Each year we must consider the admission of transfer applicants in context of the overall enrollment. Given our strong enrollment for the 2021-2022 academic year, we will not have additional space for entering transfer students for Spring 2022.
A step-by-step guide
We’re here to help. These are the required and optional items needed for a transfer application. If you plan to apply for financial aid, that process has the same deadline as your application. See dates and deadlines for more information.
You can use the following application to apply to a number of schools, including Wellesley.
Friendly reminder: it’s free to apply to Wellesley.
When you register with the Common Application, indicate that you are applying as a transfer student. (Check our dates and deadlines page for more information.)
Be sure to be consistent and use your legal name (as it appears on your passport or other legal documents) on all of your application materials. This may sound obvious, but it’s really important! If you go by another name, list that as your “preferred name” on the application and that’s the name we’ll use when we get in touch with you.
You’ll need to write a personal essay and a shorter, Wellesley-specific essay. See our application tips for advice on writing your essays.
Within the Common Application, you will be directed to provide a short answer to the following prompt:
Please provide a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve in doing so.
You must also respond to the following Wellesley-specific statement:
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.)
The following credentials can be submitted online through the Common Application. Once you have selected your current institution, you can list and save the names of your recommenders in the “School Forms” section. Instructions will be emailed to them with information on how to submit the forms online or offline in print.
Submit an official final transcript from the high school from which you graduated. If you received a high school certificate of equivalency, official G.E.D. scores and/or a high school transcript for the years you attended, they are required and will be considered in conjunction with your performance at the college level. An official secondary school final transcript must be sent directly from the high school with school seal or stamp affixed. Although we require your final high school transcript, we do not need the School Report.
Submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities you have attended. The form for requesting this information should be sent to the registrar of the colleges you attended. You should check with the school for procedures and fee information before requesting a transcript. Transcripts must be sent directly from the college. Student or online copies are not accepted. Please arrange for the college(s) to send official copies directly to Wellesley’s Office of Admission.
Please provide a College Report completed by your academic advisor or dean. This report tells us if you are in good standing at your current or most recent institution. The college report form can be found in the Common Application.
You must submit individual course descriptions from the course catalog of courses you have taken and are currently taking. The individual course descriptions can be uploaded with your application.
Two evaluations/recommendations are required. Please invite each of your recommenders to complete your recommendation letters within the Common Application. Recent academic evaluations are more useful to the Office of Admission. If you have been out of school for several years and are therefore unable to obtain academic evaluations, you may submit one from an employer or a supervisor in community activities where you have worked. Evaluations/recommendations from friends and relatives are discouraged.
The mid-term report must be completed by any applicant who is currently enrolled in courses. Applicants may self-report their mid-year grades, however if admitted and enrolling, will be required to submit official grades. Please list the courses that you are taking in the current semester on this form and return it to our office immediately following the midpoint of the semester (November 20 or March 20). The form gives us a sense of how you’re doing in your current coursework, so ideally it would be filled out closer to midterms. If you turn in a form with no grades, it will not be considered in your file.
Wellesley has extended the one year suspension of its standardized testing requirement given the fact that many students are still unable to sit for standardized tests due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that submission of SAT or ACT scores will be optional for applicants applying to the College for entry in the fall of 2022. If an applicant wishes to have their standardized test scores considered as one component of their application, we will consider the scores in a nuanced and contextual way alongside all other application credentials. If applicants choose not to submit standardized test scores, we will evaluate their application in a nuanced and contextual way without scores. Our holistic, committee-based application review process gives us the flexibility to evaluate each applicant’s academic and extracurricular accomplishments within individual context.
If relevant to your application, submit these optional credentials.
If you have a special talent in the arts, you might want to submit an arts portfolio.
Our art, music, and theatre studies departments will accept electronic submissions of portfolios, recordings, or presentations. The appropriate department will review your material.
Wellesley College does not have a dance department and does not review creative writing materials. Please do NOT submit any dance and/or creative writing supplements as they will not be evaluated.
To submit an arts portfolio:
You must submit your portfolios, recordings, or presentations electronically through the Wellesley Applicant Portal. Wellesley does not accept art portfolios through the Common Application or Coalition Application. Please do not mail any materials to the Office of Admission. Submissions sent by mail will not be reviewed or returned.
Follow the guidelines and instructions as outlined by Wellesley’s art, music, and theatre studies departments.
If you are interested in competing in varsity athletics at Wellesley (Division III), submit a recruiting form to the head coach of your sport.
I got you
Here’s a video for you that’s all about—oh, a lot of things: friendship, community, collaboration, trust, pants...
