You can use the following application to apply to a number of schools, including Wellesley.

Friendly reminder: it’s free to apply to Wellesley.

Common Application

Specify your decision plan.

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.)

Use your legal name throughout.

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.

Personal Essay 1

Within the Common Application, you will be directed to provide a thoughtful 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.

Personal Essay 2

You must also respond to the following Wellesley-specific statement:

When choosing a college, you are choosing an intellectual community and a place where you believe that you can live, learn, and flourish. We know that there are more than 100 reasons to choose Wellesley, but it's a good place to start. Visit the Wellesley 100 and select two items that attract, inspire, or celebrate what you would bring to our community. Have fun! Use this opportunity to reflect personally on what items appeal to you most and why. Please limit your response to two thoughtful paragraphs (minimum 250 words, maximum 400 words).

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.

High school transcript

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.

College transcript

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.

College Report

Course catalog descriptions

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. 

College instructor evaluation

Two evaluations/recommendations from recent college courses are required. Please invite each of your college 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.

Mid-term report

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 (March 25). 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 College has temporarily suspended its standardized test requirement for a four-year period of review. Applicants to Wellesley for entry in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 are not required to submit SAT or ACT test results with their applications.

Our holistic, committee-based application review process gives us the flexibility to evaluate each applicant’s full record within the context of their available resources. While standardized tests have long served as an external benchmark of college readiness, they are one factor among many that we can consider in the admission process.

Regardless of an applicant’s decision to submit test scores, the admission committee is particularly interested in an applicant’s demonstrated writing and quantitative skills as key predictors for success in Wellesley’s curriculum.

If relevant to your application, submit these optional credentials.

Arts, music, or theatre portfolio:

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.

• Please submit your Arts Portfolio through your Wellesley Applicant Portal. Portfolio submissions must be received within a week of the application deadline in order for our faculty to have sufficient time for review. 

Athletic supplement

If you are interested in competing in varsity athletics at Wellesley (Division III), submit a recruiting form to the head coach of your sport.