Wellesley College Top Questions

We have every kind of activity. Lectures, committees, cultural organizations, theater groups, dance teams (every kind of dance you can imagine),vocal groups, orchestras, societies, and more. Two of the three societies have houses on campus and they hold parties. The societies on campus form networks with Harvard and MIT fraternities.

What's nice about Wellesley is that there is every kind of woman there. On the weekends, there are sure to be some girls going into Boston to get wasted, some girls doing homework, and some girls watching movies and baking cookies. Anything goes. The dating scene is very dramatic in the gay crowd because the school is so small. For those girls interested in men, though, pickings are slim. It's only possible to find date-able guys through guy friends at other schools. If you don't have guy friends at other schools, you're sunk. Meeting guys at Wellesley parties is nearly impossible since they seem to attract the scum of the Earth. Oh, and some girls hit up craigslist and various dating sites in the most desperate of situations.

There needs to be more on campus and off campus activities to promote happiness in students.

If you are worried that there won't be anything to do... let me set the record straight. You're WRONG. My biggest mistake when I got here was figuring I would have SO much time on my hands. In high school, I was involved in a whole slew of activities - and you know why? Because homework in high school is a joke. Homework in college, however... that's a whole 'nother story. Anyway - not the place for that bit. I'm involved in the Wellesley Widows (dressed to kill since 1949 - check us out at www.wellesleywidows.com), which is one of 5 major a cappella groups on campus. The other 4 are the Tupelos, the Blue Notes, Awaken the Dawn (Christian a cappella), and a Wellesley-MIT group called the Toons. Also on campus are myriad instrumental groups, including the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra and the Chamber Music Society (which creates small chamber groups based on who auditions). If you play the tuba, will you come to Wellesley and play with me? I'm trying to start a brass quintet (I play the trumpet) but we have no tuba. That's my one problem with the music department - no tuba! How can this be?! Anyway, beyond that, there are a whole variety of groups focused on race (Ethos, for example - for the African American women of Wellesley), culture, language, party affiliation... you name it, we've probably got it. And if we don't, well, you can start it. Now, socially, Wellesley is kind of odd. We have huge parties every once in a while on campus that tons of people come to - but if you're straight and looking to make a connection, these parties are not really the place to do it. There are plenty of really nice guys, I'm sure! I only seem to find the ones that drunkenly take of their shirts and try to show off their pasty chests. Ok, I don't mean to creep you out - that was only once. The last party I went to, I had a great shouted conversation with a Harvard grad student. It can be done! It's tough though. The best thing to do is to make friends either with people at other colleges in the area, or make friends with people at Wellesley who have friends at other colleges in the area. Social life at Wellesley is, to quote a commonly used phrase here, "what you make of it". That said, there is plenty to do on a Saturday night that does not involve drinking. You can go into Boston and catch a concert, rent some movies with your friends, attend a cultural function on campus, play some board games... again: what you make of it.

Social Life... there isn't really one. you can have one, but it takes a lot more effort than it would at many schools. If you are a really hard worker and really am working for those A's-- having a social life is pretty difficult.

If I am awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I am studying like crazy! Partying is pretty big at Wellesley. There is usually an on-campus party every weekend but most girls like to go to parties at MIT frats or Harvard Finals Clubs. Not everyone goes out, some girls don't like partying and you can choose how often you want to party or how often you want to stay in. I suggest getting out of the Wellesley Bubble every once in awhile, but it doesn't have to be partying. There are a million things to do in Boston and on Saturdays there is a bus to the mall. Guest speakers bring a lot of people out. Plenty of big name speakers come here and the other schools in the area. It is amazing all of the people that you can meet and the things that they accomplish. We don't have sororities but we have societies that throw parties and host other activities. They all have themes like Art and Music, Literature, and Lecture.

As a person who does not like to go to wild parties, having many other social opportunities is very important to me. On a typical weekend, I enjoy going to theater productions on campus of which there are many throughout the year. I enjoy watching movies with my friends either in our rooms or watching the ones shown by the Film Society on Friday and Saturday evenings. There are also many cultural events that occur yearly such as Shruti Laya, the South Asian students cultural performance, and the Latina Cultural Show. There are many students who do not wish to party and as a result, there are so many options for us non-party people. There are sororities on campus but they do not dominate the social life. During the week there are multiple guest lectures a week that always seem so interesting and yet there is never enough time to go see all of the ones you wish you could see. Life on campus is very busy not only with school work but with extra curriculars and the various sports events on campus. It is wonderful to have to choose from so many events but at the same time I wish that I could attend so much more and support all of my friends who participate in these wonderful events.

What dating scene? If you're straight, go to Boston, study abroad, or have an internship if you want any sort of love life. If you're queer, the aforementioned places and Wellesley are good. Events are generally not popular. People are usually too busy with other work to do anything else. The annual Dyke Ball is always popular, though most of the other dances/parties at Wellesley are a bore. Don't party here, party elsewhere.

Studying tends to be the favorite occupation of many students, but there are also ALWAYS things going on on campus - lectures, shows, performances, movies, even parties. The community from residence hall to residence hall really varies, which can be hard, because students don't always get to live where they want to because of the lottery system. My closest friends are mostly people I met in the residence hall - although several of those I met through residence life, which is at least as much like being in an organization as living together, when you think about how you make friends. Maybe I'm just lame, but my favorite nights are the ones that we just hang out and talk... I've had a lot of 1am pizza, 3am cups of tea, and those are the talks that really make my experience here, because they cover everything - the personal, the academic, fears, hopes, aspirations, intellectual issues, books... I mean, I think that's what creates the strong bonds you see at the big campus events like commencement and convocation and Flower Sunday. Flower Sunday is one of my favorite days of the whole year. First year students are assigned "Big Sisters" and, though every hall has it's own variation, the gist is that the big sisters meet their little sisters for brunch and surprise them with flowers. Then everyone goes over to the chapel and there's a big, multi-faith (more spiritual than religious) ceremony with music and poetry and dancing and everyone being together... It's great to see everyone all dressed up, carrying flowers, and sometimes you'll see groups of six, seven, eight - whole families of Wellesley Sisters sitting together. A lot of music groups and sports teams do Big and Little sisters, too, so your initial sister isn't always the one that you stay most close to, but nearly all my friends have someone they regularly refer to as their Big Sister or Little Sister.

Wellesley is absolutely not a typical college experience. You can't wander down the hall to find a kegger. To have a typical social life, you have to make the effort to leave campus, which can be hard. Yet there are so many schools near Wellesley that there are enough boys to choose from. People don't usually go out on weeknights -- those are for homework. There are a million lectures, cultural events, shows, and low-key on-campus things to do. Our first year orientation was amazing -- I met some of my best friends there.