Alumnae play an important role in Admissions. Students of all backgrounds can attest to the influence an alumna had on their decision to apply to and attend Wellesley.
As Tania Peters ’95 noted in an article for the WAAD website, “for students of color, alumnae interaction is even more crucial. Our presence and influence during the process can be the difference that makes a young woman take another look at Wellesley or makes it seem more like a possibility that can be attained.”
We were pleased to have Joy St. John, Dean of Admission & Financial Aid as our special guest on our last Virtual Check-in Zoom call. You can view a recording of her presentation on our call here.
She reported on the College’s progress in recruiting and admitting Black students, and announced some exciting new initiatives directed toward increasing yield among Black, Native American and Latina prospects:
- Wisr Online Community - "See Yourself at Wellesley" is a space for prospective students to engage with select alum Ambassadors and current students of color.
- Social Media Tagging - alums who are active on social media (for civic and professional purposes) will strategically tag Admission posts on key media platforms
- Alumnae Panels - virtual panels with 5-7 alums and moderated by Admission staff
Please visit this article for an in-depth description of these programs.
Joy and her team are planning the Admission process for the Class of 2025 to be primarily virtual. While prospective students won’t be able to experience the campus in person and local recruiting events are likely to be online too – this creates lots of opportunities for WAAD members to become involved in the process.
Visit this page to sign up for activities such as those noted above, as well as calling admitted students’ families and more. Your involvement is so important!