Just when I thought I was done they pull me right back in. I got off the Wellesley waitlist yesterday and was absolutely speechless and floored. I have a previous post on my situation but long story short I am a non-traditional student. I got into Wellesley’s Davis Degree program. I plan to major in English and minor in Black studies. Wellesley’s COA is $12.5k vs UVA which is a full ride. Now here’s where I am having trouble with as it’s not so cut and dry for me. I have listed some pros and cons for each school and am hoping I can get some feedback. This is a very hard choice for me right now as Wellesley was one of my dream schools.
Wellesley Pros:
T5 LAC
$12,500 COA, health insurance is covered
Guaranteed housing
Near a major city
Can cross register at MIT and other institutions
Strong alumni network
Top law school feeder
Has small class sizes which I enjoyed from community college. Would be able to get great LORs
Small school, ~2,200 students
Historically women’s college
Part of the Davis Degree program for non-traditional students. Hopefully get some extra help and attention.
Great for English/Pre-law
Got my transfer credit evaluation and have finished most of the degree requirements
In New England, always wanted to go to school/live there
Wellesley Cons:
7.5 hours away from home. Mother is sick, would like to be able to get to her quickly
Courses are 4 credits, wouldn’t be able to take as many fun classes
Seems very academically rigorous, worried I would fall behind
Have imposter syndrome
Dumb con but I would hate telling people I go here and get blank stares back as opposed as when I tell people I’m going to UVA. I know the people who matter know what Wellesley is but I’d hate having to explain the school all the time
UVA Pros:
T25 University
Full ride
Strong black community. Have already connected with people.
Many clubs/organizations I’m excited for (fashion club, black pre-law club)
Strong alumni network
Close to home, ~2.5 hours. Mother is sick.
Top law school feeder
Great for English/Pre-law
Already planned my schedule and have some fun courses I’m excited to enroll in (a black education course, black horror movies, screenwriting)
Have close friends from my community college going too, won’t be alone when starting
UVA Cons:
Housing is not guaranteed
Large class sizes (already have a couple classes that have >120 students). Also have to do separate discussion meetings which takes up time in my day.
Big school
Huge Greek/Party life culture (although I plan to rush a black sorority)
Worried that because of it being a large school I won’t be able to stand out and would have to fight for opportunities
Have imposter syndrome
Have not received my transfer credit evaluation
Visited campus twice and disliked it, the vibes felt off and I felt I didn’t belong
I’m a UVA alum and I only had a few of those larger survey classes. They quickly transitioned to classes of 20-40 after my first year. I agree that competition for opportunities can be fierce, but you learn quickly to hedge your bets and apply to multiple opportunities knowing you might not make the cut at all of them.
However, this quote suggests that Wellesley is the better choice for you (if you can afford it and you feel comfortable with the distance from your mom). I’m a big believer that fit is tremendously important in choosing a college.
OP- congrats to you for having such fantastic choices!
Both sound like wonderful options. As someone who lived about 180 miles away from ill parents-- boy, that drive never gets easier. The planned visits- sure. Wake up early for the weekend with minimal traffic and a big bottle of iced tea. The emergency visits or the ones where you can hear in the nurse or aide’s voice, “Well if it’s a problem I’m sure we can manage”-- ugh. I don’t miss those. Driving in rush hour because that’s when they called; throwing a toothbrush and a change of clothes in the car because you weren’t sure when you were coming back; trying to use the time effectively by doing your “deep creative thinking” en route and knowing you were falling behind anyway. No, I don’t miss it.
So just keep in mind that you are only human and that the back and forth with a parent in poor health takes its toll even if you are the most well organized person on the planet.
Good luck with your decision- I don’t think you can go wrong intellectually or academically.
My understanding from another conversation is the additional cost would represent a substantial additional financial burden for your family going into possible law school.
Obviously correct that if I am wrong, but that combined with your Mom does seem to suggest UVA might be a better answer in your particular context (including because emergency trips from Boston to VA are possible but also potentially expensive). I agree your reaction to the campus is worrisome, but I feel like once you got going on classes, structured your social life as you see fit, and so on, the odds are in favor of all that fading. Whereas cost and travel differences are what they are.
Congrats on two top choices. Each represent the epiphany of the type of institution they represent.
But what jumps out to me in your pro/con list:
transfer credit at Wellsley. You may finish sooner there and save time (opportunity cost).
UVA: you don’t feel you belong. There may be multiple reasons and you will need to explore that more. You definitely do not want to end up somewhere you just don’t feel loved.
Yeah normally I am very in favor of listening to your gut instinct about vibe–if all else is basically equal.
But I have also witnessed a good number of cases where for whatever reason a person ends up feeling too far from home, and it can end up pretty dire. Like a lot of anxiety, stress, unhappiness, sometimes transfers, that sort of thing.
So given there are so many objectively great things about UVA anyway, and it costs substantially less too, this may be the sort of case where that feeling has to be trumped. Not necessarily, but I think that is what I would be inclined to do in these circumstances.
Two fantastic options. Very difficult choice. If all things were equal – which they’re not – I’d likely pick Wellesley because the community is extremely supportive, it is small so you would have the individual attention, it has a great track record for getting people into law school, and a strong black community. UVA also has a strong black community and a great track record so you’d be losing the small class size and individual attention by going there. However, in the current situation, you’d be gaining 12.5k a year (unless you end up having to pay for housing: if you do have to pay for housing, would cost be a wash?); a pre-established friend group; and your mom nearby which if you are the only one/main one helping, would tip the scale for me. I have travelled 7 hours to look after a sick sib when money was not tight and it was still very difficult to juggle, to lose all that time and feel all that stress of travel and being away, and I was not a student and could work remotely. I also felt guilty when I was not there so it’s not great. If you have other family who are close to your mom and able to help her on a daily basis, that concern would be less since she wouldn’t be relying on you for appointments etc. I think if there is a chance your mom is going to get worse, your friends from CC could also be valuable supports, and while you would make friends at Wellesley too, in tough times, old friends mean a lot. For me, in your circumstances, I’d pick UVA, which is a stellar option in any case, in any situation.
Can you afford Wellesley because this statement bothers me (about UVA). You have to be somewhere several years, day after day after day - so all the pros and cons are nice - but this says enough to me about UVA and I’d only go if I can’t afford Wellesley.
I would not worry about feeder to law school. They have smart kids - it’s why they feed. But you can go to a top law school from anywhere. Harvard, UVA, Penn, etc. have kids from hundreds of colleges - from Amherst to Youngstown State and everywhere in between.
The concentration at these schools will be higher because they have academically top kids to begin with - but I would not let that play in my decision.
Congratulations on not giving up hope and proving a wait list response isn’t a rejection. As a Seven Sister alum I would go Wellesley (assuming you can afford it) but both are great options.
I have not read the other responses yet. My initial response was Wellesley because an all-women educational program can be beneficial for many.
However, I think it is worth trying to speak to other Davis Scholars to be sure that the support you are looking for is there. To that end, the attached article may be of use.
I’m a mid-Atlantic turned New Englander and I’ve spent some time in the south. I love New England, but New Englanders are fairly reserved and I think there may be a cultural? social? adjustment. Perhaps there are others who can speak to that experience.
So while I started out thinking Wellesley, I’m leaning a bit toward UVA for the proximity to family and presence of a broad spectrum of students (economic, non-traditional, etc.).
How much sooner do you anticipate graduating at Wellesley due to the credit situation?
I’m thinking… even though Wellesley is $12.5k more expensive per year, over three years that’s $37.5k – call it $40k – you might be okay:
If you are working in year 4 with your Wellesley degree in hand, you probably will make at least that much, while at UVA you’d still be in school. So if the “years at school discrepancy” is at least one year in favor of Wellesley, I might actually consider Wellesley to be at a cost advantage. (assuming none or very little of that ~$40k is paid for using loans. If you are taking out loans, the comparison is a bit more complicated.)
I got off the Wellesley waitlist yesterday and was absolutely speechless and floored. I have a previous post on my situation but long story short I am a non-traditional student. I got into Wellesley’s Davis Degree program. I plan to major in English and minor in Black studies. Wellesley’s COA is $12.5k vs UVA which is a full ride. Now here’s where I am having trouble with as it’s not so cut and dry for me. I have listed some pros and cons for each school and am hoping I can get some feedback. This is a very hard choice for me right now as Wellesley was one of my dream schools.