Diplomat, in my experience, neither Wellesley nor Smith want real diversity. They only want their stats and reviews to LOOK like they want diversity.
Basically, I applied as a transfer student from a cc. I went to a community college because I left normal school in the beginning of 7th grade, due to chronic illness. I was hospitalized a dozen times, for periods up to 8 months at a time, to give you an idea. The education I received in the hospitals was fairly useless. As I'm sure you can imagine, schoolwork was nowhere close to a top concern in these hospitals. I never had homework, never really had grade-level assignments, etc. I explained the whole circumstance in more detail within an essay I sent along with my apps.
My health improved later, and I excelled once I went to college. I had a 3.9 in the honors program, won the SUNY Chancellor’s Award (the highest award given by the state), and won various awards for foreign language, writing, psychology, leadership in different clubs, etc. To put things in perspective: It is very unusual for a student to get even one award in a cc as large as the one I attended (over 12,000 students on my campus), but I was a very big part of the extracurricular scene there, as I had leadership positions in several clubs. I also had a VERY large number of community service hours, my art and poetry had been honored/recognized, etc. I had won contests for speeches and for singing (in Italian and in english), and worked as a clown part time (as well as a few other odd jobs). My math SAT score was well within their ranges and my english and reading scores were very far above their averages (math should have been irrelevant anyway, considering my listed major and potential profession). I don’t mean to come off as conceited, because I am not anywhere close, but my application was very good. I had fantastic on-campus interviews (interviews are a very strong area for me), my essays were very strong, I showed interest and in-depth knowledge of the colleges, and I had great recs (my profs let me read them). The Dean of Students even threw in a personal rec along with the "letter of good standing" required from my school (she normally doesn't do that, but she knew me because of my involvement).
I won’t go on about the struggles I went through growing up, but I can guarantee you (without any fear of exaggeration whatsoever) that I’ve overcome more than most people have in a lifetime. Obviously only so much can be shared in an application; however, I tastefully shared enough to make it clear that my life did a complete 180 and that I was immensely grateful for every chance I received to improve myself and my education.
Anyway, back to the point:
Due to many reasons, I decided not to transfer right away. First, my lack of education and a personal situation at home made an earlier transfer unfavorable.
Second, I took many credits outside of my diploma path, but was encouraged to finish my associates degree. About a year prior to sending in my apps, I read that some schools had a policy about not accepting more than 2 years of credit. I became nervous and called a school I was considering, but the person I spoke with assured me that it wouldn't be a problem since I'd be coming from a 2 year school. I also spoke with advisors from my school and they again encouraged me to finish my associates. Everything in my life led me to the conclusion that the best option was to stay.
Clearly, some of the people I spoke with were misinformed because about 2 weeks after I sent in the first of my apps I received a call from Wellesley. I was told that they reviewed my transcript and determined that I was ineligible to transfer because I had “too many” credits. They don’t allow applicants to relinquish credits, so I was out of luck.
In a panic, I called the other colleges. The best part is that when I called Smith’s registrar, they told me not to worry about the credits because they were from a two-year college. Paranoid as I am, I called the Smith admissions office just to make sure. Well, Smith’s depts aren’t on the same page because the adcom office said that the credits WERE a problem. They were very rude, far ruder than Wellesley, to give Wellesley some credit.
Essentially, Wellesley (and Smith) penalized me for educating myself “too much.” Let me explain further: I would have needed to attend for an extra 2 years regardless because I only took classes at the 100 and 200 level. Obviously my classes were still all only up to the sophomore level because I was coming from a community college. Additionally, most schools don't apply credits to the major. Therefore, I would DEFINITELY need 2 years to finish.
I wrote letters to Wellesley and Smith explaining that I would certainly take another 2 years, regardless of credits, and I explained my interest in the colleges and the above information about the 100 and 200 level classes. I was told that it didn’t matter. I was even told to simply go to a state school where I could graduate in a year. The contempt that I was shown was ridiculous. And it was fairly insulting that they would suggest that I look into a state school to “save time” when anyone who had read my letter would have seen that my point was that I would need to take 2 years regardless. More importantly, had they seriously reviewed my application, they would have seen the effort that I invested into finding the “right fit” colleges. The women’s colleges to which I applied are polar opposites of my state schools.
So, I wasn’t even permitted to apply simply because I had too many credits... Imagine not being told that you were rejected, but (after sending in the apps) being told that you’re INELIGIBLE to apply because of some silly red-tape rules.
To be fair, Wellesley and Smith are very wonderful to many students; however, my experiences have shown me, without a doubt, that MHC is the better college. Mount Holyoke TRULY wants a diverse student body. They won’t be illogical because they don’t care enough to look past silly bureaucratic boxes.
/end novel
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