As part of the Scholars Program, Wellesley will provide nine African women with comprehensive support that includes scholarships, mentoring, counselling, and internship opportunities for undergraduate studies. Scholars at Wellesley will build experiences, values, and competencies that are critical to success in the global economy. This enables them to give back to their communities and home countries. The students will arrive in groups of three students each year.
You’ll need to write two essays: a personal essay and a shorter, Wellesley-specific essay. See our application tips for advice on writing your essays.
The personal essay.
For your personal essay, you may choose from the prompts below or write on a topic of your choice. The essay should be 250 to 650 words.
Current Common Application essay prompts
- Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
- The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
- Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
- Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
- Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
- Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
- Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
The Wellesley-specific essay
This required writing supplement asks you to respond to the following topic:
When choosing a college community, you are choosing a place where you believe that you can live, learn, and flourish. Generations of inspiring women have thrived in the Wellesley community, and we want to know what aspects of this community inspire you to consider Wellesley. We know that there are more than 100 reasons to choose Wellesley, but the “Wellesley 100” is a good place to start. Visit The Wellesley 100 and let us know, in two well-developed paragraphs, which two items most attract, inspire, or energize you and why. (Not-so-secret tip: The “why” matters to us.)
We require three letters of recommendation (two from teachers), your transcripts, diploma or examination certificates, and a School Report completed by your guidance counselor. These can be submitted online through your application. Once you have selected your high school, you can list and save the names of your counselor and two teachers in the “School Forms” section. Instructions will be emailed to them with information on how to submit the forms online or offline in print.
Three letters of recommendation
Wellesley requires three letters of recommendation: one from the head of your school or your school counselor and two from academic instructors. At least one recommendation must include an evaluation of your proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking English. These letters should be sent directly to the Office of Admission at Wellesley.
Official transcript
An official transcript is a certified record of the courses you have completed and the marks you received at each marking period in all schools attended during the previous four years. We need both the transcript in the original language as well as a translated version. If the school system uses a coded transcript, an explanation of the code and the marking system should be included. If you cannot obtain a transcript, a certified record of the courses you took, along with a progress report, must be submitted instead.