@mellony Hey! I’m a first year at Wellesley, and I was actually looking into the program for a while. I’m a prospective CS major and was also considering taking economics. The problem for me was all the requirements that you actually needed to apply to MIT. I believe you have to apply your sophomore spring. I talked with someone who went through the Wellesley-MIT program, and she knew going into Wellesley that she wanted to do this program. I think this program is really tough if you don’t plan ahead and really know for sure what you want to do. You need MATH 115, 116, 205, PHYS 107, 108, CHEM 105, 205, and BISC 110 by the end of your three years at Wellesley. (The person at Wellesley did not finish all these requirements at Wellesley, but I think it’s really encouraged you do so. Also, the science classes will be obviously harder at MIT). Your application sophomore spring requires 3 recommendation letters, one of which should be from MIT. I think it’s really encouraged to take an MIT class first year, second semester, which is tough because you’re still adjusting to all of the workload. Also, the transportation to MIT takes at least 45 minutes each way, which takes up a lot of your time. I originally planned to take 6.01 (i think it’s an intro to EECS), but turns out you need to be co-registered in physics 2. I decided not to pursue this program because I didn’t like physics and chemistry enough to take all these classes, and there were so many other classes in Wellesley that I wanted to take. Also, I decided it’ll be more worth it for me to take CS at Wellesley and then possibly pursue a graduate degree later on.
Also, just to add, in your application you have to prove why you couldn’t just cross-register for classes. Like you have to uniquely prove that this dual degree is doing something that you could never do by going to Wellesley and taking some MIT/Babson/Olin classes.
This huge paragraph isn’t meant to deter you! I think if you’re interested, definitely reach out to Dean Alison Black, because she’s kinda the “expert” on the dual-degree program. I would make sure you know for sure this is what you want to do and you’ve researched enough before you decide to commit to this path! I love the Wellesley CS department so much. We call the faculty by their first name and everyone is honestly so supportive. You also have the opportunity to cross-register for MIT CS (or other) classes!
Sorry for the super long explanation. I hope that helped! Let me know if you have any other questions.