Bryn Mawr College Top Questions

most are the type of girls that were just too "big" for their high schools and needed more stimulation.

In all honesty, there have been clashes here and there in the past year based on issues about race, political and religious affiliations. The clashes though were dealt with amongst the student body withing the Self Governing Association. Everything that needed to be said was said in that forum (we have SGA meeting every Sunday). As uncomfortable as it was at times, I do respect the fact that everybody dealt with the issues sensibly and in an open manner. That's definitely a way better option than keeping it in and having tragic outcomes in the end. Bryn Mawr College is really diverse! I LOVE IT! About 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students come from out of state and 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} are international students! How often do you get to meet someone from Greenland or Lichtenstein!

Racial tensions on campus are something of great discussion. It seems that in the past 3 years, a number of events among different students of various racial and ethnic backgrounds have sparked a heated and emotional campus-wide discussion on race, class, religion, and ethnicity. A republican would feel out of place at Bryn Mawr. Students make the general assumption that everyone is a liberal, democratic, LGBTQ-friendly, open, and aware person. Students wear whatever the hell they feel like wearing. People usually wear shoes, though depending on the class, classroom, and professor, shoes do sometimes come off.... I don't think anyone's ever headed to class completely nude, though I wouldn't be surprised if it's happened in the past. I believe that the majority of Bryn Mawr students are from the Northeasters US. There is a decent population of International students as well. Financial backgrounds are not often discussed. I'd guess that middle-class students are most prevalent. There are definitely a few upper class students who make their class visible (through cars, clothing, accessories...) and known, however it's much less likely that you'll find lower and middle class students making their class "visible" to all. I come from a lower-middle class background and often found myself in uncomfortable situations not being able to afford trips to the mall or eating out, or getting team t-shirts.

Groups on campus can be VERY pushy. Students wear what they want to class- from what the jcrew, ralph lauren, and gucci to bm sweatpants and t-shirts. If you want a football team cheerleader feel, DON'T COME HERE. Everyone on campus interacts pretty well, with some exception. A lot of the student population is international, so it's always great to learn about other cultures. Financial backgrounds are from all areas. Politics is huge at BM. But you don't have to get involved if you don't want to. Most of the students are completely left. But if you aren't, don't worry, people are usually very respectful for whatever your beliefs are.

Ok, so Bryn Mawr is a hella expensive school. Most people here are, therefore, hella rich. But I wouldn't say that about myself, or my friends, and the Financial Aid office is GREAT, guarenteeing to meet 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of demonstrated need. I know a ton of people here on full academic scholarship, through the Posse program. I think some BMC students try to act "richer" than they are, if you get my drift...perhaps by trying to dress snazzier, or tending to have their nose in the air. I think BMC can be very classist sometimes. Everyone is really accepting of people different from themselves. We have some problems with race, but I think its from general ignorance. Any other times there are problems on campus, its because we are incredibly outspoken (and somtimes stubborn) women. We hold fast to our beliefs, which are overwhelmingly left. Mawrtyrs for Obama is huge on campus, although the Bi-Co Students for Hillary group held some huge events which hundreds attended. I once heard someone describe College Republicans as "a support group"

I think that the Bryn Mawr community is very diverse in terms of religion, sexual preferences, political ideas. That is why we have a bunch of student organizations to represent all these different groups. It is very likely that you'll find at least one group you are interested in. You will feel out of place, first, if you are a party animal. You will feel out of place if you are a social butterfly or something. You will feel out of place if you are not the kind of person who will work their hardest (academically).

Everyone says that Bryn Mawr is a "very diverse environment." I, however, find this to be not at all true. However, take this into account: I came from a high school that was so diverse that there virutally were not minorities. We were 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} white, 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} black, 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} hispanic and 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} Asian. So, understandably, Bryn Mawr isn't as diverse. We do have a lot of international students and we are very diverse as far as socio-economic class goes. On my hall we had people from the highest SES level to the lowest. I think that most Mawters are, statistically, from New York, New Jersey, Pennslyvania, Boston-area and then California. I feel that quite a few are from my area - Montgomery County MD. A lot of students are politically active, but I feel that the vast majority simply aren't, which is unfortunate. Some people simply didn't care about the primaries, didn't vote, didn't read the paper, couldn't even name two candidates. However, many many many people are involved in politics. Last year we had America Ferrara and Kate Walsh come and visit to talk about politics with us. (We're pretty left-ish).

I believe that a racial minority student from a racially and culturally diverse background or school setting would feel out of place at Bryn Mawr because it is a predominantly White institution.

I was engaged in a two-hour long debate about the social merit and detriment of Sex and the City. This didn't happen in a classroom...I was sitting on the floor of my dorm, eating chocolate, and arguing fiercely with my hallmates. That's Bryn Mawr. Intense discussions about everything and anything are spontaneous. Fights about polarizing issues are common. Political conversation is normal conversation. I love Bryn Mawr for these reasons. My friends and peers are willing to extract meaning from topics both mundane and important, and I respect and enjoy their company with this in mind.

Very very cliquey. Everyone has their own groups so it gets very suffocating. People are generally very bored on weekends if you stay on campus. Students have no social life. People are very gossip-y. the school is way too small for its own good- everyone knows everyone and its hard to avoid people you hate.