I am so happy that I have been admitted to both of my dream schools! I’ve been very indecisive about choosing one cause I love them both. Tuition is similar so it’s not one of my concerns. I want to major in Biology and Gender Studies, but it might change or expand. I don’t know if I want to go into industry or do academic research in the future, but I know I want to study something relates to women/human/body. I’m pretty open to everything and new possibilities, so I want to go to a school where it has many different types of resources and not just dedicated to one area.
Here are some of my thoughts:
Pros:
Georgetown:
Beautiful campus and neighborhood, I really enjoyed shopping and eating in Georgetown
Nice dorm
Nice weather
Hospital on campus, which means biology/medical research opportunities on campus
It seems that biology/premed is a popular major
DC is my favorite city
Bigger brand name than Wellesley, especially in Northeastern region
Easier access to internships in NGOs
Better K-pop club
Close to my girlfriend in Baltimore so wouldn’t be long distance anymore!
Wellesley:
The chance to experience an all women environment is once in a lifetime, and I think I would love that
Small seminar classes similar to my high school. I know I would do great academically in this setting and I love to talk to professors
People are very friendly and doing diverse things
Potential research opportunities in MIT (how accessible is that tho?)
Cross registration with MIT
Boston is THE PLACE for biomedical research
Alumn network
Close to ski resorts (yeah!)
Cons:
Georgetown:
Very preppy, but I don’t mind that much because my high school is also preppy.
I’m worried about if everyone in Georgetown is aiming for banking/consulting/prelaw, I don’t like to be in a very competitive and pre-professional environment.
Is Georgetown only famous for its government/IR majors and econs? Does it make sense to go there for bio and gender studies?
Less research opportunities for undergraduates in a big university?
Don’t like to be surrounded by finance bro
Wellesley:
It’s not in the city (40 minutes to Boston) and I am a huge city person.
Really cold in the winter
Dorm is really really small and old
Minimum food options other than dining halls
I’m worried about Wellesley’s financial situation and how could that impact student (teacher strike in 2025)
I heard from alumni that there isn’t much research opportunities at school
Commute to MIT is not the easiest and I don’t want another school to be the reason to commit
I talked to many students there but I still don’t know what I value the most. I only have a week to decide now so please I need some advice and thanks advanced for all the comments!!!
You have done a good job of isolating your personal pros and cons. This is a case where two reasonable people could make two different choices. Go with your gut and once you make a decision, never look back.
MANY years ago I did the cross-registration in the other direction, taking a couple of classes at Wellesley College as an MIT student. To me this seemed to work quite well. The bus is convenient. It does take some time to travel back and forth, but provides a break in the middle of the day where you can either study or just chill. MIT classes do tend to be academically demanding, so just be ready for this.
Yes. There is definitely a lot of biomedical research in the Boston area.
Wachusetts is a bit over an hour from Wellesley College. This assumes that either you have a car or can car pool with someone. Apparently the ski club goes slightly further to Croched Mountain in NH. Nashoba Valley ski area is a bit closer, but is quite a bit less of a mountain (it is a good place for children to learn because if they forget to turn they can most likely get to the bottom without dying). There is also a nordic ski club (which we call cross-country, unless you ski jump).
Wellesley College is pretty well respected up here in the northeast. I think that these two schools are pretty even on reputation (at least in my mind). I do not know to what extent biomedical research companies in the Boston area would be hiring interns right now (biomedical research funding is a bit tight right now) but biomedical companies in New England will know how excellent Wellesley College is.
To me it sounds like you have two very good options.
Congrats to you. The first thing I thought was - wow, these are very different choices and any two people could make a different choice - and be right.
Let’s look at a few of your thoughts:
You love shopping at Gtown - yes, it’s a great area and if that’s the kind of thing you’d love to do in down time to blow off steam - then great. It’s in many ways - unmatched.
Hospital on campus does not mean you’ll have access to research opportunities. But at most schools, kids that want to do research can - but not necessarily at a specific, targeted place. Are you, for example, in the School of Health, which might be more aligned. I have no doubt you can have similar opportunities at Wellesley.
There are internships all over - and if you went to Wellesley, and wanted to be in DC, they have a DC summer program but most schools, if they don’t have a DC semester, have an arrangement with AU - where you can study and intern.
Close to your girlfriend - so this is interesting and I don’t know the situation - like have you ever met, etc. or what’s that like. But for both of you, do you want to leave campus each weekend or occasional and siphon off life? If you are however long the train ride is from Boston to Baltimore, is that doable or the less than an hour from DC is ground breaking?
Class sizes - is Georgetown worse? According to the common data set, 64% are 19 or less. At Wellesley, it’s 331 of 496 or 66% - so not really a difference. And you’ll be able to talk to professors at any school - if you take the initiative.
If you think Boston is close to ski resorts- when I could make the same claim with DC and Snow Shoe - hmmmm - Salt Lake City is close to ski resorts. Not Boston!!
There is no question that Gtown will have a business school cohort. And many wanting to be in politics. And there is a large grad school population. There is also a core that will include classes associated with theology and there will be religious symbolism on campus - if that bothers you.
And given your degrees - I don’t know your desired outcomes - but sounds like grad school is in the offing.
One never knows if they’ll like or not like a school when they show up at day one. Or - many could like - many schools - meaning there’s no wrong choice here for you.
When I first read your post, I thought W - but that’s because I read it from a better academic fit for you - but you talk about things like shopping and K-Pop and a girlfriend close by - and all those things can matter too.
I think brand name is irrelevant - and if anything, Gtown brand name in the sciences would be diminished - just not what they’re known for. But I wouldn’t let brand name or alumni impact my decision. Two men are responsible for Georgetown’s national brand name - in my opinion. Look up Patrick Ewing and John Thompson.
So this may not be that helpful, but I would not worry about Wellesley’s brand name (people who will actually matter to you think of it very highly), nor doing something non-political at Georgetown (for undergrad purposes it is excellent all around).
What I would suggest you do is look carefully at possible four year curriculum plans at each school. Georgetown in particular has a pretty extensive general education program structured as a two-tier core, the first tier for all undergrads and the second by undergrad school. This is great for some people, but others might prefer more flexibility. Wellesley has a more common and looser distributional requirement system.
Congratulations on two outstanding choices!
There is really no “wrong” choice here and you summarized pros and cons very well. It also sounds like you visited and like both.
If both are equally affordable, go with your gut - don’t try to rationalize it, both are topnotch. Which are you most excited about?
on two outstanding choices! 
