Is there something on community about it?
I want to know how easy or hard it is and what kind of students decide to leave Wellesley for another school... What is the process? What schools do our Wendys usually get transferred to? How many leave after the first year?
To answer your last question, according to random google results, cross-checked with other random google results, the retention rate for Wellesley is 95%, so 5% of freshmen leave the first year.
Wannabeivy, you're still applying to Wellesley, right?
I know of somebody on CC who transferred from Wellesley to Pomona College...she said that the social life just didn't work for her. Maybe if you check out the Pomona forum you can find some of my old posts and they mentioned that there.
The retention rate includes everyone who doesn't return at the start of sophomore year, including people who are on leave for whatever reason. It's not just ppl who transfer.
I personally knew two people who transferred away after the first year--one to USC and one to Wesleyan. Neither was much of a surprise to me, ie if I had to pick out people who were probably not going to be happy at Wellesley I would have included them (that's not to say that there is anything wrong with them or Wellesley, just that it was apparent to me that they and the school were not a great fit).
Who transfers away? Generally people who don't like the social aspects of Wellesley, although I am sure there are a smattering of reasons.
How hard is it/what's the process? It's the same as it is at any school. If you're really interested in the topic, CC has a transfer forum that would give you most/all the pertinent information. If your question is, "Will the administration (deans, etc.) try to get me to stay?" I can tell you that the answer is a resounding no. Not that the deans want to drive students away, but from my observations of one of the girls who transferred away, I know that they very politely did not regard it as their business to try to convince her to stay.
I think I might know of the person who transferred to USC through a friend who was sorry to see her go. Among other things, she hated the winters in MA.
I know/know of people who thought about transferring and even applied, and didn't end up leaving, and I just assume that they decided that they could make Wellesley work, not that they were unable to get in at the schools that they applied to. That said, while I don't think one needs to keep thoughts about transferring a big secret, there is something to be said for not trumpeting the fact that you are desperate to leave to every person you meet, as some of us actually like it here and don't *really* need to listen to your rant about how much Wellesley and Wellesley students in general suck. Good rule of thumb is to keep it to yourself and your friends, I think.
ya very true it does depend on the person. i guess i didnt enjoy the the all women environment, the weather (i'm from california) and the social life was not stimulating enough for me. but wellesley is a great college and i LOVED my professors there. they are all so helpful and approachable i really enjoyed taking classes. i'm sure you will enjoy wellesley. one piece of advice that i offer is go out to boston, cambridge or anywhere off campus as much as you can. wellesley can be isolating at times so it helps to get off campus. best of luck next year and i'm sure you'll have a great time there.
I don't think it's too difficult for Wellesley students to transfer. I think definitely a higher percentage talk about transferring, esp. with regards to the social life at Wellesley, but not as many as you think would have.
From people I know/my year, Wellesley women have transferred to Northwestern, Columbia, and Cornell.
Thank you for all of your input. It certainly helped. I just wanted to know what my options were since Wellesley is a drastically different experience for everyone . But I think going into another school as a transfer would be difficult...the application process certainly would be...and that means you have to have STELLAR gpa first-year and I don't know if I can make that.
But question: why/how do wellesley transfers get into such good schools? How many leave per year? (among first-years) and why is there no stat about this on wellesley website?
well wellelsey transfers get into good schools because they are very smart women who have a lot to offer to other schools. also, wellesley is a really good college and other schools know that it is hard to be accepted into the school and even harder to get good grades. so it is definitely an advantage for you to be transferring from wellesley rather than some random school that most people have never heard of.
