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.