Private · #6 Liberal Arts College
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA · 2,300 undergraduates
What it may cost by family income
Estimated average net price — what families actually pay after grants and scholarships — by annual household income. Net price matters far more than the $86,290 sticker price.
| Household income | Est. net price / year |
|---|---|
| Under $30k | $2,546 |
| $30k–$48k | $2,836 |
| $48k–$75k | $6,587 |
| $75k–$110k | $11,551 |
| Over $110k | $54,188 |
Sticker cost of attendance: $86,290. GPA context: Women's college.
Applying to a specific major at Wellesley College
14% is the acceptance rate for the whole university — not for every major. For the programs below, admission is usually decided separately and is harder than that number suggests. Almost no university publishes a by-major admission rate, and neither does the federal government, so we do not show one: any site that does is estimating.
To find the real figure for your major, check Wellesley College's Common Data Set and its admissions page, or ask an admissions officer directly — that question gets answered more often than students expect.
Applicant demand has grown far faster than faculty and seats, so many universities cap CS enrollment, admit to it directly, or require a competitive internal application after enrolling.
Check: Whether the school admits to CS directly, and whether switching into CS later is restricted — the answer changes your real odds more than your test scores do.
Most engineering colleges admit students directly into the college rather than the university at large, and review them against a separate, usually more selective pool.
Check: Whether you apply to the engineering college directly, and what happens if you are not admitted — some schools offer general admission with a later transfer path, others do not.
Clinical placement requirements hard-cap how many students a nursing program can take, which routinely makes direct-entry nursing among the most selective programs on a campus.
Check: Whether the program is direct-entry or requires applying again in sophomore year, and how many seats it takes per cohort.
Many undergraduate business schools admit their own cohort at application time and are more selective than the university overall; others admit only after two years of coursework.
Check: Whether the business school is direct-admit for first-years, and if not, what GPA the internal application actually requires.
Professional architecture degrees usually require a portfolio and are reviewed by the school of architecture separately from general admission.
Check: Portfolio requirements and deadlines — these are often earlier than the regular application deadline.
Admission usually turns on an audition or portfolio judged by the department, which can outweigh grades and test scores in either direction.
Check: Audition/portfolio dates and prescreen requirements — many fall well before the regular application deadline.
Is Wellesley College a reach, target, or safety for you?
Ladder2College models your personal admission odds and net cost here — based on your GPA, scores, and family income — and shows how it fits alongside the rest of your list.
Model my odds & cost — freeFigures are estimates modeled on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data and recent reporting, provided for guidance only. Always confirm cost with Wellesley College’s official net price calculator and admissions figures with the school directly.