It’s that time of year again: college decisions. This year, Wellesley accepted 19 percent of applicants, according to the College’s announcement on March 21. As per the announcement, 57 percent are American students of color, and 19 percent are the first in their families to attend an institution of higher education. This year marked the largest pool of regular decision applicants in College history.
In an effort to account for economic inequality, Wellesley College offers free applications rather than charging the $70-90 application fee typically required by U.S. institutions. For some, this could mean the difference between applying and not.
“I applied to Wellesley for many reasons, but initially it was because it was a free application,” said Emma Sindoni Bonilla ’24. “If it hadn’t been for the free application, I may have never applied and essentially [been] accepted.”
Traditionally, the College holds Spring Open Campus (SOC) for admitted students to learn more about the school before making their final decisions. Like many other events, however, SOC — which was scheduled for April — was cancelled due to COVID-19. Instead, several upperclass students were asked to talk to underclass students about college life at Wellesley. A group of approximately 40 students have created a Google drive folder filled with images of the campus. They have created a spreadsheet with their contact information so that any prospective students can contact them with specific questions.
Another student, Nerissa Yiu ’23, posted pictures of the campus on her Instagram account @walkin.rnd.welles. for current and prospective students alike to get a better feel of the campus.
“Hopefully some of the class of ’24 will see some of my photography and next year when they’re on campus, they’ll tell themselves ‘I remember seeing that on Walking Around Wellesley!’” said Yiu.
This warm and welcoming attitude has had a very positive impact on incoming students.
“I’m looking forward to making life-long friends, trying things I’ve never tried before, and just enjoying my college years,” said Lana Honcharuk ’24. “I absolutely fell in love with Wellesley. I could feel the close-knit community even through my computer’s screen.”
Many upperclassmen students recognize that entering a new school can be daunting. For this reason, they have volunteered to offer advice to the new class.
Ada Eke ’23, an Orientation Coordinator in charge of planning the first week’s festivities in Fall 2020, describes college as “this [. . .] luminal space where you have to be okay with not having all the answers and moving forward anyway in the best way you know how.”
‘The people are the heart and soul of Wellesley,” Eke continued.
Other current students urge newly admitted students to start reaching out to upperclass students and learn about clubs and orgs across campus that may be of interest to them.
“If you’re worried about making friends, join an org,” said Andrea Michelle Covey ’23. “Orgs are a good way to help meet people with your interests and develop a spectrum of friends.”
Cheryl Wang ’23, an editor for this paper, suggested that, “. . . if you’re interested in any clubs or orgs, you should DM the e-boards or social media accounts! There’s a lot you can still do online even if you can’t be physically there on campus.”
The list of orgs at Wellesley can be found here.
Congratulations, Class of 2024! We look forward to having you on campus next year.