Smithgirl

I am a first-year at Smith College but I am starting to realize I should have looked at Wellesley a bit more. Though both of these are good colleges my reasons are as follows:

1) I love mock trial and Smith does not have a team but Wellesley does.

2) I did not receive aid of any kind and I feel that if I have to pay full sticker price I should go to the best college for my money and Wellesley is ranked quite a bit higher than Smith.

3) Wellesley is near Boston.

I did get wait-listed at Wellesley the first time I applied but I think that was due to my standardized test scores and essay both of which I would re-do for my transfer application. So my question is: is it worth it for me to transfer?

SmithieandProud

Well, if you don't think Smith is the right fit for you and wellesley would fit you better, there's nothing wrong with considering it. Though since you are just a first year, I would caution a little patience, at least see put your first semester before running for the hills. Also, think seriously about why you aren't happy at smith. Rather than be so concerned about rankings (which can be a little arbitrary, especially as smith has not participated in rankings in a while and even so, the gap is not that wide) think about the personal fit of the school. Do you feel like smith is challenging an supporting you academically? Are there other extracurrics you could try that, while not mock trial, could also be fun and expose you to something new? Do you think having Boston closer by would really make that much of a difference (ie are you unhappy because you feel isolated from urban life or is it something more?).

In the end, college is too expensive to be misrable, so if you thunk it through and you're still not satisfied, you should consider transfers

WendyMouse

Dude, you've been at Smith for two weeks.

As a Wellesley alum, I would love to say you get "more for your money" there and Wellesley is sooo much better and blah blah blah, but I have no basis for that. I know Smith has a lot of great stuff going on, and the ranking is irrelevant. While Wellesley has a mock trial team, I never really knew anyone on it, so for all I know, it's not that active. If you have decided you want to be an XXX major and Smith doesn't have a department for that, then you could consider transferring, but I don't think it's worth it for one extra-curricular and Boston (which is a good way of parting you from money you don't have).

Why not start a Mock Trial team at Smith?

RotatingWorld

I'm a Wellesley Grad '07 and I visited Smithies several times while I was a student. While I actually preferred Smith houses to our dorms and Northampton to the town of Wellesley by a LOT (I didn't get into Boston nearly as often as I thought I would), I know several girls who did mock trial and adored it. They were all smart, personable, and had great friendships through mock trial, so as an outsider, I thought it seemed fantastic. I would definitely talk to a current member if it's something that could seriously impact your social life and overall happiness.

I think your school is what you make it and rankings, while not irrelevant, are ultimately less important than the effort you put in to developing relationships with faculty and getting involved in departments and activities.

And Wellesley's financial aid was incredible for me - not sure if you'd do any better there, but it's worth exploring.