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How to Ace the 2025-26 Wellesley Supplemental Essays
By
Cece Gilmore
Cece Gilmore is a Content Writer at Scholarships360. Cece earned her undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University. While at ASU, she was the education editor as well as a published staff reporter at Downtown Devil. Cece was also the co-host of her own radio show on Blaze Radio ASU.
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Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.
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Maria Geiger is Director of Scholarship Services at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Wellesley College is a private women’s liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Wellesley College is quite competitive with a 14% acceptance rate. If you want to increase your chances of getting accepted, you will need to write a stellar supplemental essay!
Let’s break down Wellesley College’s supplemental essay prompt and how to respond in order to get you accepted!
Also see: How to write an essay about yourself
The Wellesley supplemental essay prompt
Wellesley students actively seek ways to build bridges and to change the world for the better. Tell us about an experience working with and alongside people of different backgrounds and/or perspectives from your own. Why was this important to you, and what lessons from this will you bring with you to Wellesley?
Please limit your response to two thoughtful paragraphs (minimum 250 words, maximum 400 words.)
To start off, 250-400 words is quite a range. Therefore, you can write as much or as little as you would like within those limits. Having a range gives you some creative freedom while writing.
To begin responding to this prompt, you should brainstorm experiences, community service projects, extracurricular activities, etc. that you have been strongly involved in. However, the prompt is specifically asking for an experience in which you “worked with people of different backgrounds and/or perspectives from your own.” So, whatever experience you choose, you should be able to discuss how you collaborated with those who differed from you.
Try and pick an experience that is personally relevant and interesting to you. Remember, differences between two people do not necessarily have to be just race or background. Rather it can be a host of things such as gender, hobbies, area you grew up, and more.
Then, to go above and beyond for this supplemental essay response, you should connect back to Wellesley. If you have a club or major you want to join at Wellesley you can connect it to your experience.
Lastly, to wrap up your essay you should answer the last part of the question which is “what lessons from this will you bring with you to Wellesley?” Wellesley wants to see that its applicants not only have collaborated with individuals who differ from them, but that they have truly learned from other perspectives and will take this newfound knowledge with them to campus. Discuss any specific ways you will share your experiences on Wellesley’s campus such as joining a club, creating your own club, mingling with your peers and more.
Questions to ask yourself
- What experiences have you had that involved interacting with individuals who had different backgrounds or perspectives from you?
- What did you learn about yourself from this experience?
- How will you contribute to Wellesley’s campus community using knowledge gained from your experiences?
Additional resources
After you finish up your Wellesley supplemental essays, it’s time to take the next step in your admissions process! To help guide you through each of these steps, we’ve put together guides on how many colleges to apply to, how to choose a college, and what looks good on college applications. To help fund your education, check out our list of scholarships for high school seniors, as well as our guide on how to complete the FAFSA.
Good luck in your college journey, and be sure to check back as any other questions arise!
Other colleges to consider
- Barnard College (New York, NY)
- Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
- Macalester College (Saint Paul, MN)