Wellesley vs. Smith

Colleges & Universities Wellesley College
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<p>Hey all,
I am a prospective art major interested in both Smith and Wellesley. From the other posts on these boards, I’ve gathered that both are fabulous schools, though Wellesley is more pre-professional and Smith is more activist-y (with a lot more lesbians and trans students). I do have a couple of other questions comparing these two schools:

  1. As a potential art major, how is Wellesley’s program? I hear nothing but amazing things about Smith’s, but I can’t find any opinion on Wellesley’s. Their course listing looks impressive, though seems to be more focused on graphic art and new media. Also, is the Davis a good resource? Again, I hear so much about how fabulous the Smith Museum is, but little about the Davis.
  2. Location. Northampton seems like a cool town, but I would love to go to school near Boston, my favorite city in the world. Wellesley’s website seems to push the whole proximity to Boston thing, but on the map, Wellesley doesn’t seem THAT close to the city. Are students able to frequently head to Boston or Cambridge? The town of Wellesley seems pretty boring, and I wouldn’t want to be stuck there every weekend.
  3. Religious life. I know both schools are secular and very liberal (as I tend to be), but I would like to have some sort of small Catholic community I could connect with. I see that both schools have Newman Associations, but Smith’s lack of chaplains worries me. Can anyone comment on Wellesley’s Newman club?</p>
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<p>Any thoughts? Would this generate more responses on a different board?</p>

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<p>This is probably the right board, although you could also try the Women’s Colleges section under College Search & Selection.</p>

<p>I am a parent, not a student. My D has friends who are art majors at Wellesley, but I’m afraid I don’t know much about the department. I believe the Davis Museum is well regarded, but again, I don’t have any first-hand experience with it. Their website is:<br>
<a href=“https://www.davismuseum.wellesley.edu/[/url]”>https://www.davismuseum.wellesley.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>My D also has friends active in the Newman Association, but she is not Catholic.</p>

<p>Wellesley is somewhat isolated, but there is a bus that connects Wellesley with Boston. My D took a class at MIT last semester, and has many friends there, and probably went into Boston 3-4 times a week?</p>

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<p>Another parent of a Wellesley student here:</p>

<p>1- I haven’t heard anything about the Wellesley art department – you may want to contact a professor and see what s/he has to say.</p>

<p>2 - Northampton IS a very cool town, and Smith is right in the midst of it. Wellesley has a regular bus into Cambridge, which I believe takes about 45 minutes. The commuter rail station is about a 15 minute walk from campus, so that is another possibility for getting into Boston. My sense is that those who like to spend time in Boston have no difficulties finding their way into the city.</p>

<p>3 - Don’t know anything about the Catholic community at Wellesley, but I believe someone who posts frequently on the Smith forum, TheDad, has a daughter who was involved with the Catholic community at Smith. You may want to try and contact him.</p>

<p>Personally, I think Smith and Wellesley have very different vibes. If you can visit both schools, you will most likely quickly have a sense which is a better fit for you. (My daughter visited Smith, Mt. Holyoke and Wellesley – actually liked Mt. Holyoke better than Smith, and in the end applied ED to Wellesley and has been very happy with her choice.)</p>

<p>Editing to add: I wouldn’t call Wellesley “isolated” in comparison to Smith…</p>

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<p>Another parent here. My daughter took a studio art - drawing - class and enjoyed it. She said it was the entry-level course for the art department. She was impressed by the professor and by the other students in the class. That, of course, says nothing about the Department as a whole. I have seen the studio facilities and they’re quite extensive. Fendrock (as usual) gives you good advice about ways to get more information about the Department.</p>

<p>With respect to “isolation,” there’s a definitional thing here. Both campuses are vibrant, active communities. Smith is very close to downtown Northampton and is connected with the other four schools in the Valley by an extensive bus system. Getting to a big city, however, is a major undertaking. Wellesley is near a commercial part of the town, but there is not nearly as much going on there as there is in Northampton. Getting to Boston and Cambridge, however, is relatively easy. It requires some forethought to get to Boston, but everyone learns quickly how to do it efficiently. </p>

<p>Here’s a piece of wisdom I got from someone when I went to college: You’ll never be isolated if you have friends.</p>

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<p>Hi, artandbaseball! Wellesley and Smith are my first choices, too.</p>

<p>I’m also curious about the differences between the two. However, I’m mainly interested in how the two feel different. For instance, I often hear people say that Smith and Wellesley have different “vibes.” Would anyone care to expound on that?</p>

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<p>Here are two threads which discuss at length the differences between the Seven Sisters schools:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/909991-seven-sisters-question-asked-different-way.html?highlight=wellesley[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/909991-seven-sisters-question-asked-different-way.html?highlight=wellesley&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/906947-got-seven-sisters-choose.html?highlight=bryn+mawr[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/906947-got-seven-sisters-choose.html?highlight=bryn+mawr&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>For those who do not have the time or inclination to look through those threads, here are some observations. (I’ve edited a PM and a post from the time when my daughter was still looking at schools:</p>

<p>My response should be qualified by the fact that I have set foot on these campuses, and known some grads (especially for Wellesley), but have not taken the tours.</p>

<p>Smith - we know and love Northampton because we vacation nearby. I’ve always thought I should have attended Smith. It’s always impressed me as a place for smart, strong, offbeat women (although the only grad I’ve known - my generation - actually is not offbeat at all. She has her MBA from Wharton and had a hugely successful career at Fidelity Investments.)</p>

<p>My d visited Smith first. She attended a Philosophy class, was shown around by a crew team member. While waiting for her on campus, I saw quite a few Asian students. A lesbian couple sat entwined at the student center. There were plenty of people walking around although it was a very cold day at the end of January. The house system seems like a huge plus to me.</p>

<p>Wellesley - My SIL graduated from Wellesley. My daughter’s crew coach (whom she adores) is a Wellesley grad. My sense of Wellesley grads is that they tend to be quite driven and not very frivolous.</p>

<p>The students I saw on campus looked perhaps less alternative than at Smith. </p>

<p>D and I agreed that we have a feeling that Wellesley students are more ambitious, Smith are more in-your-face alternative (which for us is not necessarily a bad thing).</p>

<p>Wellesley is the most selective of the colleges (and, unlike Smith, requires SAT scores and subject tests - and actually they take these tests more strongly into consideration than another school of interest to my daughter, Wesleyan), so I think that influences the nature of the student body.</p>

<p>Another factor which highly colors the experience at the schools is the location. Wellesley is in a suburban Boston location, Smith is in a funky town. </p>

<p>When you are in Northampton, you are out in the country, out of the orbit of urban life.</p>

<p>Off campus socializing for Wellesley tends towards Boston and Cambridge, whereas from Smith you would head to Amherst if you wanted to mix with students from other schools. Amherst is a college town, on the same bus line as Northampton but probably 30 or 40 minutes away.</p>

<p>At Wellesley you can take classes at MIT, Babson and Olin; at Smith, you can take classes at UMass, Smith, Hampshire or Amherst.</p>

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<p>My D is a freshman at W along with fendrock’s D. We visited Wellesley, Smith, Mt H and Bryn Mawr; D’s top choices were W and Bryn Mawr. I agree completely with this observation. There is a real in-your-face sense at Smith and a more conventional sense at W. Whether that is a pro or a con is in the eye of the beholder. Both are, of course, excellent choices, but they do have different vibes.</p>

<p>I don’t personally see the appeal of Northampton; it just strikes me as a hippie enclave like many other hippie enclaves (yawn). But that appeals to many, and who am I to say that they are wrong?</p>