A Really Long List of FAQs

Hello readers :).

I have to say, I’m a little stumped for a topic this week. Class ends next Tuesday, so Wellesley students are in full-blown academic mode, plugging away at everything that’s due before finals period. Not that this is a bad thing at all—it just makes blog posts a little boring. For example, I personally don’t have much to tell you unless you desperately want to hear about line integrals :).

SOOOooo, because I’m partial to keeping my integrals to myself, I looked around online for questions I could answer. It was harder than I thought (there aren’t many “common high school students’ questions for college students”) (or perhaps my Google searching needs work :)) but I did find some general lists of questions to ask when students go on college visits. I’d love if some of you would post questions I could answer next week, but these definitely aren’t bad, so I’m just going to launch myself in. Hope it’s helpful

The first type of questions concerns academics. (Note, most of these questions are from here and here.) Here we go!

Academics

• How much time do students typically spend on homework?

Ooh, what a nice first question :). The amount of time depends pretty wildly on who you are and what your major is. The rule of thumb is that each class is expected to take around 11 hours per week. It doesn’t actually quite work like that in most classes— I know I spend a fair amount of time on homework every week (it definitely depends on the class) but then I pour time in when testing comes around. Some classes take a lot more time than others, and the format is different: humanities classes are heavy on the reading, and you write essays; science classes assign problem-sets, and you are tested. Science classes often have labs associated with them as well, and those classes don’t conform very well to the 11 hour rule :). But what you’re really wondering, I’m sure, is whether it’s equivalent to what you’re doing in high school—and though that depends on your high school, the crux is that college is a lot of work (but work that you like!) and manageable :).

• How much writing and reading are expected?

Definitely depends on the class. If you’re a humanities or social science major, I’d recommend learning how to skim (I’m not very good at it). If you’re a science major, yay reading textbooks! One thing that I found unusual about college is that they don’t actually teach you to write. They expect you to know how to write, and then you get better with practice and professors’ comments :).

• What is the average class size of introductory classes?

Small :). You can look up the exact statistics online, but I’ve never been in a class of more than 32 students. And my lab sections (where you really get to know people) are always less than 16. Several of my classes have been capped at 12 people, and I took a 300-level course last year with only eight.

• How widely used are teaching assistants on your campus?

Wellesley doesn’t use teaching assistants :). All of our classes are taught by professors!

• What is the average class size of upper-division courses?

I’m going to say eight to twelve.

• How available are the professors to the students?

This is a major reason to come to Wellesley—they are available all the time. They hold office hours, they schedule appointments with you… I’ve never had a class when I’m not able to get ahold of the professor for private meetings every two weeks, and that was my busiest professor!

• How are classes scheduled?

Each of our classes is 70 minutes long. They start at 8:30am, 9:40am, 11:10am, 1:30pm, and 2:50pm. Labs are 3.5 hours long, and are scheduled in the afternoon, starting at 12:30pm or 1:30pm. Seminars (up to 3 hours) are also usually in the afternoon.

• Are there academic advising and counseling services available to students?

You betcha. (Man, I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say that in years.) In terms of academics, you’re assigned a faculty advisor your first year, then can go choose a major advisor your sophomore year. It doesn’t actually matter who your major advisor is—they need to sign the forms, but you can really talk to whatever professor you want. I talk a lot to Professor Hildreth and Professor Higgins, and neither of them is in my department :). Also, I know Tiffany doesn’t usually go to professors for advice—she goes to the CWS (Center for Work and Service), and we both go to the Class Dean occasionally. Pre-med students also have their own advisor. And of course everyone talks about academics with their friends, especially upperclasswomen.

• Is there academic peer support for classes?

I love our peer networks so much :). Some of our classes have associated “Supplementary Instruction” (SI) sessions, in which a Wellesley student who’s already taken the class holds one-hour optional group tutoring sessions twice a week. SI is an official program run through the PLTC (Pforzheimer Teaching and Learning Center), and SIs receive a nice salary for their work. My SI for Math 205 this year is Sam, and I can’t rave enough about her—she brings in worksheets for us to complete, and then answers any questions we have from class or homework. Plus, SI tutors are outfitted with chocolate for their students, as if we needed any additional incentive to do math problems :).

In addition to SI sessions, we can request individual group tutors from the PLTC, and there are also Math/Physics/Chemistry Help Rooms held for two hours, four times a week in the science center. Plus, professor office hours are hubs for group work, professors sometimes schedule group work sessions, and professors themselves are available to help.

Guess who’s going to be one of the CS 112 (Matlab) group tutors next semester :). I’m so excited—I’ve never done group tutoring before, but I love individual tutoring, and Matlab is near and dear to my heart :).

One of the websites called this next section “Academics Perks.” I don’t know how accurate that is, but we’ll roll with it :).

Academic Perks

• What opportunities are there for undergraduate research?

Heh heh. LOTS. I have been in three different labs so far, and have learned so much from each of them. I’m also planning to go to graduate school in neuroscience, and feel my Wellesley research experiences have very much prepared me for doing so. What’s fantastic about Wellesley research is that the professors really want to get undergraduates involved (since we have no graduate students), so students are able to engage in the science in a way that it’s harder to do at larger research universities. I wanted to let you know that I am happily back in Bevil Conway’s lab as of last Wednesday, and if you have any questions about that journey (one of my greatest learning experiences yet) or about research in general, I’m always happy to share what I know :).

• How many students participate in undergraduate research?

I don’t know, but I think that most of the pre-med students have done at least a year and the pre-grad students (there’s not many of us) have of course all participated. A lot of Wellesley students do research on campus, but I know lots of other who do research at MIT, or MGH, or hospitals. The amount of opportunities and research people are engaged in is quite amazing :). (This is only in science research, of course—there is research in the humanities and social sciences, but I just don’t know much about it.)

• Is there a culminating senior year experience?

Like a thesis? Some of us do theses—it’s a smaller number than I originally thought. I haven’t decided if I want to do one yet, but if I do, I’ll definitely let you know how the process is :).

• Do you have an honors college?

Nope. I think the whole school is an honors college :). Wellesley’s a small liberal arts college (around 2600 students), so I definitely recognize most of the people in the science center and sports center, but I don’t recognize a lot of people on campus.

• Do you have a learning community or other freshman experience?

First-year mentor groups! I still have at least one friend from that first orientation week group. Mostly though, your friends are the ones in your clubs and from class :).

Facilities

• How many computers/computer labs are there? Are they up-to-date?

Computers are clustered in the libraries, and we have plenty. I’ve never tried to use a computer and not been able to find an open one. We have PCs, Macs, a technology support group at the Clapp library, computers that you can rent out, video cameras you can rent out, a computer help desk, what have you. Wellesley’s good with technology :).

• What is the quality of the library and research facilities?

I’m pleased with the research facilities; I’m pleased with the libraries. We have four libraries on campus: Clapp (our main library), Science (mine), Music, and Art. We also have access to most of the college libraries around the world via an interlibrary loan program, and the college buys access to most of the research papers I want. High quality all around :).

• What kind of health facilities and services does the college offer?

We have a Health Services facility—you can check out the details here :).

• Sports Facilities?

Our multipurpose gym is being rebuilt next semester as part of the Wellesley 2025 program! That said, I love our pool, there are even some ellipticals in the dorms, varsity sports are awesome, and gym classes are awesome :).

Financial Aid

You’re going to have to work this one out through the college—it’s all a mystery to me. What I do know is that the college meets full demonstrated need, and that I have been treated extremely kindly by financial aid throughout the time I’ve been here :).

Outside Opportunities

• How many students at the college get internships?

Again, lots. We apply to plenty, many offered through the CWS (Center for Work and Service) and many through outside groups. I know plenty of people working in hospitals, in research labs, in political and managerial positions in Boston… it’s hard to tell you more than what my friends are doing, but Wellesley puts you in a great position to apply and get accepted for internships.

• What percentage of students study abroad?

It’s near 50%. Wellesley really pushes languages and study abroad, and it shows :). We also have a great population of international students— I love how open-looking Wellesley is.

• —What type of career services do you have?

CWS! (Center for Work and Service).

Student Life

• What kind of dorm choices are there?

People are always so concerned with dorm choices online, but dorms really aren’t a big deal :). All of our dorms are very close to all of the buildings (the campus itself is only 15 minutes from one end to the other!), they all can be fun places to live, food isn’t more than a few minutes away if your dorm doesn’t have a dining hall, and there will be great people in all of them. You also get used to living in a dorm very quickly, and I think that’s where the confusion stems in terms of degree of importance in college and high school students minds. The biggest change for me was having a roommate, but even if you’re not friends with your roommate (I haven’t been friends with any of mine), as long as you respect each other, everything works out just fine :).

That said, we have a selection of dorms to choose from, and the atmosphere in each is somewhat unique. Once you’re a sophomore on campus and can pick which one you want to live in, ask around!

• What percentage of student live on campus?

Almost all of us! I think it’s something like 98%; not many people live off campus. The school provides guaranteed housing for all four years.

• Where do freshmen/sophomores/juniors/seniors live?

First years get placed in dorms with a roommate, or sometimes two. Sophomores pick their dorms through the lottery system, and also have roommates. Juniors get higher numbers in the lottery, and most get singles. Seniors have the highest numbers, and they get singles unless they want a double.

• What kind of meal plan is offered in the dorms? Do they provide menus for special diets (vegetarian, kosher, ethnic)?

We have five dining halls. Pomeroy is in the Quad, and is vegetarian and kosher. Tower serves Tower Complex, and is peanut-free. Bates and Stone-D serve East Side, and Lulu is in the campus center. We can go to any of these dining halls (I go to Pom in the morning, and Bates for lunch and dinner), and I often just go to whichever is closest :).

Moreover, if we’re talking about quality, I really like the food here :). There’s a good diversity, there’s as much as you like, and if you want to eat healthy, there’s healthy, and not healthy is here too :).

• How accessible are laundry facilities?

Every dorm has laundry machines in the basement. Friday nights, Saturday, and Sunday are popular, but if you do your homework on a Tuesday you won’t run into anyone :).

• Do most students go home on the weekend?

Nope. Most of us are from out of state.

• What percentage of the study body belongs to a sorority or fraternity?

A small percentage. Greek life is like a club here—one of many choices.

• What activities are offered to students?

Oh, there are all sorts of clubs available. Here’s a link; there’s an Activity Fair pretty soon after first years arrive on campus, and you can always join a club (they always want new members) whatever year you are.

• What percentage of the students are male/female?

Heehee :). I’m not up for this question today, but if someone asks me next week I’ll think about it again and give my opinion. The all-womens’ question is probably the most popular question Wellesley gets, and I think the fact that we are all-womens’ provides unique advantages and simultaneously is not very important on a daily basis.

• How diverse is the campus?

Very :). My Wellesley roommates for the summer were from Canada/China and Romania respectively. I have a friend from Ethiopia, I have local friends, I have first-generation friends…

• What percentage of the students are commuters?

Pretty much none. Almost all of us live on campus.

• What do students do for fun?

All sorts of things! Mostly we’re involved in our clubs, internships, school, and hanging out with friends.

• What varsity and intramural sports are on campus?

Yes yes yes! To both, and physical education classes as well. Check out the sports page online :).

• What kind of transportation is available on campus?

We have a bus going into Boston every hour (it’s free on weekdays), and a commuter rail (i.e. train) that also goes into Boston. Once you’re in Boston, there’s all sorts of public transportation from there, and you can always call a cab if you need to. We also have a disabilities van, that can sometimes drive students for free to doctor’s appointments!

• What kind of transportation is available to go home or to other cities?

You can get to New York from Boston in six hours, which I’ve done :). Seriously, not much is a problem once you’re in Boston.

•  Is it easy to get involved on campus?

Absolutely. Wellesley is an incredibly caring community—everyone wants you involved. And in terms of clubs: they’re always looking for new people, and will welcome you :).

•  Do people have cars on campus?

Not usually. Not many people even have bikes. Most people walk, since the campus is so small, and then take the bus into Boston and public transportation from there.

• How safe is the campus?

Wellesley is SAFE, man. I’m perfectly comfortable wandering around at 3 am in the morning, or leaving my stuff (including my computer!) at the Science Center and knowing it’ll still be there when I get back. Our Honor Code is amazing, the town is as safe as they come, and this is probably the most sheltered area I’ll ever live in again.

• Are there curfews in the dorms?

No. This is a thing? We have quiet hours, rules about bringing men into the dorms (they can move around within a floor without you, but have to be accompanied between floors), rules about pets (no dogs or cats, but smaller animals are fine in specific dorms), LOTS of quiet hours during finals period, and that’s about it. If you’re of age, alcohol is allowed in your room, but you can’t leave the door open, because then that becomes a public space.

Whew! So many questions. Again, I hope it’s helpful, and please drop me suggestions for what I can talk about next week. Next week will be better because it’s reading period, which means I have some holiday parties to go to (yay!) but my life is still going to be mostly studying :). I wish you the best of luck on your own work—I’m sure students the nation over are all a bit swamped.

Best to you all!

Monica