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The fall 2020 acceptance rate for Bryn Mawr College is 39%. That means, out of _____ applications received in 2020 , _____ students were offered admission. The number of males who applied was _____ vs the number of females which was _____.
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What is your overall opinion of this school?
I went to a huge (3400 students) public high school in a suburb of Atlanta. While I'm not "one of the boys," I have always had guy friends (and boyfriends), so when my mom started suggesting women's colleges, I was a little skeptical. I know, though, that I need a sense of community (something I found within my close friends in high school, as well as my fellow theatre kids), and Bryn Mawr definitely seemed like it had a strong and close-knit community, so I applied, partly because I was interested, partly to appease my mom. Anyway, once I was accepted, I went on a tour of all the northeastern colleges I was considering, and got to see Bryn Mawr in person for the first time. I grew to like it a little more after that experience. Even after all that, though, Bryn Mawr was still not my first choice. To be honest, the defining factor in my decision to come here was the fact that their financial aid package was the largest, and I needed all the help I could get. So, needless to say, I was still wary of a lot of things when I came.
People from more urban areas (or even simply suburban ones) tend to worry about the social life a lot, and I was definitely not an exception. I've found, though, that your social life at Bryn Mawr is what you make it, and most everyone is happy with what they've made of theirs. If I have a lot of homework during the week, any free time I have is spent relaxing. If my workload is light that week, though, I have done things like going shopping or dinner in Philly during the week. Even if I do have a lot of work, though, I can still do social things. A lot of people go to the coffee shops or other places with friends to do work during the week. Weekends vary as well, depending on how I'm feeling. Sometimes I go out to parties, sometimes I stay home, order food and watch movies with the girls. Most of the parties I've been to have been at Haverford or Swarthmore, but I've been to a couple at Penn, and I know people who have gone to Villanova. There are, too, parties on Bryn Mawr's campus occasionally. Haverford parties are kind of lame, but not terrible, Swat parties are a bit less lame and still fun, Penn parties are fun, especially if you know someone there, and I really have no idea about Nova. Bryn Mawr parties have been the most fun, in my opinion. They're all open to any Tri-Co student, and anyone else if a Tri-Co student signs them in, so there are ALWAYS boys. If parties aren't so much your scene, there are always a number of other social events around the various campuses on weekends, which are very fun as well.
My only real issue with being at Bryn Mawr is the difficulty in meeting dateable boys. I have to admit, though, I haven't really tried very hard to find one. A lot of girls here have boyfriends, and there are certainly endless meaningless hookups to be found. I have made boy [space] friends, but no boyfriends. Like I said, though, I haven't really tried all that hard, and my lack of boyfriends is more than a fair trade for the rest of my BMC experience.
A huge part of Bryn Mawr culture are the traditions. There are, of course, the four big ones (Parade Night, Lantern Night, Hell Week, and May Day) and a million other small ones (Step Sings, Athena, Skinny-Dipping in the Cloisters). These things are what really make you a Bryn Mawr woman (aside from the rigorous academics you both love and hate). They make you realize just how incredible and unique this place is.
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What is the stereotype of students at your school?
Interestingly, they tend to contradict each other! There's that we're all boring intellectuals, but also that we're all flakes; there's that we're all man-hating lesbians, but also that we're all sluts.
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Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?
I mean, they're stereotypes for a reason.
Yes, our college DOES have a greater LGBTQ population than most. All of my friends are straight, though, and none of us hate men.
Yes, there are radical feminists out there, but most people are just activits for womens' rights without being all in-your-face about it, and all of us are clean and neatly groomed.
Yes, there is a significant population of private school graduates, but the college provides financial aid that even those not economically well-off can still attend.
We're as catty as any other college with women can be, no better or worse. I actually like to think we're less catty because there isn't the same kind of competition for male attention.
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What are the academics like at your school?
Bryn Mawr is known for having excellent professor-student relations. Almost every prof makes a huge effort to learn every student's name and make sure that they are 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} accessible to students. Without the dedication and compassion of the professors here, the level of difficulty in the classes might be too much for some people, but they make it a lot easier to balance everything and get help when you need it. That being said, the academics are extremely challenging. People spend a lot of time studying, but as much as we complain about it, we're all happy we came here. Also, because of the Honor Code, students do not discuss grades (unless it is within a safe space and everyone has agreed to it), so the only competition is with yourself. It's all about performing to the best of your ability and learning as much as you can.
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Describe the students at your school.
The women here are either very intelligent or make up abstract themes about a reading we are going over in class.
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What are the most popular student activities/groups?
The most popular organizations are political ones, especially SGO (student government organization). The least popular are the sports teams.
I'm currently most involved in Anime Club. Anime club meets on Friday nights from 7 to 11-ish. We watch from two to six series a semester. Each meeting we watch around 4 episodes of 2 series. I mostly provide the anime for viewing pleasure, so I like to think I'm fairly important. We watch any type of anime, from light humor to dark angst. It's really quite fun. Watching it with an entire group of people making fun of the action is awesome.
When in or out of the room? I feel safe having my door entirely open when I'm in it, and while I lock my door, I have a friend who never locks hers. So I feel pretty safe on campus.
Athletic events are all buy ignored.
The more politically charged the guest speaker, the more of a crowd they are bound to draw.
We have a number of theater groups which draw a varying number of people.
Dating scene? I've never been interested.
I met my closest friends through Customs Week before school starts and through Japanese Class.
If I'm awake at 2AM Tuesday, it's either because I have a physics problem set or a paper I've put off due the next day.
Bryn Mawr RUNS on Traditions. We have 4 big ones during the entire year: Parade Night, Lantern Night, Hell Week, and May Day. They're all tons of fun.
People party as much as they want to,when they want to. We're known as being a sober school, though.
Bryn Mawr doesn't have a sorority.
Last weekend was Plenary, where we suggest and vote on amendments to the School Constitution and the end of Hell Week, which was great.
Saturday nights and drinking have never gone together in my head. The school hosts any number of alternatives during the school year on Saturday nights, though, from stand-up comics, to concerts, and performances of all kinds.
Off-campus usually means going to Philly, where there's the Franklin Institute, the Museum of Modern Art, Old City, Penn's Landing, and the sports complexes. It's a big city without feeling like one. If you want to stay in Bryn Mawr, though, there's a GREAT Borders bookstore right next to a pizzarea that has the best-tasting pizza I've ever had. The train will also take you to Ardmore, which is known for having a great deal of high-end stores.
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What should every freshman at your school know before they start?
even if there are drawbacks choose the school that fulfills the element that is most important to your happiness (i.e. if you will be miserable without a substantial social life, choose a school that has a better social life than academic reputation or if you will be unhappy without a degree from a school with a substantial academic reputation, choose a school that holds academics above social satisfaction, etc.)
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Describe how your school looks to someone who's never seen it.
A somewhat artsy, small, liberal, somewhat insane, probably too studious, very focused on traditions, all women's school with a lot to offer academically.
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Here's your chance: Say anything about your college!
Traditions! There are four per year, specificially designed to bring the entire campus together to celebrate each class and the camaraderie between all of us. Each one is a unique task that involved the whole school, and at the end, we all spend time together to celebrate our friendships!
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Describe your favorite campus traditions.
Bryn Mawr is best known as one of the Seven Sister schools, which were created as an all-women's counterpart to the Ivy League schools in the late 1800's. Since its beginning, Bryn Mawr has educated talented, strong, successful women, such as Drew Faust and Katherine Hepburn. While Bryn Mawr is not known for professional education, it has been known to produce students who have the ability to think for themselves, who are exellnt writers and communicators, skills that allow for successf in any field they choose.
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What do you brag about most when you tell your friends about your school?
The campus is gorgeous! I had my own room all 4 years complete with a fireplace. Our alumna include Katharine Hepburn and the first female president of Harvard University, Drew Gilpin Faust.
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What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?
Everyone is incredibly apathetic. No one gives a damn about anyone but their friends.
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What kind of person should not attend this school?
People who are conservative or don't like to be around people who are not like them. Everyone at Bryn Mawr is different.
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What's the most frustrating thing about your school?
To be honest, the social life. Yes, Bryn Mawr is right by Haverford and a bus ride from Swarthmore, but being at an all women's college is just not right for everyone. The parties here are non-existant and the parties at the other schools don't even come close to those at larger schools or universities. Besides, all the parties have a terrible female/ male ratio. Most people have to actively search out a social life if they want one. This can and will get frustrating after a while.
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Why did you decide to go to this school?
A student tells us why she chose to come here and about the Tri-Co
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What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?
That the workload was this heavy! I also wish I had known about all the resources available to me, in terms of internshipsetc.
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Describe the dorms.
Our dorms are absolutely unrivaled, as they're all castles with secret passageways and stained glass windows. You will not find a more beautiful place to live while you're in school.
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What kind of person should attend this school?
those who feel less than confident with respect to academics will thrive in an environment totally unfocused on anything but intellectual ability, but is a substantially active social experience cannot be replaced with a few close friends and freedom to act as you please, this environment will be unbalanced
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What's unique about your campus?
I strongly believe that the best thing about Bryn Mawr College is the consortium we have with Haverford College, Swarthmore College, and the University of Pennsylivania. Having such a diverse assortment of classes offered to me and all the students at all these colleges, is great, seeing as sometimes going to a liberal arts college can be a bit heartbreaking when you realize that classes are not as abundant as one would like them to be. It's also great to meet more people than you would in a school with only a total of 1300 students.
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What is the stereotype of students at your school? Is this stereotype accurate?
One stereotype about Bryn Mawr that I heard back in high school was: "By and large, Bryn Mawr girls are Bi and Large." Under this stereotype, we (Bryn Mawr girls) are all lesbians who care too much about studying and too little about partying and exercise. As a rising sophomore, I can definitely say that none of this is true. Out of all women's colleges, we are one of the "straightest," and there are boys around our campus (from Haverford and Swarthmore) taking classes all year long. Furthermore, our campus administration really stresses personal health and life balance. Every freshman is required to take a 6-week "Wellness" course which teaches us about life skills such as stress management and nutrition. Our fitness center also holds monthly programs where students who exercise have the chance to win t-shirts, water bottles, and other prizes. After a full year at Bryn Mawr, I can definitely say that by and large, Bryn Mawr girls and, well, normal, hard working, intelligent, and independent college girls.
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