Wellesley College
Wellesley, Massachusetts | Admissions Phone: 781-283-2270
E-mail: admission@wellesley.edu | Website: www.wellesley.edu
ADMISSION
Admission Rate: 20%
Admission Rate - Men: Not Offered
Admission Rate - Women: 20%
EA Admission Rate: Not Offered
ED Admission Rate: 31%
Admission Rate (5-Year Trend): -10%
ED Admission Rate (5-Year Trend): -5%
% of Admits Attending (Yield): 47%
Transfer Admission Rate: 16%
# Offered Wait List: 1,909
# Accepted Wait List: 1,245
# Admitted Wait List: 36
SAT Reading/Writing (Middle 50%): 670-740
SAT Math (Middle 50%): 660-780
ACT Composite (Middle 50%): 30-34
Testing Policy: ACT/SAT Required
SAT Superscore: Yes
ACT Superscore: Yes
% Graduated in Top 10% of HS Class: 83%
% Graduated in Top 25% of HS Class: 96%
% Graduated in Top 50% of HS Class: 99%
ENROLLMENT
Total Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,534
% Part-Time: 6%
% Male: 2%
% Female: 98%
% Out-of-State: 86%
% Fraternity: Not Offered
% Sorority: Not Offered
% On-Campus (Freshman): 100%
% On-Campus (All Undergraduate): 97%
% African-American: 6%
% Asian: 21%
% Hispanic: 13%
% White: 36%
% Other: 6%
% Race or Ethnicity Unknown: 5%
% International: 14%
% Low-Income: 20%
ACADEMICS
Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 8:1
% of Classes Under 20: 67%
% of Classes Under 40: 99%
% Full-Time Faculty: 86%
% Full-Time Faculty w/ Terminal Degree: 93%
Top Programs
Area Studies
Chemistry
Computer Science
Economics
English
History
Neuroscience
Political Science
Retention Rate: 96%
4-Year Graduation Rate: 84%
6-Year Graduation Rate: 92%
Curricular Flexibility: Somewhat Flexible
Academic Rating: 
FINANCIAL
Institutional Type: Private
In-State Tuition: $55,728
Out-of-State Tuition: $55,728
Room & Board: $17,096
Required Fees: $324
Books & Supplies: $800
Avg. Need-Based Aid: $52,881
Avg. % of Need Met: 100%
Avg. Merit-Based Aid: $0
% Receiving Merit-Based Aid: 0%
Avg. Cumulative Debt: $16,122
% of Students Borrowing: 52%
CAREER
Who Recruits
1. Boston Consulting Group
2. Teach for America
3. U.S. Federal Reserve
4. Massachusetts General Hospital
5. State Street
Notable Internships
1. Metropolitan Museum of Art
2. American Express
3. Dick Clark Productions
Top Industries
1. Business
2. Education
3. Research
4. Media
5. Social Services
Top Employers
1. Google
2. Microsoft
3. Accenure
4. Amazon
5. Facebook
Where Alumni Work
1. Boston
2. New York City
3. San Francisco
4. Washington, DC
5. Los Angeles
Median Earnings
College Scorecard (Early Career): $60,800
EOP (Early Career): $56,300
PayScale (Mid-Career): $106,200
RANKINGS
Forbes: 44
Money: 89
U.S. News: 3, Liberal Arts Colleges
Wall Street Journal/THE: 24
Washington Monthly: 16, Liberal Arts Colleges
Inside the Classroom
In 1995, the New York Times proclaimed, “More than any other college—large or small— Wellesley has groomed women who shatter the glass ceiling.” Twenty five years later, Barnard has surpassed Wellesley for the lowest acceptance rate among women’s colleges, but Wellesley’s picture-perfect campus in suburban Boston remains the premier pipeline to the boardrooms of America’s most powerful companies as well as to the highest levels of politics. Students are known to be a driven bunch as committed to full engagement with campus activities as they are to the exceptionally rigorous classroom experience.
The college’s 2,350 undergraduate students can select from fifty departmental and interdisciplinary majors, and economics, biology, and computer science are the most frequently conferred degrees. All freshmen must complete an expository writing course, and all seniors must demonstrate foreign language proficiency. In between, students are required to complete coursework in natural and physical science, mathematical modeling and problem solving, social and behavioral analysis, language and literature, art/music/theater/film/video, epistemology and cognition, historical studies, and religion/ethics/moral philosophy. There is also a multicultural and an uncredited physical education requirement.
The student-to-faculty ratio is only 8:1, leading to average class sizes in the seventeen- to twenty-student range. Twenty percent of course sections have single-digit enrollments while two-thirds have fewer than nineteen students. With no graduate students to compete with, opportunities for participation in research with faculty members abound. The Summer Science Research Program is cited by many graduates as the most influential part of their educational experience. Wellesley students also regularly land research positions with the National Institutes of Health, Harvard Medical School, MIT, and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The Office of International Studies facilitates the overseas study of hundreds of students each year with 45 percent of juniors spending a semester in one of 160 programs worldwide.
The entire undergraduate program at Wellesley is revered by top corporations and graduate schools alike. Most programs possess sterling reputations, including chemistry, computer science, neuroscience, and political science. However, the Department of Economics appears to shine most brightly, leading many into PhD programs and high-profile careers. A large number of Wellesley graduates are awarded prestigious postgraduate scholarships each year. In 2018, the school produced four Fulbright Scholars, three Gilman Scholars, three Watson Fellows, a Critical Languages Scholar, and a Princeton in Asia Fellow.
Outside the Classroom
Approximately 97 percent of undergraduates are denizens of the school’s twenty-one residence halls that range in capacity from forty to 285 students. Wellesley’s 500-acre campus was described by fabled architect Frederick Olmstead as possessing “a peculiar kind of intricate beauty.” Thanks to Lake Waban, a golf course, an arboretum, and botanical gardens, you will never long for gorgeous landscapes and natural beauty. There are thirteen varsity athletic teams that are members of NCAA Division III as well as eight club teams in sports that include archery, equestrian, and Nordic skiing. Athletic facilities are extensive and include the Keohane Sports Center, a pool, spin rooms, dance studios, a rock climbing wall, and just about any other fitness-related amenity one can conjure up. Wellesley women have 150 student-run organizations to choose from, including a number of dance, music, and theater groups. This is a tradition-rich school with annual events like Flower Sunday and quarterly competitions like Stepsinging, a class-vs.-class singing contest on the steps of Houghton Chapel. The town of Wellesley has coffee shops, a bookstore, and a pharmacy all within a short walk. Downtown Boston is less than half an hour away by car, but most take the T, commuter trains, or a shuttle that regularly departs from campus.
Career Services
The Wellesley Career Education Office is staffed by thirty professionals working in career counseling, internships, fellowships, experiential learning, and employer relations. For a school with 2,350 students, the size and scope of this office is remarkable. The 78:1 student-to-advisor ratio is unmatched by any institution in the country. It’s no wonder that the National Association of Colleges and Employers named Wellesley the 2017 winner of the Career Service Excellence Award among small colleges; the department has been similarly recognized multiple times by national organizations for its superior career service offerings. Staff members regularly present at national conferences and publish on the topic of career preparation.
Class of 2018 members had a 98 percent satisfaction rate after in-person, one-on-one appointments; that was a dramatic improvement over the Class of 2015’s satisfaction rate of 45 percent. Almost 90 percent of undergraduates complete at least one internship, including so-called Signature Internships with “leading cultural, educational, and scientific institutions; international agencies; media outlets; advocacy and community organizations; and businesses” around the globe. In the 2017-18 academic year, 80 percent of the undergraduate population engaged face-to-face with career services, and 98 percent engaged digitally. Outreach begins freshman year as 82 percent of first-years meet in person with a career counselor.
The annual total of advising sessions exceeds 6,500. There were 275 events held with a total attendance of 4,690, and thirty-three employers engaged in on-campus interviews including Google, Microsoft, Citi, and the US Department of Commerce. Unlike some of the other Seven Sister institutions, opportunities at the world’s premier companies are commonplace, and salaries are higher than average. With superb resources and equally strong outcomes, the Wellesley Career Education Office deserves all of the many accolades that have been heaped upon it.
Professional Outcomes
Six months after earning their degrees, 96 percent of the Wellesley College Class of 2018 had already achieved positive outcomes. Of the three-quarters of grads who were employed, 24 percent were working in the finance/consulting/business fields, 18 percent in education, 15 percent in internet and software/technology/engineering, and 13 percent in health care/life sciences. The top employers were Accenture, Google, JP Morgan, Boston Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and a number of top universities that included Harvard and MIT. One hundred thirty-three members of the Class of 2018 were employed in Boston, sixty-nine in New York, fifty in California, and twenty-seven in Washington, DC. The average starting salary was a solid $59,000 with an average bonus of $11,000.
Wellesley grads almost universally go on to elite graduate programs. Of the 17 percent of 2018 grads who directly entered an advanced degree program, the top dozen most common schools attended included Ivies Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Penn, and Cornell and other upper-crust institutions at Stanford, MIT, Emory, NYU, Brandeis, Boston University, and the Olin College of Engineering. Medical school applicants are generally successful; from 2008-2018 an average of 72 percent of med school hopefuls were accepted by at least one university. Three or more recent grads have been accepted into medical school at Dartmouth, Tufts, Case Western, Boston University, and Northwestern. Law school acceptance rates hover in the low-to-mid 80s, a figure that is lowered by the caliber of law schools to which Wellesley grads typically apply. Law schools that accepted a minimum of three alumni in recent years include Yale, Duke, Harvard, Georgetown, Cornell, Penn, and UC Berkeley.
Admission
The 6,488 applications received for a place in the Class of 2023 was the second highest total in school history; the acceptance rate of 20 percent was one point higher than the previous cycle. Among admitted applicants the average SAT was 1438, the average ACT was 32, and 84 percent placed in the top decile of their graduating high school class. 2018-19 freshmen possessed similar numbers. Their mid-50 percent ranges were 1330-1520 on the SAT, 30-34 on the ACT, and 83 percent were in the top 10 percent of their class. Wellesley boasts a high yield rate of 47 percent, meaning that few apply on a whim, and nearly half of all admitted students choose to enroll in the college.
As part of its holistic review process, the admissions committee seeks “people who know that we don’t know everything; who have a strong voice but listen to other voices; who have big plans but are totally open to changing them; who have taken risks, failed, and figured out a better way.” As such, four factors are paramount in the evaluation process: character/personal qualities, recommendations, GPA, and rigor of one’s secondary school record. The second tier of factors includes test scores, class rank, essays, talent/ability, and extracurricular activities. Applying via early decision can yield a slight advantage as 31 percent of students are accepted during the ED round. In terms of pure acceptance rate, Wellesley is the second-most selective Seven Sisters school, behind only Barnard. High grades and strong test scores are required, but many softer factors weigh heavily on admissions decisions. Applicants who are involved in their high schools and communities will fare best.
Worth Your Money?
Even at a $75,198 annual cost of attendance, Wellesley is unquestionably worth the investment. You won’t receive merit aid from this school, but 56 percent of the student population does receive need-based aid, and that need is met 100 percent. That translates to an average need-based grant of close to $53,000. The quality of the education, mentorship, and professional networks make Wellesley, even at full price for non-STEM/business majors, the rare school that will return your money many times over.