Wellesley is a small liberal arts women’s college 12 miles west of Boston. Founded in 1870 to provide an Ivy-caliber education to women, Wellesley continues in that mission today. Only those who have consistently identified and lived as women, regardless of gender assigned at birth, are eligible for admission, and the school identity as an institution for women runs deep. For many of Wellesley students, this makes the school a uniquely powerful place, and the alumnae community is known as one of the most powerful networks of women in the world. It also isn’t uniform, despite being single-gender. The campus is deeply diverse, with 40% of students identifying as students of color and 80 countries represented, and 52% of the admitted class of 2027 spoke a language other than English at home growing up. All this adds up to a special place, and lots of applicants agree. The acceptance rate is only 13%.
Once at Wellesley, students pursue intellectual and career-focused endeavors in tandem (and, yes, they often overlap). Over 90% of students do at least one internship while at Wellesley, and the college offers internship stipends of $4,000 so that finances aren’t a deciding factor in whether to pursue a career development opportunity. If this sounds amazing to you, you’ll also love to know that the admissions process is temporarily test optional — the policy may stick long-term, but that’s as yet unclear.
If you’re considering an all-women’s college, send us an email. We help students get into their dream schools.
The Wellesley supplement isn’t long, and it isn’t a typical “why us,” but it does require research and consideration before you start writing. Give yourself at least an hour to research and brainstorm before you try to start drafting up your response. Rushing into a supplement response is a recipe for one that falls flat or that feels generic. Giving yourself time to think drastically increases the opportunities you will have to come up with something both true to yourself and outside-of-the-box — so give yourself that time!
When choosing a college, you are choosing an intellectual community and a place where you believe that you can live, learn, and flourish. We know that there are more than 100 reasons to choose Wellesley, but it's a good place to start. Visit the Wellesley 100 and select two items that attract, inspire, or celebrate what you would bring to our community. Have fun! Use this opportunity to reflect personally on what items appeal to you most and why. (400 words)
This is the one and only question. It’s important, but it’s also important to have fun — and not only because they tell you to. Wellesley values creative thinkers with a positive outlook. They want glass half full, world full of potential, isn’t it awesome we’re alive and kicking kinda students, and this is your chance to be that, while also showing other sides of who you are in one awesome supplement. Start your brainstorming from the place of them wanting you to enjoy writing this. Open up space for playfulness tempered always by earnestness. Wellesley appreciates quirkiness, whimsy, and the ability to persevere through tough spots with determination and humor.
This doesn’t mean you need to be funny, though. In fact, trying to be funny is often a recipe for falling flat. Instead, aim for a positive earnestness that can see through the noise of life to the essence of what matters most — the dining hall options. We jest, but only a little.
The ‘easy’ way to answer this question would be to address each of the two points on the Wellesley 100 individually and in a straightforward manner. But remember how they wanted you to have fun, and where would be the fun in that?
The best way to approach this prompt isn’t the most straightforward way, but it is the most heartfelt way — through story. Using the lens of a story, you’ll be able to speak to the two points you choose without having to say something like, “and this is why I picked such-and-such a point.” If you have to write something like that to make it clear which points on the Wellesley 100 you are writing about, you should reassess your structure and approach for your supplement.
When it comes to which two points on the Wellesley 100 to pick, though, there really are no wrong answers. You could pick number 18, “traditions,” because you want to be part of a community with true depth and history, or #48, “The Calderwood Seminars in Public Writing,” because you want to do work that read and shared around the world. You could pick #92, “WZLY, 91.5 FM,” the campus student-run radio station, or #34, “24-Hour Shakes,” an annual event where the Shakespeare Society reading the complete works of William Shakespeare out loud over 24 hours.
So, again, there is no wrong answer. Only the right ones for you. Pick two that you are genuinely excited about, and tell your story.
Writing the Wellesley supplement is work, but it should be fun work. If you find yourself starting to stare at the page in frustration, pause and reset. You’ve got this.
If the Wellesley application has you stumped, send us an email. We help students craft acceptance-earning essays.