Bryn Mawr College Top Questions

Small classes are definitely a major strength of academics at Bryn Mawr. The size of the school is about 1300 or so, and that's just about right for me. It makes it so that even introductory science lectures, which are the largest at any school, have less than 100 students in them. The biggest class I've ever had was Environmental Geology freshman year, and it had 80 students despite being capped at 40, but the professor changed the lab schedule to accommodate everyone. The small classes are great, although lotteries can be frustrating, and everyone tends to be eliminated from a few classes while here, but luckily there are enough good classes that you can find something else, or talk to the professor if you really want or need the class, and they will often let you take it. After you finish these introductory classes, most have fewer than 20 students. Professors always know your name, especially in major classes, and discussion is the norm, when appropriate. Many majors have very close student groups, which is nice and makes classes much more comfortable. As a geology major, I can tell you that it is an excellent department. It's really close and has a strong sense of community. There are four permanent professors and few part-time lecturers, lab professors, and emeriti professors. The professors are all excellent and are real experts in their subject areas, and students are challenged to engage with the material and really understand how different processes work. This kind of dedication and quality are characteristic of most departments on campus, and the classics, archaeology, computer science, geology, and chemistry are particularly highly regarded nationwide. Outside of class, academics still tend to dominate. People spend a considerable but usually not unreasonable amount of time preparing for class, studying, or doing homework. Most weekends you can spend Saturday not doing work for classes without any problem. People are very interested in their studies here, though, and this comes out in conversations and Mawrtyrs' view on the world. People are interested in doing something truly meaningful with their life after college, and so while many students tend to have one eye on the long-term, that trajectory is formed by academic and social passions. A Bryn Mawr education prepares you for that world by teaching you the knowledge and fostering a sense of curiosity and confidence, because you know what you're doing.

Academics at Bryn Mawr. what to say. It's hard. It is demanding, it is time consuming. Is it rewarding? very much so. It's one of the few places that somehow napoleon and luke wilson managed to be compared through a historiographic lens over dinner (really I have no idea how it happened either), or how german words you found particularly entertaining in class get mixed in to every day language and all your friends understand. The professors are wonderful, take time out of their schedules to meet with you. They are interested in your life, academic or other wise, and how you are doing in your adventures and desires in and out of the class room. They will keep jokes running through the entire semester or year. I've had professors make us dinner on more than one occasion. It really is wonderful, and I wouldn't want my relationships with my professors to be any other way. It is just amazingly supportive and amazingly effective. Bryn Mawr has limited general requirements, which allows for a lot of exploration within fields. I picked up an extra major while at it! The work load is large. The work is difficult and everyone knows exactly what the word 'thesis' means and entails. Normally a shudder or groan accompanies it. but everyone survives! The academic work load and the culture surronding it is a big part of bryn mawr, and I think we all secretly love it deep down, once we've all slept enough, eaten enough and no longer are being forced to watch hours upon endless hours of fascist film and decides its effects on the european community.

The classes are all small and all of my professors not only know my name but know me as a person. I'm a double major with English and Education Certification. The education department is amazing, every professor in it is super inspirational. It's not really a competitive environment since part of the honor code is that you can't talk about grades, so mainly you compete against yourself and just try to do your best.

All of my professors know my name, which is awesome. However, it's not that unusual since my largest class right now, a lecture course, has about 20 students in it. The students study a lot because there's a lot of work. However, we still take time to chill and socialize, so that it's not all academics. Intellectual conversations outside of class are the norm... they sort of just happen without you realizing it. The students are definitely not competetive. This is because it is against the Honor Code to discuss grades unless it's in a private setting and all parties are comfortable with the discussion. No one knows anyone else's grades, and so there's no academic competition. However, the students here are kind of perfectionists, so they set high standards for themselves and tend to not be happy when they don't meet their own standards. The education here is geared toward learning for its own sake. Bryn Mawr has resourced geared toward careers, such as the Career Development Office and the different pre-professional advisors and clubs. However, the classes themselves, and the professors, are focused on just how this material is important to life.

Academics are HUGE part of a Bryn Mawr student's life and studying is a frequently reoccurring fact of life. Classes are usually small and your professor usually knows your name. My favorite class was a computer science class that studied robots, even though I'm an anthropology major. Students love to discuss and debate all kinds of intellectual and non-intellectual material. Because of the Honor Code competition is not as present as it is at other schools because it's not acceptable to discuss grades and things in a public forum. The academic departments do tend to be small, with a few exceptions, which reflects the size of the school overall. Professors are often accessible, but it varies from person to person. The academic relationships with Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges have definite advantages in terms of course and major opportunities.

Class sizes are small, which is really nice for getting to know your professors and classmates. However, the academics are rigorous. This will probably be the hardest you will ever work in your life, but after Bryn Mawr, everything else will seem easy.

Professors will know you by name. They will teach in a Socratic method - be prepared! Favorite classes of all time were Constitutional Law, and Politics in Mass Media. Least Favorite - Any language class (spanish/latin) and computer science Class Participation is a must - it is expected by professors - the mantra being "BE PREPARED" Bryn Mawr Students do have intellectual conversations outside of class - sometimes these conversations are far more meaningful then class discussion. Students are competitive even when they can't discuss grades. We find loop holes. We are tricky. There is both personal and interpersonal pressure here all the time. The most unique class I have taken was Women, Work, and Family - a class which culminated in our own field research. Interesting stuff. I HATE THE ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS. I think they are outdated and a ridiculous push towards a "liberal education" let us focus on what we need to - and get meaningful degrees - who cares about Yoga and a lab requirement in law school? Education is about learning for learnings sake - and unfortunately it is the few and far between who can do something meaningful with their degree post-graduation without any further academia.

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.

One of my favorite aspects of academics at Bryn Mawr is the small class sizes. The professors really get to know you. Every class is taught primarily by a professor and many have had Ivy League educations. Each professor is required to have office hours where you can go and ask them questions, and many of them encourage you to go to just hang out, even if you don't have a question. At Bryn Mawr, the courses are a lot of work, and you work hard for your grades. However, because of its honor code, the environment is incredibly non-competitive. According to the honor code, students cannot discuss grades with each other unless all parties in the conversation are comfortable with it. Even then, most students do not give out actual numbers but rather generalizations. For example in describing a course, instead of saying that she got a 4.0 a student might only state that she did well. This eliminates competition among students so that the only competition you face is with yourself.

I am best friends with my entire major department (so ofcourse they know my name). They know whats going on in my life, they come see my plays, they ask about the other things they know I'm working on. it's a great connection/bond. My favorite class was a History of Art class I took. The professor was amazing, and I dont think a day goes by where I dont use or think about something from that course. My least favorite course was my Chinese History class. It was really boring, and even the professor seemed bored by it. Class participation is very common. infact, sometimes, in some classes, its annoying how much the students want to talk. Bryn Mawr students are ALWAYS having intellectual conversations outside of class - either the students continue the conversations right after class, when they meet up for coffee, or when they pump into eachother at 1:30am brushing their teeth in the dorm. We are ALWAYS intellectualizing. Because of the honor code, we are not alloud to talk about grades, so it is hard to be verbally competitive. I think there is a little bit of competition, but it is not as competitive as other places - usually people are more hard on themselves because they feel like everyone is doing better than them (since we cant talk about grades). I am a geology major, and it is my favorite thing about Bryn Mawr. It was started in 1895 by the first woman in the US to have a PHd in Geology. The geology department has given me so many opportunities to grow as a student, scientis, teacher and leader. We spend some time with our professors outside of class - we'll have a potluck dinner at someones house atleast once a semester (and the professors are all amazing cooks...)and sometimes we'll have dinner for a course at someones house, or go on an outing together. Also, their doors are always open so we can always drop by to chat (they encourage us to).

Professors at Bryn Mawr are truly wonderful! Not only are they super knowledgeable about their fields of study but they are more than willing to help you out if you are having trouble. Many departments have TAs available for students who might want extra help on class assignments. The Deans office also employs student tutors in all departments to provide one-on-one help to students on a regular basis. On Princeton Review we're rated as a school where "students never stop studying." We definitely do spend many hours a week studying but that's not all we do! Bryn Mawr's general rule of thumb is that for every hour of class per week, students should expect to spend two hours outside of class. Given that the normal course load is 4 classes at 3 hours per week each, this is 36 hours (give or take) that students are expected to spend on their school week. This rule is rarely accurate. In some classes, much more time is spent per week than the 6 suggested hours and in other classes homework might only take an hour or two. Yet, I think it's safe to say that we do, as Bryn Mawr expects, spend our weeks as full time students with approximately 40 hours of work a week including classes. Education at Bryn Mawr is much more geared toward learning for its own sake than for getting a job. I understand this method of thinking but for me, as a student, its sometimes frustrating when teachers profusely emphasize the importance of understanding the material versus achieving a certain numerical grade. Of course it's important to understand the material, but employers are not as concerned with whether or not you learned the stuff if your GPA is suffering. I wish professors (and this goes for professors at every institution) were more sympathetic with student's grade-driven nature and not solely mastery of the material. Also, with 65{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students going on to get a pursue a higher degree after graduation, grad school is discussed much more regularly than than entering the workforce. We do have a career development office but individual departments tend to steer students in more academic directions. The academic honor code is a really sacred and unique part of Bryn Mawr's academic identity. With regular take home tests, self scheduled exams and an unspoken agreement that speaking of grades is a social taboo, there is a lot of respect for students and their privacy. The professors are very trusting when they give students take home exams with specific instructions to take the exam under certain conditions and students actually follow the instructions. There is an honor board that reviews cases of academic honor code violation and these such violations are taken very seriously. I myself would never dream of violating the honor code. Not only would I not be able to stand the guilt, but I would never abuse something I hold so dear because I don't want this privilege taken away!

Bryn Mawr classes are definitely intense. We are always working, but that's also because we are very diligent students. Professors are generally very accessible, approachable and caring. They genuinely care about their students. Students can also take classes at Haverford, Swarthmore and University of Pennsylvania. Registration at classes within the Tri-Co is pretty easy. There is competition on campus, but not in the context in which most of us think about. Due to the academic honor code, students here don't talk about grades, which is why students generally don't know how they compare to their peers within the class. I'm a fan of the academic honor code, for it promotes self-competition, which serves as motivation for us to meet our own personal academic goals.

The professors for the most part know your name--My Arabic class is the only section for both Haverford and Bryn Mawr and I'm one of five people in the class--perhaps this is because the academics are challenging, but you get much more out of your classes than notes and facts. You get a chance to explore your opinion on WHY something is the way it is.

Academics are the driving force behind Bryn Mawr. When my friend and I were talking about what we thought about being here and what our initial thoughts on what Bryn Mawr would be like were, she described this place in a way that I will never forget. She said to me, "you have to realize that you are surrounded by a group of women who are going to put their school work first". I don't think anything could be truer, which i think is both a great and afrustrating feature of life on this campus. It's inspiring to be surrounded by motivated women, but it is also exhausting. Despite the Honor Code, which prevents us from discussin grades and is supposed to foster a sense of "learning for the sake of learning", Bryn Mawr has an intensely competitive academic environment. More than once I have found myself completely exhausted by the end of a week and not knowing why. I've realised it is the stress of trying to keep up with the work ethic and intelligence of the people I am surrounded by. This stress is self imposed, but it is prevalent throughout the Bryn Mawr community. It is refreshing to be in class with people so invested in their education, but I have found a lot of students to be quite retentious in class. I think a lot of people speak just to hear the brilliance of their own words. I have definitely learned so much just from listening to other students in class, but it is also really intimidating and at times aggravating. I have found my professors to be incredibly intelligent and engaging. They have all made themselves easily accessible, and that's something I cannot even begin to explain the value of. People come to Bryn Mawr for the academics, and they are not dissapointed. The courses are rigorous and demanding, sometimes I feel there is an almost unrealistic amount of work, but you certainly graduate with a great education.

Yes, I had one professor for Economics the first semester of my senior year. Even now, as a senior, I will pass him on campus and he will address me by my name. I have friendly relationships with all of the professors in my major department, and I've never had a professor who I couldn't approach with questions or for extra help. My favorite class was coincidently the class I got my lowest grade in (oops, I forgot we don't talk about that at Bryn Mawr). It was Nutritional Anthropology and I learned so much about cultural approaches to food and eating. It was a very practical course as well because we started the first class by asking ourselves where our food and water supply come from. Few of us knew. Now I'm always asking myself that question before I bite into a meal. My least favorite class was an upper-level requirement for my major. It was a writing-based course that only students in my major would ever consider taking. The whole class was based on one 30-page paper and presentation. It was the most boring experience of my life. Students are always studying here. Even when we're not studying, we're thinking about all the studying we should be doing. Class participation is mandatory, no question. At least in the humanities. Bryn Mawr students are intellectual snobs. Even lame conversations are held with an intellectual air. Students are self-driven and self competitive. Because we rarely discuss grades, we don't know how to be competitive with one another. I don't doubt, though, that Bryn Mawr students are competitively frustrated. As in, we would be if we could be. The most unique class I've taken is my Architecture Studio course. It was all about problem solving. The most famous project we did was design and build a cardboard chair that could hold our weight. The catch: no adhesive materials allowed. My major is Growth and Structure of Cities. It's a program, not a department. The Cities Program is an interdisciplinary approach to learning about the world through the lens of the city. I love it because I've taken courses in over 11 departments at Bryn Mawr, almost all of which have counted towards my major. Because it's a program, it requires the most credits: 11 Cities courses and 4 allied courses or a second major or minor. This keeps us focused within the program so that we're not just taking classes all over the place. Bryn Mawr's academic requirements have given me a well-rounded liberal arts education. Sometime around junior year I freaked out about the fact that I was at a liberal arts college, which wouldn't help me learn life skills of any kind. Then I realized that a liberal arts education is all about teaching the most valuable skill of all: the ability to think critically and solve problems.

Everyone takes academics seriously at Bryn Mawr. It is so refreshing to have a student body that really cares about doing the work for classes and learning the material, while at the same time is not competitive. Bryn Mawr has an honor code policy about not sharing grades, which means we're all competing against ourselves only. But that doesn't mean we don't care. On the contrary, Bryn Mawr girls are passionate in their discussions in-class, so that it usaully continues after class, too. My favorite class is probably my 200-level critical issues in education class. It takes a very philosophical view toward education, and includes fieldwork; I go into Philadelphia for observation every week. Despite the class lasting three hours on a tuesday night, I am always engaged in discussion.

I've taken/am taking 8 classes and 1 lab in my time here. My TA knew my name, and at least 4 of my professors know my name. I'm a little too awkward to get to know professors personally. Students are competitive with themselves, and even though there is no discussion of grades, you want to do better than everyone else.

All of my professors know my name and know me personally as well as academically. It can be bad, since they notice if you skip class, but I love the attention and class discussions. Students are only internally competitive, since we don't share grades as part of the Honor Code. Bryn Mawr is definitely geared toward learning for its own sake.

Most professors do get to know your name or try to make an effort to remember everyone if the class is large. However my largest class was 60 students and as long as I sat in the front I never would have been able to tell it was that large. In fact my professor for that class is one of the professors that knows me best. My favorite class was actually my C-Sem Class..(college seminar class) that all freshmen are required to take first semester of their freshmen year. I LOVED the class and the professor. Each of those classes are made small intentionally with no more than fourteen students. The discussoins were amazing and the books we read were great. My professor also made such a huge effort to read over our drafts and then individually meet with everyone and then dot he same after our final drafts. I never had a professor write as much about my paper as I wrote in a paper. That is true dedication! Students study a lot at Bryn Mawr and definately engage in intellectual conversations outside of class. I have heard of many students that have spent time with professors outside of class though I have not yet had the opporutnity to do so. With our academic and social honor code students really are nto competitive at all with one another. It is really that we are competitive within ourselves. I think Bryn Mawr's academic requirments can be a pain at times espeically the langauge requirment BUT I think once I graduate I will thank Bryn Mawr for making me go beyond my comfort level to get a broader education.

All my professors know my name--hell, they can even recognize my handwriting. My favorite class was Intro to Linguistics. I've become very conscious about how I speak, both the kinds of words and sentence structure I use to how I produce the sounds because of that class. Every topic, from syntax to language acquisition was fascinating. That the teacher was cute was a plus. Class participation is dependent on the class and time of the day. Bryn Mawr students frequently have conversations about classes, current events, and other topics outside of class. "Competitive" is putting it lightly. The most unique class I've taken was "Bioethics of the Natural World." It was about the environmental issues we're faced with now, and was to go about remediating them, if things can still be reversed. My final paper was on Public Transportation and how it could help decrease the use of fossil fuel, and therefore lessen greenhouse emissions. The physics major is...interesting. It's not for the wishy-washy. They're going to make you WORK. However, the physics major's community of students is especially close because there are so few of us, and the professors are VERY supportive. They even insist that we call them by their first names! Anyway, the major itself is very demanding. There will be late nights spent pouring over a problem set that's due the next day, but it will also be offset by general silliness among the students and professors. Even science majors, and especially physics majors, require fun, contrary to popular belief. I do spend time with profs out of class. Office hours, especially for a science major, is not nice, but a necessity. We also have little Physics get-togethers, usually around the beginning and end of the semesters where everyone is invited. Bryn Mawr's academic requirements are okay. They make you take classes that are outside your major area, which is good, but at the same time can be frustrating, since other people who've actually taken a class in the subject before have preference, if the class is over-enrolled. You can make the education at Bryn Mawr what you want. I know I'm doomed to a life of scraping pennies off the sidewalk by being a Physics major, but there are more useful things you can learn, like Comp Sci or Business too.