Behold! Everything you need to know about your upcoming Thrive! visit.
Ft. a schedule of events, some helpful FAQs, and additional info on the campus resources you'll hear all about.
Thrive! programming will officially begin at 10:15am on both April 6 and April 12, and programming options will run until approximately 4:00pm each day!
Thrive! 2025 Schedule
| 8:30am – 11:00am | Check-in Open Alumnae Hall |
| 9:00 – 10:00am | Early Campus Tour (Optional) Departs from the Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center Event Lawn |
| 10:15 – 10:45am | Welcome Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall Auditorium |
| 11:10am – 12:00pm | Mock Classes and Panels (Choose your own adventure!) Various Campus Locations |
| 12:10 – 1:00pm | Student Panels and Classroom Conversations (Admitted Students) Science Center First Year Experience Panel (Guests) Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall Auditorium |
| 1:00 – 2:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:30 – 3:00pm | Student Organization & Campus Department Fair Science Center |
| 2:00 – 3:00pm | Campus Tours Depart every 15 minutes from the Science Center |
| 2:00 – 3:30pm | Open Houses for Select Campus Spaces Various Campus Locations |
| 2:00 – 4:00pm | Student Financial Services Walk-in Hours (Optional) Schneider Center |
Student success resources
Today, you’ll hear all about the resources that will help you Thrive! at Wellesley from students, staff, and faculty. If you want more info on any of them, check out the list below.
The Office of Accessibility and Disability Resources (ADR) sees the unique strengths and abilities that every student brings with them. Working with our students, ADR helps provide individualized assistance and information to students with disabilities, both temporary and permanent, including physical disabilities, learning disabilities, and attention disorders. If you have questions, ADR can be reached at accessibility@wellesley.edu.
Wellesley Career Education supports our students and alums in their personal and professional lives every step of the way. From your first internship to your fifth job (or wherever your career takes you!), they provide resources to help you succeed. This includes locating and curating career and funded-internship opportunities, connecting you with Wellesley alums who have volunteered as mentors through The Hive, and providing career advising, pre-professional and health professions advising, and other opportunities to engage in the professional space outside of the classroom. And here’s the thing…it works. Check out our Class of 2024 First Destination Report to see the 97% of our graduates who were employed, in grad school, or conducting meaningful service work within six months of graduation.
The FLI Network connects first-generation and low-income students from across campus into a network of peer and professional resources, support, and mentorship. Students find community with each other as well as from faculty, staff, and Wellesley alums.
Providers at Health Services are employees of the Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Students have access to all of the resources of the Mass General Brigham system and Newton-Wellesley Hospital, including specialists, ER/urgent care, on-call services, and COVID care.
Wellesley is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for all LGBTQ+ students. Wellesley offers many informal mentoring and advising resources for its LGBTQ+ students and their allies. LGBTQ+ Programs & Services includes an LGBTQ adviser, Q-Connectors (student ambassadors!), and Wellesley’s LGBTQ+ student organizations. The Stone Center, Wellesley’s counseling service, offers an LGBTQ+ support group discussion group as well as counselors trained in handling LGBTQ+ issues. You can find LGBTQ+ Programs & Services in the Penthouse, found on the fourth floor of Billings!
The Dean of First-Year Students and their office provides guidance and support to first-year students as you take your first steps into college life. They and the rest of the Class Deans provide holistic advising throughout your time at Wellesley so that everyone can grow and succeed. They can also connect you with resources from across the college to help you realize your goals!
The Office of Intercultural Education promotes cultural competency through intercultural activities and programs. It also provides support and advocacy for students of color through Acorns and Harambee Houses. Harambee House is a place where students of African descent and others can meet and receive social, emotional, and academic support, and Acorns House is a space where students of Asian, Pacific Islander, Latinx, Native and Indigenous descent and others can engage and feel supported. In addition to being a gathering place for a number of student organizations, both Harambee House and Acorns host programs and cultural activities that are open to the entire Wellesley community.
The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life provides compassion and care no matter your background or beliefs. Our chaplains are rooted in a variety of faiths: Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism, and the office offers space for introspection as well as celebrating and affirming the diversity of religious and cultural experience on our campus.
The Office of Student Success (OSS) serves and supports our first-generation, underrepresented, and underserved students at Wellesley College through a collaborative approach that leverages the strengths of dedicated campus partners to help students thrive. They support other resources like the FLI Network!
The Pforzheimer Learning and Teaching Center (PLTC) helps students maximize their educational opportunities and realize their academic potential. PLTC academic support programs are peer-led and peer-facilitated with extensive training conducted by the PLTC. Wellesley students always have access to tutoring, peer education programs, and other academic support services.
Physical Education, Recreation & Athletics (PERA) develops students’ skills in and knowledge of physical activity. All Wellesley students are required to earn eight credits (usually two classes) across the department’s programs: Physical Education, which offers instructional classes; Recreation, which includes club sports, intramurals, and leisure activities; or Athletics, which encompasses our 13 intercollegiate athletics teams.
Residential Life and Student Housing creates inclusive and collaborative communities, where our students are able to contribute their unique history, culture, perspective, talents, and creativity to the Wellesley community at large and their residence hall in particular. Residential Life provides students with information about residence halls, assists in students' transition to college, and promotes residential programming.
The Slater International Center provides practical and programmatic support to international students and is a focal point of cultural sharing and global understanding for the Wellesley community.
We value our students’ mental health and wellbeing. The Stone Center is here to support our students with a holistic and systemic approach to how students are supported on campus: how can we as a college manage and support our students and all of their needs? The Stone Center offers a range of services to support student resilience and psychological growth, including counseling services (and there is no additional charge for counseling services!), with most students coming for an average of 6-8 sessions. For individuals seeking ongoing or weekly counseling, the Stone Center can arrange for a referral to a counselor or clinic in the Wellesley or Boston areas.
The Students’ Aid Society provides additional support to Wellesley students such as short-term loans, the Clothes Closet, the Residential Resource Closet, and other options for Wellesley students with demonstrated need, supplementing the College’s own financial aid programs. Founded in 1878, the Students’ Aid Society is an independent corporation managed and supported through the generosity of alums and friends.
Student Financial Services (SFS) is a one-stop destination for both prospective and returning students. The SFS staff assists students and their families in understanding the aid application process, parent and student loan options, payment plans, financial aid awards, and much, much more. SFS uses a counselor advising model, meaning that every student has a dedicated financial aid counselor!
FAQs
All visitors to campus will be welcomed by the President of Wellesley College, Dr. Paula Johnson and our Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, Peaches Valdes. You’ll have options throughout the day to take a tour, learn more about the many campus resources that first-year students use throughout their time at Wellesley, and hear directly from our current students about life at Wellesley. Lunch will be provided.
If your plans change, please feel free to edit your registration in your Admitted Student Portal. For additional questions or concerns about your registration, please email dcraig@wellesley.edu.
We are excited to offer drop-in office hours with Student Financial Services on both of our Thrive! Admitted Student Days. Whether attending on April 6 or April 12, you will have the option of meeting with a member of the Student Financial Services team from 2:00pm to 4:00pm in the Schneider Center.
We are not able to offer individual appointments with faculty during your visit to campus. However, during Thrive! there will be multiple opportunities to engage with faculty and academic departments, including by attending a mock class! You can also explore other options, such as a virtual faculty roundtable, or an on-campus faculty coffee chat, in your Admitted Student Portal.
Yes! We welcome visitors to campus to check out our bookstore on the fourth floor of the Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center. You’ll be given a 20% discount coupon at check-in!
Yes! Upon your arrival there will be coffee, tea, water, and light snacks. Lunch will also be provided from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. Lunch options will accommodate a wide variety of dietary restrictions and preferences. We encourage guests to bring a water bottle to use while touring campus.
We encourage you to explore dining options in downtown Wellesley (‘the Ville’) which is a short walk from campus. A few of our favorites are The Wellesley Bakery, Fiorella’s Trattoria, Starbucks, and Cocobeet.
We are unable to provide overnight accommodations on campus for students and family members. Here is a list of area hotels that may be convenient for your visit.
To ensure the safety of the campus community, visitors will not be permitted inside campus buildings unaccompanied. While on tour, guests will be able to see inside buildings and classrooms guided by our current students. Our Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center and Alumnae Hall are open to the public. Thrive! programming will take place in many different locations on campus, and during the Open House portion of the day, select spaces on campus will be available to visitors.
Attire for the day is casual. Your visit will include an outdoor walking tour of campus. We are so lucky to have a large campus (500 acres…and yes, that includes a lake and botanical gardens!), and we want to highlight as much of it as possible during your visit. We recommend weather-appropriate clothing and comfortable walking shoes.
As a fun reminder…you are a part of the Green Class of 2029! Each class year at Wellesley has its own class color: green, purple, yellow, or red. Feel free to embody being a part of a 💚Green Class💚 with your wardrobe choices for the day!
Our Thrive! Admitted Student Days will take place rain or shine. Should we expect inclement weather, we encourage you to dress appropriately for outdoor programming, especially the outdoor portions of our tour and moving between buildings.
We want to be sure to offer multiple opportunities for students to visit campus. Understanding that April 12 may pose a challenge for some families, we are thrilled to welcome you and your guests to Wellesley’s Passover Seder on the evening of April 12. We are excited to welcome students to this special community moment with Hillel and our Jewish community on campus. If you are interested in learning more or attending Wellesley’s Passover Seder, simply check “Yes” when asked about your interest in the Passover Seder when completing the registration form for the April 12 Thrive! Admitted Student Day.
If you or your guest require an accommodation during your visit, you’ll be able to make a request in the registration form for Thrive! Information will only be used for purposes of accommodating your accessibility request and will not be included in your admission record or application. Once you submit your registration information, a member of the admission team will review your request and reach out to you via email regarding your accommodation request. We cannot guarantee that requests made fewer than 4 days in advance will be considered.