Menagerie

I'm daring to venture over from the Wellesley board.

Both Wellesley and Barnard are great schools. Since I've never attended Barnard (or Wellesley, for that matter), I can only answer to why I chose to apply early to Wellesley instead of Barnard. I actually went into the college process thinking I'd go to Barnard. I LOVE New York City, and have tons of family and friends there.

While it's a great school for some people, the more I saw of it, the more I realized it wasn't right for me. From what I've heard from my Barnard friends, I don't get the sense there is as much of a sense of community as is found at Wellesley. While I'm sure Columbia offers a ton of resources, if I was looking for a large university, I'd have applied actually to Columbia or to another similar school. A woman from Barnard came in to my school to talk, and most everything she said was something like "We're kind of a women's college, but we're not really because so many guys are nearby!" and "We're kind of a small liberal arts college, but not really because students take a lot of classes at Columbia!" I really liked that Wellesley embraced the fact that it is what it is -- a small, liberal arts women's college -- because I think that offers a lot. I also really like that Wellesley, unlike Barnard, is self-sustainable. While some students take classes at MIT, Wellesley has a fantastic math and science department of their own, and you could easily get through four great years never having to rely on another school.

I wouldn't read much into the acceptance rate. While Barnard's is lower, this could possibly be attributed to the fact that Wellesley's applicants are more self-selecting. In fact, Wellesley's average SAT for the class of 2011 is 30 points higher than Barnard's.

While it's clear I have a preference, I don't think Wellesley is right for everyone. Really look at both schools, and follow your gut. Good luck!