Editing Wellesley College (section)

==Academics==
[[File:Margaret Clapp Library - Wellesley College - DSC09638.JPG|thumb|Margaret Clapp Library]]

Wellesley's average class size is between 17 and 20 students, with a student-faculty ratio of 7:1. 60 departmental and interdepartmental majors are offered,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Academics - Academics |url=https://www.wellesley.edu/academics |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=Wellesley |language=en-US}}</ref> and students have the option to propose their own major.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-05 |title=“It’s more than just a place.” |url=https://www.wellesley.edu/news/its-more-than-just-a-place |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=Wellesley |language=en-US}}</ref>

Wellesley offers support to nontraditional aged students through the Elisabeth Kaiser Davis Degree Program, open to students over the age of 24.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://new.wellesley.edu/admission/esp/nontraditional |title=Wellesley College, Nontraditional Student Website: Davis Degree Program |work=Wellesley.edu |date=2006-05-24 |access-date=2010-02-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415163617/http://new.wellesley.edu/admission/esp/nontraditional |archive-date=2012-04-15 }}</ref> The program allows women who, for various reasons, were unable to start or complete a bachelor's degree at a younger age to attend Wellesley.
[[File:Whitin Observatory circa.2011.jpg|thumb|The Whitin Observatory is home to the Astronomy department, and occasionally has viewing nights open to the public.]]
Wellesley offers dual degree programs with the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] and the [[Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering|Olin College of Engineering]], enabling students to receive a Bachelor of Science at those schools in addition to a Bachelor of Arts at Wellesley.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wellesley.edu/advising/classdeans/engineering/dd|title=Dual Degree with MIT|publisher=Wellesley.edu|access-date=2015-11-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206110433/http://www.wellesley.edu/advising/classdeans/engineering/dd|archive-date=December 6, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wellesley.edu/advising/classdeans/engineering/dual-degree-with-olin|title=Dual Degree with Olin|publisher=Wellesley.edu|access-date=2015-11-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122101600/http://www.wellesley.edu/advising/classdeans/engineering/dual-degree-with-olin|archive-date=2015-11-22|url-status=dead}}</ref> Wellesley also has a joint five-year BA/MA program with [[Brandeis University]]'s International Business School, which allows qualified Wellesley students to receive a Masters of Arts degree from the school, as well as a Bachelor of Arts at Wellesley.<ref>{{cite web |title=BA/MA (Brandeis/Wellesley Undergraduates Only) |url=https://www.brandeis.edu/global/academics/ma/ba-ma/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907191447/https://www.brandeis.edu/global/academics/ma/ba-ma/wellesley-students.html |archive-date=September 7, 2015 |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=www.brandeis.edu |language=en}}</ref>

Wellesley College offers research collaborations and cross-registration programs with other Boston-area institutions, including [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], [[Babson College]], [[Olin College]], and [[Brandeis University]].

Its most popular majors, based on 2023 graduates,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Graduates and Degree Conferral |url=https://www.wellesley.edu/about-us/offices-departments/office-of-institutional-research/factbook/graduates-and-degree-conferral |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=Wellesley |language=en-US}}</ref> were:
*Economics (94)
*Computer Sciences (67)
*Psychology (53)
*Political Science (45)
*Biological Sciences (37)
*Neuroscience (35)
*Mathematics (27)
*English (27)

===Admissions===
<!-- PLEASE FILL OUT AND THEN UN-COMMENT, REPLACING THE TABLE.

{{Infobox U.S. college admissions
|year               = <!-x- Comparison year is automatically set to five years prior -x->
|ref                = 
|change ref         = 
|admit rate         = 
|admit rate change  = 
|yield rate         = 
|yield rate change  =

|test optional      = 
|SAT EBRW           = <!-x- use an em-dash (–) -x->
|SAT EBRW change    = 
|SAT Math           = <!-x- use an em-dash (–) -x->
|SAT Math change    = 
|ACT                = <!-x- use an em-dash (–) -x->
|ACT change         =

|top decile         = 
|top decile change  = 
|top quarter        = 
|top quarter change = 
|top half           = 
|top half change    = 
|GPA                = 
|GPA change         = 
}}-->
{|  class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:85%; margin:10px; text-align:center; font-size:85%; margin:auto"
|+ ''Fall Admission Statistics''
|-
! &nbsp;
!2021<ref>{{cite web|title=FAQ|url=http://www.wellesley.edu/admission/faq|access-date=2022-01-08|website=Wellesley College|language=en}}</ref>
!2019<ref name=CDS/>
!2018<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wellesley.edu/sites/default/files/assets/departments/instresearch/files/cds_2018-2019-completed_jsj_edits.pdf |title= Wellesley College Common Data Set 2018-19 |publisher=Wellesley College |access-date=May 14, 2020}}</ref>
!2017<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wellesley.edu/sites/default/files/assets/departments/instresearch/files/cds_2017-2018_201802.pdf|title=Wellesley College Common Data Set 2017–2018|publisher=Wellesley College|access-date=September 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918161752/https://www.wellesley.edu/sites/default/files/assets/departments/instresearch/files/cds_2017-2018_201802.pdf|archive-date=September 18, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
!2016<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wellesley.edu/sites/default/files/assets/departments/instresearch/files/cds_2016-2017_final_0.pdf|title=Wellesley College Common Data Set 2016–2017|publisher=Wellesley College|access-date=September 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519001452/http://www.wellesley.edu/sites/default/files/assets/departments/instresearch/files/cds_2016-2017_final_0.pdf|archive-date=May 19, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
!2015<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web |url=https://www.wellesley.edu/sites/default/files/assets/departments/instresearch/files/wellesley_cds_2015-2016_corr.pdf |title=Common Data Set 2015–2016 |publisher=Wellesley College |access-date=September 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314225710/http://www.wellesley.edu/sites/default/files/assets/departments/instresearch/files/wellesley_cds_2015-2016_corr.pdf |archive-date=March 14, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

|- style="text-align:center;"
! Applicants
|7,920
| 6,395 || 6,631 || 5,666 || 4,854 || 4,555 
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Admits
|1,240
| 1,379 || 1,296 || 1,251 || 1,388 || 1,380 
|- style="text-align:center;"
! % Admitted
|16
| 21.6 || 19.5 || 22.1 || 28.6 || 30.3 
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Enrolled
|606
| 612 || 614 || 605 || 590 || 595 
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Mid 50% SAT range
|1479
| 1370–1510 || 1330–1520 || 1360–1530 || 1970–2250 || 1940–2240 
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Mid 50% ACT range
|33
| 31–34 || 30–34 || 30–33 || 30–33 || 29–33 
|}

The 2020 annual ranking of ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' categorizes admission to Wellesley as "most selective".<ref name=USNWR/> For the Class of 2023 (enrolling fall 2019), the middle 50% range of [[SAT scores]] was 680–750 for evidence-based reading and 680–780 for math, while the middle 50% range for the [[ACT (test)|ACT]] composite score was 31–34 for enrolled first-year students.<ref name=CDS/> For the incoming class of 2028, Wellesley received a record number of applications, totaling over 8,900 applications, and 13% of applicants were offered admission.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-18 |title=Welcome to Wellesley, class of 2028! |url=https://www.wellesley.edu/news/welcome-to-wellesley-class-of-2028 |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=Wellesley |language=en-US}}</ref> During the 2023–2024 admissions cycle (enrolling Fall 2024), the college was test-optional and did not publish standardized testing statistics for the class of 2027 as of July 2024. The college is [[need-blind]] for domestic applicants.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cost & Financial Aid |url=https://www.wellesley.edu/admission/cost |publisher=Wellesley College |access-date=4 May 2023}}</ref>

==== Transgender applicants                                                                                                                                ====
Following years of student activism, the college's admissions policy was updated in 2015 to allow [[trans women]] and [[non-binary]] [[Assigned female at birth|people assigned female at birth]] to be considered for admittance.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/03/05/wellesley/1a3eDzywpzF4QAznRuOw3L/story.html|title=Wellesley to accept transgender women - The Boston Globe|work=BostonGlobe.com|access-date=2018-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171120113451/http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/03/05/wellesley/1a3eDzywpzF4QAznRuOw3L/story.html|archive-date=November 20, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The first Wellesley transgender students enrolled in Fall 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wbsm.com/all-female-massachusetts-college-welcomes-first-transgender-students/|title=All-Female Massachusetts College Welcomes First Transgender Students|website=1420 WBSM|date=September 5, 2017 |language=en|access-date=2018-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307150921/http://wbsm.com/all-female-massachusetts-college-welcomes-first-transgender-students/|archive-date=March 7, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Nontraditional age applicants ====
Wellesley began its program for [[non-traditional student]]s in 1971 when the Continuing Education Program was launched. This program was renamed in 1991 for Elisabeth Kaiser Davis, a member of the Class of 1932.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1991-03-17|title=Campus Life: Wellesley; A Higher Profile for Older Students|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/17/nyregion/campus-life-wellesley-a-higher-profile-for-older-students.html|access-date=2022-02-01|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Wellesley allows applicants older than 24 who had begun but have not completed a bachelor's degree to apply to the Elizabeth Kaiser Davis Degree Program.<ref name="Davis Degree Program Applicants">{{cite web |url=https://www.wellesley.edu/admission/apply/davis |website=Wellesley College |title = Davis Degree Program Applicants|access-date=16 November 2020}}</ref> Davis Scholars are fully integrated into the Wellesley community; they take the same classes as traditional students and can choose to live on campus. According to the Wellesley web site, Davis Scholars' "diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives enrich the lives of the whole student body."<ref>[http://www.wellesley.edu/NSP/davisProgram.html Wellesley College. "Davis Degree Program and Postbaccalaureate Study Program."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902042953/http://www.wellesley.edu/NSP/davisProgram.html |date=2006-09-02 }} 24 May 2006.</ref>

=== Tuition and financial aid ===
For the 2024–2025 school year, Wellesley's annual tuition was $92,060 per year, the first tuition cost for a Boston-area school (along with [[Boston University]]) to exceed $90,000 annually.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Welker |first1=Grant |last2=Tran |first2=Jericho |date=2024-03-26 |title=A first for Mass. colleges: Breaking the $90,000 barrier |url=https://www.nbcboston.com/boston-business-journal/a-first-for-mass-colleges-breaking-the-90000-barrier/3319692/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=[[NBC Boston]] |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2020–2021, the average annual aid offer was over $56,000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Student Financial Services |url=http://www.wellesley.edu/sfs |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=Wellesley College |language=en}}</ref> The maximum loan level for other students on aid is $12,825 total for four years.<ref>{{cite web |date=2007-07-30 |title=Understanding Financial Aid |url=http://www.wellesley.edu/sfs/UnderstandingFinAid.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127224913/http://www.wellesley.edu/sfs/UnderstandingFinAid.html |archive-date=2010-01-27 |access-date=2010-02-21 |work=Wellesley.edu}}</ref>

===Rankings===
{{Infobox US university ranking
<!-- Liberal arts rankings -->| Forbes = 23
| USNWR_LA = 7
| Wamo_LA = 20
| THE_WSJ = 31
}}

In its 2025 rankings of national liberal arts colleges in the U.S., ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' ranked Wellesley seventh overall, first for women's colleges, 8th for "best value", tied at 23rd for "best undergraduate teaching", and 17th for "top performers on social mobility".<ref name="USNWR">{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/wellesley-college-2224 |title=Wellesley College Rankings |year=2021 |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=October 13, 2020 }}</ref>

In 2024, ''[[Washington Monthly]]'' ranked Wellesley 20th among 194 liberal arts colleges in the U.S. based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 Liberal Arts Colleges Ranking |url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2024-college-guide/liberal-arts/ |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=Washington Monthly |language=en-US}}</ref>

In addition, ''[[Forbes]]''' 2024–25 "America's Top Colleges" ranked the institution 23rd among the top 500 U.S. colleges, service academies and universities.<ref>{{cite web |title=America's Top Colleges |url=https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/list/#tab:rank |magazine=Forbes |date=August 15, 2019 |access-date=September 2, 2020}}</ref> Wellesley College is [[Higher education accreditation in the United States|accredited]] by the [[New England Commission of Higher Education]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Massachusetts Institutions – NECHE|publisher=[[New England Commission of Higher Education]]|url=https://www.neche.org/institutions/ma/|access-date=May 26, 2021}}</ref>