Wellesley College Top Questions

Describe the students at your school.

Sophia

There is so much diversity on campus that it's hard to create a simple description for everyone. However, I would say that the campus is so accepting of different cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, races, and religions that most I feel are comfortable.

Yu

Students are very diverse here. Most students are friendly and they make really good friends with you, but some are overly competitive. In some classes, each student becomes friends with each other because the class atmosphere is so collaborative and friendly. Most students care about politics and social events and they are often very active. They intend to make a real difference and they do strive toward that in their college years.

Alexa

Arguably, one of the best things about Wellesley is the diversity. I came from a very homogeneously white upper/middle-class area, and I was scared for a culture shock. I love having floormates from Hawaii and Belgium, and roommates both from Sweden and the county next to mine! Learning about different cultures has been a great asset for me in my time here. Wellesley is not a fashion-forward place, but if you are, you can be. It is very non-judgmental, and I love it for that.

Victoria

One of the stereotypes about Wellesley that actually is true is the student body's tendency towards liberalism. While there are definitely Republicans on campus, the overwhelming majority of us are Democrats. The campus is very diverse in every other way, however: students identify with every religion, race, socio-economic status, nationality, and sexuality imaginable, and with few exceptions we all interact and befriend each other without problems. One of the great parts about going to a women's college is that when it starts to get cold or when it's finals week and you don't have time to sleep, let alone put on makeup, no one give you the side eye when you show up to class in tights, a hoodie and no makeup. Although lots of students wear heels and classy outfits to class year-round, no feels judged when they show up to class in clothes they could easily have worn to bed.

Vanessa

My classmates are very competitive, studious, and hardworking.

Shaheen

Wellelsey women are strong independent women who know what they want out of life and are willing to go achieve it. My classmates are very competitive both inside and outside the classroom, but are also very easy to communicate with and always willing to give a helping hand to get some of their classmates through a struggling time. At wellesley your classmates easily transform into a family community, so the constant support system is always behind you, pushing you to strive and achieve your goals in becoming a success.

Kelly

"Women who will make a difference in the world."

Alicia

They look intimidating, but when you get to know them they're usually pretty nice, if rather intense.

Krizia

cut throat bitches

Aviva

Many years ago, the school could have been characterized by women who wear "pumps and pearls", but that time is long since past. Now, the school is very diverse and students from all racial, socioeconomic and geographic locations come here. Students are often over-achiever types and self-competetive, but not competive with each other. They are always willing to help each other out in any way possible, which creates a great sense of community. Some stay on-campus in the "Wellesley Bubble", but most spend time off campus socializing with each other and with other Boston-area students.

hyewon

They are all hard-working, dilligent, determined, and extremely intelligent women.

rachel

motivated, engaged, compassionate, driven, well-rounded.

Samantha

My classmates were Intelligent, verbose, creative, hard working and passionate about their activities and majors.

Zahra

My classmates are intelligent, diverse, open-minded, supportive, successful, and driven.

Kara

Wellesley students are driven, engaged students, who are never satisfied with their performance.

Adrienne

awesome

Kyi-Sin

HIGHLY motivated, competitive, friendly

Natalie

Wellesley supports over 150 student organizations dedicated to dance, world culture, sports, religion, social issues, comedy, music, student life, literature, self-defense, performance art, and politics. LGBT organizations such as Spectrum, cultural organizations such as WASAC (Wellesley Association for South Asian Cultures), and singing groups such as the Widows are very active on campus. The organizations reflect the diversity of the student body. All 50 states and 66 different countries are represented at Wellesley. Surprisingly, a lot of Californians call Wellesley home. Not surprisingly, the political atmosphere is mainly left or center, and the students are very active.

Nicole

Many different people thrive at Wellesley. While one may look around campus and see predominantly white people, we have many students of colour and from various ethnic backgrounds. Most students are from the New England area and California. Of course, there are students from all over the United States and the world. Yet you will be surprised by how many MA natives attend Wellesley. The "international" kids tend to hang out together, like the "black," "asian," and "rich white" kids. While breaking down stereotypes and cultural barriers is a constant point of discussion at Wellesley, students do self-segregate. I believe this is natural, and my comments of course are generalized.

Shelby

The stereotype that everyone at Wellesley is a lesbian or bisexual is completely false. But, like any great institution, Wellesley has a great myriad of different people from different places and different walks of life. I truly believe that this is one of its greatest assets. Most students are quite laid back, and supremely friendly. There is nothing out of place with sitting with a group of people you have never met before in the dining halls. There is great diversity in the socio-economic, and international communities at Wellesley as well. Women at this college are also very politically oriented and opinionated, which is great! That being said, there are also people who take no interest in politics, but the political Wellesley woman is another stereotype-- quite an accurate stereotype actually.

Aleyah

People at Wellesley are generally very accepting, although different groups may not necessarily interact, I have never felt not welcome going anywhere. I don't think any kind of student would feel out of place at Wellesley, because there is so much diversity on our campus. Most students wear sweats, or pajamas to class.

Anna

diverse ethnically, socially, religiously, LGBT etc... In most ways except politically

Eileen

Wellesley is very culturally diverse and very supportive of the LGBT students as well (although we have had some trouble getting a full time advisor). Socioeconomically, Wellsley maybe pretty diverse but the awareness about hese issues is very low compared to the cultural sensitivity. Some girls have quite the sense of entitlement. Students wear all levels of things to class, mostly jeans. A few get dressed up and the later you get into the semester, the more pjs you see in class! :) Wellesley is extrememly politically aware. Mostly liberal, there are student groups that focus on these issues but the most action probably happens in discussions at meals. A great thing about Wellesley is that if your friend is brainstorming this idea at dinner, you'll find the whole table is joining in and signing up to help. It's a very take charge atmosphere!

Alex

The LGBT is very active on campus. I would say that our openness towards sexuality is one of the best in the country. We have a very socio-economic diverse student body. Racially, I feel like Wellesley students self-segregate themselves. There is no blatant racism, but if you take the look at the social groups on campus, people of the same race tend to stick together. I think you will find this at 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the country's campuses.

Suzy

Wellesley has a group for everyone. They might not be big orgs..but they'll be there. Everyone tends to be very PC though (especially in class).. which can get annoying. You can wear wtvr you want to class..there are those who have time to get all dolled up- there are those who roll out of bed and into class. There are girls from all over the world and all financial backgrounds and everyone interacts. Sometimes there are differences between international students and their corresponding "ethnicity" in the states, but that can easily be overcome. Of course, most girls are left of center but you can find people of all political parties.

Sarah

The student body at Wellesley is diverse. I'm an international student, and have many friends from many different backgrounds. Some might say that some groups are under represented, however I wouldnt say that any of them are non-existant. Its a typical elite school. 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} international, 5{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} African American, 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} Asian American/ Pacific islander (including South Asian), 7{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} Latina and 45{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} White. And people are from many different economic backgrounds. Racial and ethnic groups are very active on campus and I find that people are very open to learning from one another. I did have my complaints about how little people knew about where I come from, but that was me setting my sights too high. People are difinitely interested in knowing about one another. Our multi cultural requirement also adds to that. In addition we have many different students that identify with different sexual orientations. They too are very active. A great thing about Wellesley is that everyone interacts with one another, and its easy to go from one group of people to the other. People are politically aware, and active and its not difficult to be active on campus.

Sarah

At the risk of sounding really racist, I think one of the clique-y-est groups at Wellesley is the Asians, probably seconded by the African Americans. However, no groups on campus, religious, racial, sexual orientation/gender, socio-economic, political, or whatever are actually in-your-face about anything unless it happens to be Latina Pride Month or something like that. For the most part, I think students get along and interact. To be honest, I don't know much about what socio-economic backgrounds dominate, since most people don't flaunt their relative wealth, but I do know that the majority of my friends have some kind of financial aid. I think that very girls who are very conservative, in terms of religion, politics, and social issues, would feel out of place at Wellesley because there's a heavy emphasis on awareness and sensitivity to others' situations. Wellesley students generally are politically aware and active, and mostly liberal.

morgan

the campus has literally hundreds of organizations. All of which are usually easy to become involved in. the campus is mostly democratic, although there is a republican group. Racially i found the student body to be very diverse, but i come from the white bread midwest. The majority of the student body are white or asian, but there is a nice mixture of all sorts of race and cultures. Students are from all over the world. The economic status of the girls usually fall into the upper middle class, but there are many variations. Because of the financial aid packages, i have met many women coming from families of the much lower end of the economic spectrum. There is a strong sense of school spirit, but what i found to be the best thing about wellesley is how supportive the enviorment is to all students. Being an all girl school, that alone both unites, and allows many of the students to speak up about things they would otherwise deem taboo. I have never been in such an accepting enviorment of differnt beliefs, lifestyles, sexualities, race, and economic status. (except repubicans...they are not as easily embraced. I am a registered repubican, although am closer to independent. this was met with more hostility than any other issue i could ever think up. :p ) no one will attack you for your political stading, but if you are not full blood democratic, you can expect some heated debates.

Hunter

Tries to be very politically correct, but at the expense of having legitimate discussions and moreso over fussing about tiny details. Good thins is that Wellesley is much more conscious of gender politics than any other campus, but all in all Wellesley is not a place for people looking for a lively, active, interesting, political, social atmosphere.

Emily

Students are very PC, almost to an unnessecary degree in my opinion. They are very accepting of other groups and cultures. Contrary to popular belief, there is not typical Wendy Wellesley, rather all types of students interact and befriend one another. Students also come from all over the country and all over the world. One word to describe Wellesley students: PASSIONATE. About what? Anything. Synchronized swimming, politics, math, anything. The list goes on and on. Wellesley students really care about something. That said, in general Wellesley is a liberal place.

Jessie

I could tell you coming in to Wellesley, I was probably one of the minorities of minorities. I was a pansexual, Wiccan, lower-middle class Mexican. And yet, I have managed to feel like I was a part of this campus and not some sort of oddball. I became involved with Wellesley's LGBT organization, the Latina organization, and the Pagan group and found people I can share a background in. My socio-economic status was not a large factor in whether I got along with certain people or not- it just didn't matter. I feel that even if students are worlds apart, it is still possible to get along. For example, my roommate was the type of person who reads Cosmogirl, Vogue, and really picked her outfits well, took the time to do her hair all nice, and her make-up etc. I was the type of person who would wear mostly black outfits, couldn't care less about makeup, doing my hair meant brushing it, and I didn't read any sort of magazine. When we saw each other for the first time, I'm pretty sure both of us must have thought that the housing office had mistakenly paired us up. Nevertheless, we still respected each other, we didn't become BFFs but we sure didn't set up a wall between us. We say hi to each other whenever we see one another even after we don't live together. So yes, I do believe that different people can interact.

Carolyn

There is a higher proportion of gay/bi students who are open -- I'm not sure if it's because of or thanks to the pretty open and tolerant atmosphere at Wellesley. In any case, people are generally very tolerant of all types of sexuality/sexual identity. In most other senses, students are similar to other small liberal arts colleges. Lots of religious/racial/socio-economic diversity (Wellesley has GREAT financial aid!) Students are very liberal, as a whole, although there are of course conservative students.

Victoria

I'm a minority student at Wellesley and appreciate the diversity of the campus. But I'm obviously from a diverse hometown- and Wellesley was the first time I had ever felt discriminated again- and it wasn't by falculty or administration, but by an ignorant student. Therefore, I've always felt appreciated by the school- but sometimes I wish the students had a more open minded experience as well.

Emily

Students are VERY politically aware. I know two girls at least who, every morning they read the New York Times and every time they walk into a room with a television, turn on CNN, I'm not even joking. There is any number of financial backgrounds because Wellesley has a really good financial aid program. Most students on campus are leftist democrats but we do have a republican group on campus just like the democratic group. I'm pretty sure there are some closet republicans on campus because it's hard for me to believe there are as few as seem to represented by the republican group. Students often say stuff like, "when I'm rich and famous, I'm going to ____" but it's said sort of jokingly. People pretty much all believe if they set their mind to it they can make as much as they want and that their life will be determined by them when they graduate.

Taylor

I, as an Orthodox Jew, feel out of place at Wellesley. Students wear a vareity of clothes to class: some wear sweatpants and shirts, while other dress up in the latest fashions and makeup every day. Students of different races interact with each other. Most Wellesley student seem to be from the Northeast, California, or Florida. Students are politically aware. Both the Democrats and Republicans host lectures, and there is also an organization dedicated to non-partisan politcal action. The student newspapaer prints newsfom around the world, and opinion articles are often about world news. Most students are democrats. Students don't usually discuss how much money they pan to earn in the future.

Quinn

Students are opinionated, confident, and intelligent women who are here to investigate their personal passions. I have never seen any students argue immaturely, but debates take place constantly. There is a place for every type of young women at Wellesley and it is amazing how you will find yourself a Wellesley woman in no time.

Betsy

The student body here is so diverse, which was another thing I didn't think was so important when I originally looked at schools, but I was lucky and fell into a good one. It makes such a huge difference. You get to meet people you never dreamed about meeting. Sometimes its a good thing and sometimes its a bad thing. That's just a part of living on a college campus. There are so many different organizations and people and classes and groups that anyone from anywhere can feel comfortable. I'm from a tiny Midwest town and I get along fine with people from New York City and California (there's a huge Californian population, by the way). Wellesley has predominantly left thinkers. There's a group of Wellesley College Republicans, but they're motto is "We do exist!" if that tells you anything about how few there are. But sometimes I think that's required for an all-girls school.

Christine

Wellesley girls tend to be very 'liberal' (what ever the hell that means) but rather close minded to the views of their 'opposition'. They would rather be PC, green, democrat then a conservative, traditionalist. There have been many times where I have mentioned my conservative side and then I am automatically branded. Examples... 1. any liberal politician or other type of speaker, preaching the saving of something or another can come in and present and over half the student body will show up, make banners, display pins of support, donate money. A republican politician or speaker comes in and half the student body shows up, 5 (only the brave few) show up in support the rest come to protest with banners and buttons and making rude comments or very pointed questions. 2. The 2004 presidential elections. I am a republican, I was watching the debates and election returns, all the while being berated by 'fellow students'. I was a freshman (I am sorry that is un-PC, first-year), now does that make me feel welcome in my school? Not really. I can't wait until they are in the 'real world' for a few years and start seeing the 'other side' for its good values.

Julia

Wellesley is a bubble of super political correctness. Anything you say or do will be scrutinized by other students to see if it could possibly have been meant in a discriminatory type of way. Even if you are just stating your preference of ice cream, I assure you that there is a Wellesley student out there waiting to call you prejudice because you don't like the same ice cream as her.

Tate

Here is Wellesley's student body in a nutshell (keep in mind that I am generalizing a bit): Race- there is interaction and friendship between students of all races, but there is still a bit of a divide between the African American population and students of other races. Religion- practice whatever religion you want, or no religion at all...other students don't really care. LGBT- I have many gay friends, straight friends, and bisexual friends at Wellesley. It doesn't play a factor in friendships...people are people. Socio-economic- Thanks to Wellesley's generous financial aid, there are many students that come from low-middle income families, but women from wealthy families still probably hold the majority of the student population. That's not to say they are all "poor-little-rich girls." Most of the students who have a lot of money are still very down-to-earth. You will probably feel out of place at Wellesley if you are unaccepting of alternative lifestyles or if you are uncomfortable being around same-sex relationships. I usually roll out of bed 5 minutes before class, stuff a hat over my bed-head, and pull on jeans to go to class. This is typical of a Wellesley student, but many students also go to class dressed like they are going into a business meeting- it's just personal preference. Ok, so here's a scenario of 4 tables of students in the dining hall: Table number one consists of 3 or 4 seniors and juniors with books open studying for a chemistry exam they have in 20 minutes. Table number two consists of a very loud bunch of 5 African-American students, 1 Latina student, and 2 white students. Table number three consists of a group of 6 friends who all work at one of the student-run food co-ops on campus and also work at Wellesley's radio station. Table number four is like table number three, except they don't work at a co-op or the radio station...one is a swimmer, one is an econ major, one is a math major, one is a history major, one is a theater major, and one is on the rugby team.

Jennifer

Every kind of person goes to Wellesley. It is an extremely diverse environment. The main diversity issues on campus are making the faculty more diverse and serving the needs of male-identified (or at least, not female-identified) transgender students on campus. People of all different backgrounds find themselves mixing in the dorms and in classes, but there are a lot of student organizations based on race/sexual orientation/religion that are vibrant parts of students' lives. This can lead to some segregation on campus. There is definitely not always peaceful co-existence between the various groups of students, but those conflicts ultimately lead to dialogue and greater understanding, so I think that in the end that's okay.

Athena

I love meeting foreign students here at Wellesley- they always offer the most interesting perspectives in class discussions. Stay away from the students who like to brag a lot- they will stress you out. Aside from those who are a bit full of themselves, you will find a lot of genuine people who have the kindest hearts. People are a lot more accepting here at Wellesley than they were back in my high school.

Jerry

Here are some words I'd use to describe the student body: competitive, intellectual, diverse, judgmental, liberal.

Jenna

The student body is very diverse, which is a great learning experience for everyone. It is very accepting and understanding.

Tate

Wellesley's student body is extremely diverse. I don't know the numbers, but I'm sure they're somewhere on the Wellesley homepage. We have many races, cultures, religions, social orientations, etc. When my older brother started college at the University of New Hampshire, he had to take a class on diversity. At Wellesley, you can learn about diversity by just striking up a conversation with someone. Everyone is willing and eager to talk about themselves (ok - sorry! No generalizing! The girls who are not either working on their theses or buried in books are the ones to talk to. Most of the time) and their situations. One thing though - if you come here, do NOT ask someone where they are from... originally. I look Indian, because my father is from Pakistan. I, however, was born and raised in the US. I don't associate with a culture other than 'American', and I only speak English. I can't tell you the number of times I have been asked about my origins. One girl just kept asking the same question over and over when I told her that I was born in Florida. I finally had to say 'Look. I was born in Florida. I've never been out of North America. That's just the way it is.' Long story short - be accepting of different people and their situations. You probably won't have a great time if you aren't (unless... you find the other people on campus who are like that. But there certainly aren't that many). Another valuable Wellesley lesson: There is no such thing as "Normal" - so don't worry about it. Be yourself.

angela

The student body is extremely politically correct, to the point where it's borderline ridiculous. I feel the student body really needs to chill sometimes.

Abby

Any type of student you could possibly imagine, she is here at Wellesley. We have students from all over the globe of all religious denominations and cultural affiliations. I have met students who are so different from the students I went to high school with. The town I grew up in was very white, Catholic, middle-class residents. Now some of my closest friends are from across the Atlantic Ocean and my friends have experienced things that I never could have imagined. I take it for granted every day that my parents are able to pay my way through college, but there are so many students here who are fortunate to have the support of Wellesley to come to this wonderful school. Many students are trying to pay their own way through college and at the same time you have students like myself. It is really important to have this diversity on campus because if everyone was the same, your learning would not be really complete. Learning is not restricted to the classroom and when I was looking at schools, this diversity was very important to me and Wellesley has succeeded in having a very diverse student body.

Andy

Lots of rich students, but that's at most higher tiered colleges. Compared to other colleges, Wellesley is pretty diverse racially and with regards to sexuality. It's quite liberal, but there are groups that are more conservative that have some voice. For this election season, the students were predominantly split between Hillary and Obama--I didn't see any other political groups created for other candidates except for someone discreetly posting about forming a group for McCain. Haven't heard from that group since.

Wendy

Wellesley tauts its diversity during the admissions process, and on one hand, it's true that the campus is very diverse, on the other hand, I don't think that we mix all that well all the time. LGBT is definitely a part of daily life on campus, and I think it would be tricky to make it through Wellesley without having that experience personalized in a friend, roommate, yourself... I think that for me, coming from a more socially conservative family, having gay friends, gay role models, gay coaches has been something which has both made me and allowed me to be really reflective about my own beliefs and my own worldview - and that's something which I don't think would have happened somewhere else, because here, it's part of the mainstream much more so than I think at many other schools. Generally, the campus tends to lean left, which can sometimes drown out the more conservative voices on campus, leading to a misperception of the general liberality of the campus. Religion is, on one hand, an important part of many students' experiences, and our Division of Religious and Spiritual Life does, I think, a great job of exposing students to each others' traditions and supporting students who do want to practice their religions, although that's definitely true for larger religious groups moreso than smaller ones. We have a Multifaith Council and a Multifaith Cooridor, and those are both great experiences for students who choose to participate. At the same time, I think that there are always going to be very loud voices on campus, proudly liberal, proudly atheistic - or at least, seeing themselves as unencumbered by religiously motivated conservatism - which sometimes create an odd disjuncture in daily life. On one hand, I feel very comfortable being Catholic here, especially because the Newman community is very welcoming of people at all points on the spectrum of Catholocism. On the other hand, I've had friends tell me that they think religion is stupid, religious people are stupid - and they often backpedal from that, or say, "well, not you, but most people" and that can be really frustrating.

Casey

I can't imagine a girl who would feel out of place at Wellesley -- there are so many different kinds of people here and so many organizations to support them. Wellesley is incredibly diverse, but groups tend to self-segregate, either by race, ethnicity, sexual preferences. The school gives a lot of financial aid, but a lot of girls' families also pay the entire tuition. The campus is incredibly liberal -- there is a republican club, but they're pretty far underground.