noranda82

Hello,

I haven't seen any questions regarding the Davis Degree Program and was wondering if anyone had any experience with it.

I'm actually currently on the wait list for this program and was told to take a foreign language course with a B grade or better by the end of June to be considered for admittance. I am in the process of doing this right now. Does anyone know what kind of odds I have in getting accepted once I send over my transcript?

Regarding the Davis Degree Program, I'm assuming there are dorms set aside for these ladies and the occupants would be allowed to stay year round? I am 26 and living on my own in California and support myself. How hard is it for a "non-traditional aged" woman to settle in to Wellesley? Since I will be supporting myself, does the campus offer part-time jobs? Will I be required to vacate my dorm during Christmas and summer? I don't have any family to go "home" to so are exceptions made in this case? I will essentially be living on campus for the next 4 years. Are vehicles allowed? I am still debating whether to fly or drive (3000 miles!). Oh and if I fly, what are the essentials to bring with me?

So many questions I know, but you ladies are so helpful. I sure do hope I will be able to attend in the fall!

advantagious

I am definitely not the expert on the Davis program, but I can answer a few questions. One, Wellesley definitely does have year-round dorms for Davis scholars. However, spaces are limited and to get in year-round housing you must have quote "NO OTHER OPTIONS FOR HOUSING". I don't know how hard it is to get that housing; according to the website you would be getting third (out of five) priority, first going to those with medical needs and second going towards continuing Davis scholars. I am not sure what you mean with "how hard is it for a non-traditional age student to settle in Wellesley" but I assume you mean housing. Housing (and everything in general) in Wellesley is pretty pricey. Although some students do live off campus in Wellesley, most who live off-campus live in Cambridge, I think. If you are really worried about being put into 9 month housing, be aware that summer housing is available at Wellesley for all students, including Davis Scholars (although it would be less convenient than year-round housing, since you'd have to move out of your room and move back in). I found all of these answers by going to the Davis scholar page and looking under housing:

Wellesley College, Nontraditional Student Website: Davis Degree Program

Cars are allowed for all students except for first-years; it is not clear if "first year" Davis Scholars would be allowed to have their cars but I would guess that they are (especially since class year status for Davis scholars is much more malleable).

We definitely do have on-campus jobs, although I am not sure what the policy for Davis Scholars is. I will say that if you do need a job and couldn't find one on-campus, you would probably be able to find one within pretty easy walking distance of campus (10-20 minutes) in the town of Wellesley, working at Starbucks or a shoe or clothing store or something.

I hope this helped some! Feel free to call the admissions office to get more clarification.

noranda82

advantagious: Thank you so much!

"Cars are allowed for all students except for first-years; it is not clear if "first year" Davis Scholars would be allowed to have their cars but I would guess that they are (especially since class year status for Davis scholars is much more malleable)."

Just a quick clarification: What do you mean by "class year status for Davis scholars is much more malleable?" Also, regarding housing, how soon after receiving word of acceptance would I find out what my housing arrangements will be?

Thanks again!

advantagious

Sorry; that was a little confusing. Davis scholars' class years are dependent on how many credits they are coming in with and have completed at any one point in time. So while new Davis Scholars last school year and myself were entering Wellesley at the same time, a given Davis Scholar might really be have Sophomore or Junior status instead of first year status like me. And because commuting Davis Scholars do not have to complete the same number of courses as traditional students, it is possible that a they might not make a year's worth of progress every year (for example, a commuting Davis Scholar may take only 2 courses a semester, so after one school year they would really only have made the equivalent of 1/8 progress on their degree, instead of the traditional 1/4 progress). Davis Scholar are not listed as "Class of 2011" but as "Sophomore Davis Scholar" (or whatever). Because of this small quirk, and the nature of Davis Scholars in general, I am not quite sure how Davis Scholars are counted with regards to parking but I would guess that all Davis Scholars would be allowed to keep a car on campus. Especially because it appears that Davis Scholars are very likely to come into Wellesley with college credits and thus really wouldn't be considered First Years anyways.

It says that housing office will mail rooming assignments to new Davis Scholars in early August (and will not give out such information over the phone).

EDIT: A quick perusal of the college directory suggests to me that there are no "First-Year" Davis Scholars, so I would guess that the whole parking thing is moot. Would be easier if they addressed it directly, though!

noranda82

Ahah, that makes a lot more sense. Thank you for clearing that up! I believe I only have 15 or so credits coming in, so I might still be qualified as first year. However if I am accepted, I will give admissions a call to get a definite answer on the car issue.

Since you're so helpful, perhaps you may be able to answer a few questions I had regarding financial aid. I know Wellesley has one of the best financial aid programs around, but I'm a little unclear how it works. I've completed all the necessary steps and will just wait and see if/when I get accepted, but I read on the website that Wellesley has eliminated all loans for families with income under $60k/yr. This is a bit confusing to me. Does this mean if your combined family (or in my case just me since I am independent) grossed less than $60k last year that Wellesley will cover the entire cost? I'm sure this is something I should be asking directly to the financial aid department, but I thought I should wait until I know for sure if I am attending in the fall.

Thanks again. This forum is great!

PennsylvaniaDad

My daugter, who will be starting at Wellesley in the fall, has never been particularly fond of laptops. Is it possible to get by with a desktop computer at Wellesley? Do many (any?) students use desktops?

ringer05

Desktops are just fine! All of my closest friends had desktops, and they managed without any trouble. If your family lives far from Wellesley, the laptop's portability is an advantage--there's no worry about shipping or storing it--but a desktop won't be a hindrance in any other respect. There are plenty of computer clusters on campus if your daughter wants to leave her dorm room to work on assignments.

rev09

Most students use laptops, but plenty of people take advantage of the desktops available at the computer labs in the libraries, res halls, science center, and Pendleton Hall. I prefer to do work on a desktop, but I own a laptop for the portability -- because taking a break from having to do work in an academic setting is refreshing. My compromise is having an external keyboard and full size mouse that I plug into my laptop when I return to my room. I have a "desktop" most of the time, but a laptop when I need it. Another option that I'm thinking about doing for next year is buying an external display. If storage isn't a problem (e.g. you're planning on driving to Wellesley) then this may be another idea to consider. However, getting back to your original question, I know of only one friend who has a desktop... but she also owns/uses a laptop.

FemmeFatale

I have a desktop on campus that I brought from California and there are pros and cons. Storage is an issue, but I usually just pop out my hard drives when I go home and make arrangements for the case and monitor. Also working on projects in groups can be sort of difficult because of portability issues.

For the most part, it is not too big of a deal. There is the benefit of being able to walk away from the distractions when you need to study or you need to pay attention in class.

WendyMouse

I have a laptop, but make large use of public computers. In fact, I'm using one right now! In that respect, I could probably get by with a desktop, but I've liked the fact that I could take my macbook on plane trips that I took during the school year, both research and grad school related. I think the big problem with desktops is that they eat up most of your desk. With the laptop, you can clear off your desk if you really want to use it for something other than websurfing.

Two people who started college at another school, my sister and a HS friend, both started school with desktops and bought a laptop by their senior year. To be fair, I bought a macbook after five semesters at Wellesley (I'd bought the HP machine December of my senior year in high school) because it wasn't terribly portable, and I wanted to take advantage of the mac's Unix roots (I did not know I would ever care about Unix when buying my first laptop).

jacinth_ambrose

noranda,

Yes, I'd definitely suggest calling and speaking with the financial aid office directly because they'd be able to give you information specific to your situation.

That said, the new finaid policy eliminates *student* loan from financial aid packages. EFC (expected family contribution) is still calculated according to all the information that was provided on all those documents. Depending on how much that EFC is, families might still take out loans to cover it. Now, as a Davis Scholar and an independent, I'm not sure how the EFC is calculated or if it's applicable in your situation. Best to call the office and make sure. But just wanted to clarify that Wellesley's finaid policy (and most of the new finaid policies announced at other schools) *don't* automatically eliminate the parental/family contribution to pay for school. It eliminates the part of the package that would have been *student* loan and replaced with grant money. Also, the $60K isn't just based on income, but includes certain assets as well.

dai17yi

sorry if this question was asked already since i didn't really read through all the posts.
But IF i'm accepted to Wellesley and all that.
Is there any off-campus housings that i can take up?
Renting, for example, an apartment complex or something?
or is that forbidden?

if it's allowed, would that be practical?

ringer05

There isn't much off-campus housing around the college. There are sometimes ads on Craigslist for people renting out rooms in their private homes, but there are very few real apartments. If you have a car (enabling you to live in a nearby suburb) or you're willing to commute from Cambridge (where the hourly, free bus to campus runs every weekday) or places with easy transportation to the commuter rail or to Cambridge, then living off campus is a little more feasible. Still, you miss out on most of campus life, and it's a tiring daily commute. Housing is also quite expensive around Wellesley, especially if you want your own space (rather than living in someone else's house).

I'm not sure what the policy is for first-years and living on campus, but I would strongly recommend staying on campus. Accommodations are convenient, and the sense of community is far superior to anything you would find in the wider Wellesley area.

dai17yi

okay, thank you.
then i'm guessing the "borad of dorms" decide and match up people for dorms?

ringer05

Yes, the Office of Residential Life goes through housing applications and matches students. By and large, the process works very well.