Swarthmore vs Wellesley vs Barnard (Best Fit)

zhydrogen
Sun, 06 Apr 2014 15:49:28 +0000

So these are my top three acceptances. Both Swarthmore and Wellesley have given me great aid while Barnard will be more of a strain on my family. This is my general impressions of each so far:

Swathmore is a PhD powerhouse for the social sciences, econ and law. My major interests are /very nebulous/ (abnormal psychology, children’s education, classical Latin, astronomy and so on) but I’m interested in pursuing a graduate degree and eventually finding a teaching/research position to settle into. Swarthmore’s also very social-justice oriented, with the Quaker background and all, but I worry that I’ll take too much of a shine towards PC-ness and lose touch with ‘normal’ society where it isn’t so great for job opportunities if you constantly talk about systemic oppression…

Wellesley has an intensely strong alumnae network and a fairly independent minded population of women, which bodes well for future social prospects. I’ve heard that isolation can be a bit of an issue because it’s not as close to Boston as the admissions team tries to make it seem. Although my highschool counselor seems convinced I fit the ‘powerhouse young lady’ vibe there, I do have reservations about fitting in. My currently highschool is a NE prep school and I’d experienced a fair bit of difficulty adjusting from sweatpants and sneakers to flats and a-line dresses my first two years. Now, I can get along passably with very feminine girls, but it takes a great deal of effort.

As for Barnard, I’ve seen a lot of conflicting information on the boards, so I was wondering if I someone could give me a sense of the average girl and daily life atmosphere?

I will be visiting these school later this month, so I was hoping I could get a good primer for these schools and ask some intelligent questions to whittle things down once I’m there.

Thank you very much!