Lynh

So if I were to take some of my classes at MIT or other colleges, will my grades still be affected by the grading policy?

WendyMouse

Your grades at another school are determined by the rules and policy of that other school. Know that only MIT grades will show up on your transcript, adjusted because they calculate GPAs out of 5.0, not 4.0. Also, even though MIT gives out plusses and minuses, these are not official, and your grade comes in as the straight letter (as far as I know, I got the straight letter in my class to begin with, so I 'm not sure). Other schools' grades will show up as "Olin Course" with a pass/fail type grade. If you want to get more detail about those courses, you need a transcript from the other institution (a PAIN) when you apply to transcript wanting programs.

wannabeivy0815

How are the normal freshman dorms? How big is it? How comfortable is it and whatnot?

wannabeivy0815

Also, I was browsing through the catalog, and was wondering if it is possible to major in english with a minor in either women's studies or theater studies??

wannabeivy0815

I just have a thousand questions and I'm just going to keep on asking them.
So, are you LIMITED to 32 units as in can you not take more? Also, what is the "Wellesley Plus Program" and after your first year, is taking 5 classes a semester manageable and normally done?

Also, how really is the alumni network and how do you access it?

ringer05

A) The first-year rooms vary dramatically from very large (New Dorms) to very small (Munger). Some are doubles, some are triples, and some are multi-room quads. They come with enough furniture to be comfortable and useful--bed, desk, desk chair, bookshelf, bookshelf over the desk. The temperatures tend toward the too-warm rather than too-cold in the winter, which is generally a good thing.

B) You can have one major, no minor; one major, one minor; two majors no minor. Some departments don't offer minors (many of the language departments, for instance), but they indicate this in the course catalog. If the departments you're looking at show that you can either major or minor, then you're fine.

C) 32 is the lower limit--not the upper limit. Take more, if you like! The registrar has more information about how you can and cannot accrue credits.

D) 5 classes per semester is manageable but not always advisable. Your extra-curriculars are likely to suffer (especially if you have more than one), and the benefit of having that extra course isn't always worth it.

E) No idea what the "Wellesley Plus Program" is, but I'm sure the college website has information about it!

F) The alumnae network is large, widespread, strong, and helpful. There's an online directory and community for the group, and clubs exist for both cities and regions (depending on relative population). The network also exists in unexpected connections: you meet the child or spouse or cousin of a Wellesley alum, which starts a conversation. I've found that anyone who knows a Wellesley student or alum will say so as soon as they learn that you are/were there.

wannabeivy0815

Thank you so much! I visited during Spring Open Campus and absolutely fell in love with it. I'm really excited to be a part of Wellesley.

jacinth_ambrose

wannabeivy, while students do take 5 courses a semester, the vast majority of students will take 4. 5 courses are a lot of work, and usually you'll find that students who are taking 5 have something that makes it a little easier - for example one of the classes might meet once a week, not the usual two, or it's a thesis or independent studies credit.

If you take 4 classes every semester and graduate with 32 credits, you are not a slacker!!!! You need to take at least 3 classes to be considered a full time student. Many students will try and plan out their courses so they only have to take 3 classes their last semester as a senior - it helps!

Be warned: if you're a science major, taking 5 classes a semester = major suckage because of the amount of class time/work involved.

As for the Wellesley network, it definitely works, and you definitely want to be a part of it.

Diplomat

Ok, I have not so much a question but a critique. I was accepted at Smith, Wellesley and MHC. I am choosing MHC, but I want to share a short story: when I had an interview at Wellesley, there was this student from Eastern Europe who was applying as a transfer student as well. She had a 3.85 GPA at her community college and had completed 74 credits. She had been in USA for 3 years, during this time she was physically abused by a family member and could not leave because then she would lose her education. She had attended a private high school in her home country, based on the British sytem, with 14 classes a semester and with lectures from Cambridge and Oxford University-the only problem she had was that she had Cs in Math, Physics and Chemistry-but these were not just A-level high school classes, they were classes that were taken by grad students in Oxford. As EC activities she had worked with war refuges, taught ESL to 138 students, worked with victims of female trafficking (sex slaves), worked with victims of domestic abuse, two internships, Red Cross, survived a civil war, witnessed a girl kill herself because of gender discrimination etc. I thought that I was never going to have a chance of being accepted at Wellesley with this brilliant young woman applying there. Guess what: Wellesley did NOT accept her. She is going to attend MHC in the fall. This says a lot about Wellesley: what diversity do they talk about? What emancipation of women do they dream? Who are these women who are going to change the world according to them (women who have never known what suffering is, or women like her who know what it means)? The fact that she was not accepted (and therefore her wit and strength were not cherished) shows a lot what Wellesley really is.

ringer05

Which is? (And I do mean that in a non-confrontational sense! I'm interested in hearing your conclusions based on this interaction.)

Diplomat

Very easy: Wellesley does not advocate diversity as much as it likes us to believe; Wellesley is not open for every deserving,brilliant woman who is REALLY going to make a difference in the world so in other words, Wellesley is...snob. And I am sorry to say this but when I attended classes there, Wellesley women were somehow intolerant for individuals who are outside of their clubs (wealthy, white, legacies). Probably I found this in the only two classes that I attended, while the general atmosphere may not be like this. Please tell me, don't you think that she deserved to be accepted? I have achieved less accomplishments than her and I was accepted (oh yeah, I did NOT apply for financial aid, while she DID). And please forgive my limited vocab; English is my fourth language and I am not very fluent.

ringer05

I don't know. "Deserve" is a tricky word, implying varying degrees of entitlement, and there's also the difficulty of measuring a person's viability for admissions based on someone else's report. As with my earlier question, I mean this with all respect and candor!

Only the admissions committee (and possibly the student) can know for sure, but it's reasonable to guess that this is one answer to your question about how she could have been rejected. International students, unfortunately, aren't admitted under the need-blind policy, and there are only so many funds available--funds that were probably already earmarked for other international students. A lot of students (Wellesley students, too) don't understand that having a large endowment doesn't equal near-endless funds for any purpose. Gifts to the college often come with constraints, and the basic operating costs of the campus far exceed the total cost of attendance that is passed along to the students. It would be ideal to offer extra aid to any and all deserving students, but (especially with international students), the available funds only go so far.

I would argue that the Wellesley is not as snobby as you see it, but perhaps that's best left for a different message.

dysdad

Are roomates matched up with deliberation or are they matched randomly? I heard both versions from alumnae at a reception for accepted students.

ringer05

Most of the time, at least some attempt is made to match roommates up according to living preferences, but that doesn't mean it'll make sense to you There are, of course, stories about how the person making the matches one year was leaving and angry, and all of the first-year Sarahs were put in the same (very small) dorm. Normally, the rooming is made with some attention to the details.

elmtree723

I plan on majoring in econ, maybe a minor in sociology, so how much homework is there on schoolnights? Weekends?

Do you find that there's enough free time to go into Boston for a full Saturday each week?

I'm more of a social sciences/math person and not really into English/Literature or really reading novels in general (although some books I really love). Is it hard to keep up in lit classes and how many of those do I have to take? Am I in the minority in terms of Englishphobia?