Bryn Mawr College Top Questions

For a school with such an emphasis on diversity, we are not all that diverse. There is a bit of latent racism that has reared its extremely ugly head in the last couple of years. The LGBT community is very vocal and active, but can be less than welcoming to those who do not consider themselves part of that community. I have heard that it is difficult to be religious on campus. Most of the students seem to be from the east coast of the US, though there are a large number who come from elsewhere. Also, most of the students seem to be from mid-to-upper middle class and wealthy backgrounds, which can be very strange for students from other backgrounds (My family is very mid-middle class, and the majority of my friends from my hometown are lower-middle class and working-class; it's weird to be with people who can afford to order-in food most nights of the week, for example).

Bryn Mawr's a mostly liberal campus. There have been some racial snafus in the past couple of years, and the college responded by beginning a pilot Social Justice program. There's a range of socio-economic groups on campus, but in my experience it's not a big deal; I had a roommate who'd never worked a vacuum because she had a live-in housekeeper, and another who, like me, had worked AS a housekeeper, and we all get along just fine. A significant number of students do work study, so it's far from unusual. It's not a terribly religious campus, but with its Quaker past, it never had any sort of strong institutionalized religious presence to begin with. The LGBT community is prominant and supportive but not exclusive or overbearing. It's not a particularly slouchy campus, but it's not too dressy-dressy either; most mawrtyrs are more interested in being taken seriously as intellectuals than being pretty pretty princesses. Because we're all women, friends do tend to stick together, but that doesn't mean that social groups are rigid or unwelcoming.

At Bryn Mawr, we have artsy women. We have more athletic women. We have politically passionate women. We have the fashionable girls. We have the capies. But these groups are actually pretty permeable. You can be part of different groups and have friends in different groups. But if I had to categorize Bryn Mawr, that's how I'd do it. There are a lot of women with money who attend Bryn Mawr. Bryn Mawr is on the Philadelphia Main Line and is not a cheap school. It sometime feels like a school of women who attended prep high schools and have vacation houses in the Hamptons or something. But there are the girls who work to get to Bryn Mawr. They take multiple jobs during the summer and try not to spend too much money during the school year. But I think, socially and academically, these women are on pretty much the same plane and are pretty hard to tell apart. Once you get to Bryn Mawr, your personal money doesn't really matter anymore. At Bryn Mawr we have many international students, though our student population is mainly composed of white Americans. We are really LGBT supportive and are predominantly politically left.

Students at Bryn Mawr, for the most part, like to be aware. There are many many awareness groups and events on campus. There are many religious groups on campus, and diversity talks every week, as well. Students at BM are from all over the place. There are a lot of international students (including myself) and a lot of people from the West-coast (one of my best friends) as well.

No student would feel out of place at Bryn Mawr. A Mawrtyr needs to be open minded and accepting of students of different racial, religious, LGBT, socio-economic, etc. groups on campus. Bryn Mawr girls are there because they are smart, they have potential, they work hard, and they want to learn no matter what titles of human division they can be given. The key is to be open minded and to learn about people you may not have worked with before.

The student body at bryn mawr is very open and friendly (minus around finals time). Our social honor code makes the campus a safe place to learn and live. I have made some of the most amazing friends here that I know I'll stay in contact with for the rest of my life.

There is a fair amount of diversity here in terms of people with various religious, racial, socio-economic backgrounds and sexual orientations. There is at least a fair amount of interaction between people from various groups, maybe not as much as there should be. Students come from around the country and there are a fair amount of international students. Students are predominantly left.

Most Bryn Mawr students are Liberal. I do feel that a very conservative (politically) person would feel out of place. Most students are either from the west coast or the north east, and they are usually from upper middle class backgrounds. Bryn Mawr students are very pollitically active/aware and very pollitically correct. I feel that there is a group for everyone on campus and if you can't find one than you can form your own.

Women's colleges attract all different types of people, and everyone gets along for the most part. I love walking on campus and seeing Mawrtyrs I know, but also seeing grad students, post-bacs, Haverford and Swat students, and members of the Bryn Mawr town community. It's definitely a healthy mix of people.

I really like the student body. It is very diverse and open.

Very diverse, which often creates tension, but is excellent for learning things you would never know from your hallmates, teammates, and classmates. The majority of people here are liberal and democrats. More than 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students recieve financial aid, though it seems as though the wealthy students are becoming more prevalent.

Bryn Mawr prides itself on diversity of all kinds, and is probably more diverse than many campuses. There is no one type of student that best fits the majority of students here as everyone comes from different backgrounds. This is a very politically liberal campus that embraces many different ideas and people, except for more conservative ones.

The students run the spectrum from women who would have been in sororities to women who were ostracized in high school. The honor code here makes Bryn Mawr a safe space for people to express themselves in the truest form.

There are several religious groups in the tri-co and bi-co and even on BMC campus. There are many special events for religious groups all year round. The school is now non-affiliated, but was originally Quaker (which is where our Honor Code originates). As far as clothing goes, there are many different styles prevalent on campus. Some people opt to attend classes in gym clothes or sweats, while others go full out in designer clothing and freshly applied make-up. There are all different levels and styles of dress. most students are predominantly democratic, which could possible uncomfortable for republicans.

Great students, very dedicated to learning. Of course, there are some less-than-intelligent people, but you'll find such people anywhere. The campus is as diverse as an (almost) single-gender school could be, in my opinion. In addition, I haven't met anyone here who isn't extremely friendly and open-minded. And that's not just in terms of people in general, but among their peers at other colleges and universities, as well.

Students here are very diverse in ethnicity, region, and socio-economic class. However, they are mostly liberals. There are some extreme liberals. There are many different student types on campus, though I see a few more upper-class, North Eastern prep/boarding/day school students than I would like to. Some wealthier students do not seem to comprehend that many of their peers lacked the opportunities they had as children, nor do they understand that many students had to fight a lot harder to get accepted and remain here. But there is little intentional class snobbery here, and many of the most disadvantaged students are the among hardest workers and the most involved community members here.

As I mentioned Bryn Mawr is a very nice place to be LGBT, or any sexuality for that matter. We have numerous clubs and organizations around everything from race to religion, and we try hard to oftn be in dialogue with the rest of the community.

Bryn Mawr students are passionate and politically aware. There are a lot of close communities and clubs, but no one is exclusive. Almost everyone is friendly and will start a conversation on any topic at a moment's notice. There are no real "cliques." A "typical" Bryn Mawr student might be someone lounging in a T-shirt and jeans, constantly studying, but always approachable.

If you are looking for a huge party school, Bryn Mawr is not for you.

One of the most positive social experiences I've had here was through the Customs program, which guides your living situation freshman year. All dorms have members of all classes in them, which I think is very beneficial for integrating between classes, but the frosh on each hall are grouped into a "customs group" with two or three sophomore "customs people" who guide you through the early weeks and provide support and friendship. This is a very helpful bonding process, and my best friends here are from my customs group. This isn't always the case, but it's an excellent support network nonetheless, along with Hall Advisers and other people in place to facilitate community within the residences. The dorms are awesome as well, by the way. The student body makeup is very different I think from most schools. It's very different from my high school, for one thing, where there were "cliques" and defined social stratification. That doesn't exist at all at Bryn Mawr. There are different groups on campus, such as the Self-Government Association, South Asian Women, and different athletics that have a lot of members and sort of have their own subculture, but no group has any sort of superior status over another. I think this may be because for one thing, most Mawrtyrs were either nerds or cool nerds in high school, and also most people are involved in many different activities. For the most part, though, people just have a group of friends that they spend most of their time with. Students themselves tend to be liberal, politically aware, and socially concerned. There are some conservative students on campus, but not many. Really the only type of person who would be completely out of place would be a homophobe or a Paris Hilton fan. Just about anyone else could find people like them and be comfortable here. To class, there are people who wear very high-class designer outfits, people who could be wearing their pajamas, and the majority in casual clothes. There are a lot of students from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but at least 2/3 are from other states or international. There is a pretty high contingent of international students. Financially, the majority of students are well-off, and some are extremely well-off, but these distinctions are not really apparent, there are plenty of low- and middle-class students, and the college gives excellent financial aid. I myself am on almost full-tuition and fees need-based financial aid, and I've never felt particularly uncomfortable with that.