from the school itself and from outside sources. I wish that I knew how to negotiate and communicate with the financial aid workers to get the aid that I needed. It would've helped so much.

Mikayla

I wish I had a better understanding of how much it cost to go to Spelman. I do not regret my choice, however with a better understanding I would have prepared better and wouldn't be as stressed as I am now.

Victoria

There is no financial aid and little help getting it, unless you have connections.

Nia

I wish I would have known that Spelman is not what everybody makes it seem. Please do not get me wrong Spelman College is a great school however it does not promote diversity. Everybody has their ideal image of what means to be a "Spelman Woman" and the school tries to model everyone into the ideal "Spelman Woman". Yet, that is where they go wrong. A "Spelman Woman" should be a woman who has the ability to express herself and not fit into a model. She should have to ability to not fall into the Spelman stigma.

Toni

I wish I would've known how much I would miss home. Being away from family and your home can be extremly challenging.

Venkayla

Before I came to Spelman I wish I would have known more about the full tuition scholarships that they provide. I was told that they sent out emails about them, but I never received those emails. My financial struggle has been so hard while being here, my own uncle tells me that I do not have the money to be here and I need to go to a community college. I will continue to apply for scholarships because I want to prove him wrong and accomplish my goal of becoming a forensic pathologist.

Beanca

I wish I knew to contact the alumnae who graduated from Spelman College that were from Boston before I came because networking is something that allows students to gain certain opportunities. Therefore, Spelman College really pushes students to network with alumnae.

Samantha

I wish I'd known that it would not be a breeze, because that is how I felt about highschool.

Shireon

I wish I had known my study habits. Like the way I need to study to comprehend the information.

Ciara

Before embarking on the journey to obtain a bachelor of arts degree from Spelman College I only wish that I had known one thing. Because all of my peers appear to be of similar ethnicity to me, it would seem to be twice as hard to stand out than it would be if I attended an alternative college or university. Spelman College prides itself on its success in getting its students top internships and opportunities afforded only to students from Spelman College. That being said the stakes of the competion are raised and the effort to stand out is rare.

Destiny

I wish I would have known more about the history of the school and how expensive it would actually be.

Yancy

I wish I would have known more about the campus life and environment. Since I didn't attend Spel-Bound, I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting myself into by coming to an all girl school.

Cedreka

Before I came to Spelman I wish I had known how difficult living out of state would be. I knew that it would be challenging but there is no knowing exactly how challenging it is until you begin to experience it.

Giovanna

The location of Spelman's campus is a bit unexpected but other than that, there isn't much to complain about my school.

shaila

Before I came to school, I wish that I would have been informed about the power of networking. It was not until early in my junior year, that I realized how beneficial proper networking techniques were in life. However, had I been taught about networking before I came to Spelman College, I would have learned of more internships, financial aid opportunities, and possible careers of interest. With this being said, my main piece of advice for incoming undergraduate students would be to begin practicing good networking techniques early on. Such techniques will greatly pay off in the future.

Imani

I wish I had known how crazy the weather can be in Atlanta Georgia.

Avi

I feel I was well prepared coming in, I would have liked to have known what was a must have before moving in though.

Althea

I wish I'd known how supportive the campus community is. I would have attended sooner.

Brittney

Before attending Spelman College I wish I was aware of the grading system. After only one semester of grades I currently am not personally happy with the grades I received first semester. An A and A- were catagorized as an A in high school, but in college they are weighted differently. I wish I had been aware of this upon entering college and I would have pushed that much harder in order to obtain the mere one point that seperated me from an A. This would have helped me out wonders.

Nehemie

I wish I knew how to manage my time better and how to be open minded when meeting new people

Sheenae

I wish I would've known that the required classes that we have to take teach about feminism, and that is something that I really don't agree with. I also wish I would've known that the staff here are very opionated, and aren't really open minded about their students views. They are very naive in a since because they're not willing to take a challenge and acknowledge the fact that everyone is different, and that everyone doesn't view the world the same way they do.

Danielle

I wish I had known the benefits to joining an extracurricular group. I just joined one and I wish I had been involved in it through my entire college career!

rachel

Low Financial Aid

Chelsey

How much money I would need.

Cheyanna

I wish I knew exactly how I would come up with the cost of attendance. I have finished one year and my mother keeps telling me I should transfer, but I really love the school I go to. However, the school I attend is putting a strain on my family financially.

m.c.

n/a

Michelle

I wish that I had known that there was a required class called ADW and a required writing portfolio due at the end of the year.

Christine

Visitation rules are very strict. Work-study opportunites.

Veronica

That 2,000 students is a little too small OWU isn't that helpful with academic advising Even though it is a little school, its still hard to get into classes It is really hard to live off campus before senior year Take advantage of the lectures and events and all the opportunities OWU has to offer OWU has a large transfer percentage because it lets in a large percentage of applicants but its academically challenging and some people struggle You either Love OWU or you hate it

Kiara

What I wish I had known before I came to this school is how difficult it would be to find part time employment. I am a very independent individual, and I do not like asking my parents for money. My parents stress the importance of getting an education, and not to worry about finances, as that is a non issue for me. I enjoy making my own spending money, so it's hard for me to relax and rely on my parents' generosity, although I really appreciate it.

Paige

Honestly, I wish I had known that it is not at all as easy as I thought it might be. MUCH more work than I thought i needed to put into it.

Kiara

I wish I had known that I would have so much debt from student loans.

Khristen

I wish I had known more about scholarships to help me pay for school. I was not informed by my high school about college scholarships, unless it was for sports or specific major-related. I am now struggling to pay for school and am searching for scholarships as much as I can. I also wished I had learned more about sorority life and how great of a networking opportunity it is.

Sydney

I wish I had known that the area surrounding the school wasn't very appealing or safe. Also it does not hold many local events that I would be interested in; nor is their a wide or healthy variety of food choices in the neighborhood.

Taren

That I could have applied for scholarships when I was in middle school.

Elizabeth

I wish I had known about the community service scholars (called the Bonner Scholars). I love to volunteer, and had I known about the scholarship I would have put more time into trying to become a Bonner Scholar than finding ways to pay for school. Bonner scholars have a full-ride with the responsibility of doing a huge amount of community service. My problem was that I had to have done so many hours of community service before applying. Because I didn't know about it, I chose to work three jobs and never have the time.

Cara

I wish I had known the amount of resources that the school offered so that I could have taken advantage of them much earlier.

Leonette

There is not anything that I found out about Spelman College that I felt I should have known before I arrived. I feel I learned everything I needed to know at the appropriate time.

Maria

Before coming to Spelman College, I wish I had known the deplorable conditions of the dorm rooms. These buildings are so old that their original wiring cannot support centralized air conditioning. I understand that it is all part of the "Spelman Experience" but I really wish I had known about that before coming to the extremely hot Atlanta GA and having no air in my room.