Wellesley College

Coordinates: 42°17′43″N 71°18′24″W / 42.29528°N 71.30667°W / 42.29528; -71.30667

Wellesley College is a private, women's, liberal-arts college in the town of Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States, west of Boston. Founded in 1870, Wellesley is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges.

Wellesley is the highest ranking women's college in the U.S., and one of the top liberal arts colleges, ranking 4th by U.S. News & World Report. The school is also the highest endowed women's college. For the 2014–15 year admissions cycle, Wellesley admitted 29% of its applicants.

The college is known for allowing its students to cross-register at MIT, Babson, Brandeis, and Olin College. Notable alumni include Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Soong Mei-ling, Cokie Roberts, and Diane Sawyer.

History

Wellesley was founded by Pauline and Henry Fowle Durant, believers in educational opportunity for women. Wellesley was founded with the intention to prepare women for "...great conflicts, for vast reforms in social life." Its charter was signed on March 17, 1870, by Massachusetts Governor William Claflin. The original name of the college was the Wellesley Female Seminary; its renaming to Wellesley College was approved by the Massachusetts legislature on March 7, 1873. Wellesley first opened its doors to students on September 8, 1875.

Wellesley College (disambiguation)

Wellesley College may refer to:

Wellesley College (New Zealand)

Wellesley College is a boys-only independent primary school in Days Bay, Eastbourne, New Zealand.

An Anglican Diocesan school

Wellesley provides classes for boys from Year 0 to Year 8. The school's roll is currently managed to a level of around 340 boys providing an average class size of 23. While core Christian values are maintained representatives of other beliefs have always been a part of Croydon and Wellesley.

Team and athletic sports are provided for and there is a full complement of the necessary facilities. The sheltered waters of Day's Bay and its bush-clad backdrop give opportunities for less structured activities. The curriculum includes the performing arts and visual arts.

Now only a day school until 1970 its core was a boarding school drawing boys from remote-dwelling farming families all over the central North Island, Rangitikei, Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa plus a fair share of city boys. On school-days more boys, then as now, came by ferry or bussed from Wellington and the many parts of the Hutt. The school's acquisition of the fine grounds and the first accommodation came about through a commercial failure.