After a short nap it was already
time to get up and go visit Wellesley College. Last night I only slept for
about four hours and I didn’t even hear my alarm when I woke up. I set my alarm
for 5:00 AM and woke up at 6:00 AM, so you can infer that I was in quite a
panic to meet the rest of the women downstairs in the lobby by 6:45 AM. After I put
my clothes on and rushed out of my room Crystal and I proceeded to board the
elevator. It seems as though no matter how many times we have a set time to leave
it never pans out punctually. I immediately assumed that Crystal and I were
holding up the rest of the group, but as it turns out we were the first to
arrive in the lobby. I was elated to find out that we were not late, because the
Ivy League’s motto is: when you’re on time you’re late, when you’re late you’re
fired, and when you’re early you’re on time.
After the rest of the group joined
us we proceeded to head out into the humid weather. Once we opened the car door
it felt like we had just entered a sauna. The car was so hot I felt like I was
sitting in an oven. I was wearing black jeans, a blouse, a cardigan, and
military boots, so as you can infer I read the wrong weather predictions.
Everyone who I talked to believed that it was going to rain and that we would
put our travel umbrellas to good use. Let’s just say that I’m going to dress for
the occasion and use better judgment when it comes to my outfit choice of the
day. After I made plans to go expand my wardrobe I got inside of the van and we
decided to go find a place to have breakfast. Due to the realization of
possible truancy we decided to go directly to Wellesley and
have brunch afterwards.
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| The beginning of the tour |
Upon my arrival to Wellesley
College I noticed an overwhelming amount of greenery. I happen to love nature
and the amount of trees, flowers, and plants made me feel at peace. I enjoy
being outdoors and breathing in the fresh air mixed with the leaves’ natural
fragrance. Ms. Neal did not know where the Admission Office was so she stopped
and asked for directions from several kind strangers. It was nice to know that
there are still people out in society who are willing to go out of their way to
get you to your destination. We were escorted by a middle-aged couple into the
Admission Office.
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| Heading into the Admissions Office |
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| Admissions Office |
After several flights of stairs
we went into the lobby and were escorted into a meeting room. My cohort and I were
given a presentation by Anna L. Young about what Wellesley College has to
offer. She informed us on the diversity at Wellesley such as different
ethnicities, countries, states, continents, and backgrounds. She was proven to
be a reputable source, because there were two young women from Beijing and one
young woman from India. They were attentive when it was time for us to
introduce ourselves. I said, “My name is Alicia and I am incoming junior, I enjoy
English and Biology, and I am from California.” While the other girls went
around the table introducing themselves I filled out my notecard that I received
from the receptionist.
Mrs. Young informed us on the positive attributes of Wellesley College such as the life-long connections you would develop through the duration of your four years with faculty members who would help you in any way possible even after you graduate. Most of the women who attend Wellesley already have jobs established for when they graduate, because the alums set them up with job opportunities. This was an amazing aspect of Wellesley College, because it’s often stated that college degrees are useless. This networking prospect would increase the probability of you becoming employed immediately after college.
She also mentioned that Wellesley offers free tutoring sessions unlike most colleges which would charge a fee.
She went on to disclose that the financial aid options were based upon your family's income. Families that made less than $60,000 a year immediately qualified for financial aid. Anything above that median would have to be reviewed and the amount of people per household, disabled family members, and other significant factors would be taken into consideration. She also pointed out the fact that Wellesley has a low percentage of students who leave the college with an unforeseen amount of debt. At the most it was $33,000 and this is based on how much financial aid you receive.
Mrs. Young made us use our critical thinking skills when it came to the reasons why some women there might be apprehensive about attending Wellesley. A young woman named Anastasia stated that women might want to hear the male prospective. Mrs. Young said one of the most accurate statements that I had heard all day. She said, “You've had the male prospective for 12 years. At Wellesley you’ll be able to acquire the female prospective for four years. This is a great opportunity.” I will consider applying to Wellesley when I start my college application process. Of course I was worried about never seeing any men around the college, because this has become a normalcy in my daily life. However, at Wellesley there are plenty of opportunities to travel to Boston via car and here’s the best part—it’s free!
Mrs. Young informed us on the positive attributes of Wellesley College such as the life-long connections you would develop through the duration of your four years with faculty members who would help you in any way possible even after you graduate. Most of the women who attend Wellesley already have jobs established for when they graduate, because the alums set them up with job opportunities. This was an amazing aspect of Wellesley College, because it’s often stated that college degrees are useless. This networking prospect would increase the probability of you becoming employed immediately after college.
She also mentioned that Wellesley offers free tutoring sessions unlike most colleges which would charge a fee.
She went on to disclose that the financial aid options were based upon your family's income. Families that made less than $60,000 a year immediately qualified for financial aid. Anything above that median would have to be reviewed and the amount of people per household, disabled family members, and other significant factors would be taken into consideration. She also pointed out the fact that Wellesley has a low percentage of students who leave the college with an unforeseen amount of debt. At the most it was $33,000 and this is based on how much financial aid you receive.
Mrs. Young made us use our critical thinking skills when it came to the reasons why some women there might be apprehensive about attending Wellesley. A young woman named Anastasia stated that women might want to hear the male prospective. Mrs. Young said one of the most accurate statements that I had heard all day. She said, “You've had the male prospective for 12 years. At Wellesley you’ll be able to acquire the female prospective for four years. This is a great opportunity.” I will consider applying to Wellesley when I start my college application process. Of course I was worried about never seeing any men around the college, because this has become a normalcy in my daily life. However, at Wellesley there are plenty of opportunities to travel to Boston via car and here’s the best part—it’s free!
After Mrs. Young gave her women empowering
speech most of the group followed some of Wellesley’s students, so we could get
a tour of the college. This plan was not able to be completed in its entirety,
because of the humid weather. Before the tour began the students offered
everyone water as a precaution, so that when we headed outside no one would faint. I
was thankful that I took the initiative to bring my own water and I headed
outside. The first building we explored was called the Stone Davis Hall, a
dormitory building; it had a breathtaking classical ambiance to it. We headed
upstairs and I stepped inside to get a better look at a standard Wellesley
College dormitory.
On our way to the science library we passed
the Tower of Green Hall and I decided to stop to absorb the picturesque
scenery.
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| The Tower at Green Hall |
After we looked at the dorms we
went to the science library which looked like a greenhouse themed jungle gym. I
began to smell a brown sugar scent while I walked up the steps into the science
library; I figured that it was someone’s perfume. Inside the science library
there were beautiful staircases and a substantial amount of open space for you
to work. The tour was coming to a close after the tour guides finished
answering a series of miscellaneous questions, so they told us that we were
going to finish the rest of the tour virtually due to the humidity. Taylor, a
student and captain of the swim team, went through a slide show of the
different activities, traditions, and buildings at Wellesley. When the tour
ended we went to get brunch and later returned to the hotel to go out and travel
around the city.
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| Lobby |
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| Science Library at Wellesley |
Unfortunately, most of the girls
decided not to go out to explore the city and stayed in the hotel to get some rest before we went to dinner. Nevertheless,
Crystal, Ms. Neal, and I went shopping at a random clothing store, so that I could
purchase more clothes. We also stopped at a CVS, so that I could purchase a few
batteries for my camera and decided to walk around as well as find new places to eat
at tomorrow.
When we returned to the hotel my
cohort and I got ready to go meet the alums at Siena, so that we could get more
insight on what it truly means to attend Brown University. Crystal and I chatted
about how nervous we were and looked up a few questions that we could ask the
alums. I thought that I might be interrogated and asked to elaborate on what concentrative
I’ve selected. I looked in the mirror and gave myself a short pep-talk and went
downstairs to join my cohort.
When we arrived at Siena I looked inside the window and immediately saw a few middle aged men who I assumed were the alums that we were supposed to be dining with this evening. The only problem I found was that they weren't necessarily dressed appropriately for the occasion and their wardrobe consisted of a jeans and a button up dress shirt. As we entered the restaurant Ms. Neal led us into a completely different direction and I was surprised to see a young woman who looked as if she was around my age sitting at the table. The young woman, Kenya, introduced herself and provided us on a bit of background information. We talked about her concentrative which is Entrepreneurship and how she could eventually have a career in environmental studies or a series of other options based upon her vague concentrative. She made me feel so comfortable that I almost didn't want anyone else to show up in fear of the possibility of a more intimidating duo that would bring all of my anxiety back.
When we arrived at Siena I looked inside the window and immediately saw a few middle aged men who I assumed were the alums that we were supposed to be dining with this evening. The only problem I found was that they weren't necessarily dressed appropriately for the occasion and their wardrobe consisted of a jeans and a button up dress shirt. As we entered the restaurant Ms. Neal led us into a completely different direction and I was surprised to see a young woman who looked as if she was around my age sitting at the table. The young woman, Kenya, introduced herself and provided us on a bit of background information. We talked about her concentrative which is Entrepreneurship and how she could eventually have a career in environmental studies or a series of other options based upon her vague concentrative. She made me feel so comfortable that I almost didn't want anyone else to show up in fear of the possibility of a more intimidating duo that would bring all of my anxiety back.
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| Siena Restaurant |
As I chatted with Hillary she told me that she wanted to observe human behavior as well which made me happy, because I thought I wanted to major in psychology. I told her what I thought I wanted to major in and she said that psychology is more about how humans behave on the outside. She proceeded to tell me that she majored in cognitive neuroscience and minored in Afro-Studies. She stated that cognitive neuroscience examines what goes on inside the actual minds of human beings and combines psychology and neurology. Since I enjoy science and psychology this seemed like a possible solution to a problem I was having combining both of my interests into one final concentrative. I’ve decided to modify my previous concentrative selection which I now know should be cognitive neuroscience. Hillary has helped me open my eyes to the various arrays of opportunities that Brown University has to offer. She served as an efficient mentor and role model; I can truly say that she is someone who I aspire to be like. This dinner was an absolute success and I am so thankful for Travis, Hillary, and Kenya for talking with us today. I was elated to know that I was in a room with two intelligent women and earlier today I toured a school were female empowerment was a staple at their school. It was like female domination and I loved every minute of it. I will truly remember this experience for the rest of my life.
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| Hillary and Travis |
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| Inside of Siena |
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