Bryn Mawr College Top Questions

All professors know your name. Math is my favorite class simply because I love the professor.Students study a lot. If theres nothing to do on the weekends, its probably more productive to just stay in your room and study. Class participation is common. Some students engage intellectual convoersations-some don't. Students are not competitive at all. I woory about how Bryn Mawr students will handle life in a comptetive world after graduation.

One thing any prospective student should know: academics here are everything! People study all the time and when they are not studying they are bitching about how much work they have or silently suffering from stress. It's not a chill environment. If you want to party, don't come here! Seriously, people are in the library on Friday night, Saturday morning, basically all hours. The first weekend after classes my roommate studied all of Friday night and then got up at 7 a.m. Saturday morning and studied again! I was shocked and awed. Relationships with Professors are pretty formal, most people are in awe of the professors, but the students here put them on a pedastal and it makes it difficult to really have a stimulating class room experience. For example, people talk to the prof, they don't engage one another in class. Also, I have noticed that either Bryn Mawr girls are obnoxious and talk non-stop in class either obvious or irrelevant things or they are timid and don't talk at all. Bryn Mawr girls don't take academic risks, they are smart, but tend not to challenge the status quo as far as ideas. They are the type of girl in high-school who did every homework assignment and kissed up to the teacher.

All of my professors know my name. My favorite class is Developmental Psychopathology, which is amazing, challenging, and enriching. Students study here a lot. It's a challenging school. If you can't stand studying, you shouldn't come here because you will be very unhappy. We have intellectual conversations out of class all of the time. Students are not competitive, at least in my experience, because we are unaware of each others grades because of the social honor code. I really like this system because I have come here to learn as much as possible, not to freak out about grades. I did that enough in high school. The psychology department is wonderful. The professors are so nice and helpful and we are so lucky to have the Child Study Institute and the Thorne Kindergarten School right on campus so students can get great hands on experience. I think the academic requirements are demanding. I don't think the language requirement makes sense. The education at Bryn Mawr is geared towards whatever you want it to be geared towards--you take the classes that take you where you want to go. If you want to learn for the sake of learning, you take those kinds of classes. If you want to get a job immediately, you probably won't take the anthropology of art. I think most people here are planning on continuing their educations after Bryn Mawr.

Class size varies widely, but many upper-level classes are small and close-knit. I'm a psychology major and have enjoyed taking a variety of psych classes, such as abnormal psych, social psych, and women's mental health. My women's mental health class even includes a community-based component in which a partner and I visit a center for women recovering from drug and alcohol addictions. I've taken cool sociology classes, such as Black America in sociological perspective, women in society, and marginals and outsiders: the sociology of deviance. Students study hard. Class participation is common, as are intellectual conversations outside of class. The education is geared toward learning for its own sake. Students are not competitive with one another and grades are not discussed, even among friends. I wish that in class we could focus on a smaller amount of material so that I could understand and retain it better.

All professors have known my name. I especially loved being able to take courses at Haverford (I majored there) and my favorite Prof by far was Leslie Dwyer. One can also take courses at the University of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore. Also, Joshua Dubler was a really great professor. I think we study all of the time, but with friends. We all have something to say in class, which can get annoying. I think that some of our requirements aren't always great--I hated all of my math/science requirements. But they have made me a more rounded person. I have spent time with professors outside of class and they have been invaluable to my educational experience. I especially enjoyed the Anthropology department at Haverford. While we are learning for learning's sake, some of that learning really comes in handy in the job search.

Most of my professors know my name and try to get to know me a little, some through meetings with each student at the beginning of the semester and others by talking about the class or specific assignments. I appreciate the classes most with a lot of discussion and interaction. So far that has mostly been the English classes I've taken and political science. I'm part of the group of students who is chronically sleep deprived, but I think that it's worth it and I don't mind that much. I frequently talk about my classes and what I'm reading, especially with my roommate and she does too. The atmosphere is not competetive at all, which is great, but at the same time everyone cares so much about their studies that it's like a ripple effect and in itself is a motivation to do well and work as hard as possible. I feel that both the administration and the faculty encourage learning not for GPA but for learning itself, and it is evident in the students as well.

Yes. Favorite class was definitely Urban Theory with Juan Arbona. Least favorite--paleobiology with Bruce Saunders. Every waking second (that they aren't blazing). Class participation is annoyingly common. Bryn Mawr students don't know how to talk about anything that does not qualify as intellectual. Students are not competitive (in humanities/social science). Modern architecture with a visiting prof was so amazing. Growth and Structure of Cities is unique to the college and is basically the only reason I don't regret going to Bryn Mawr. I spend time with some professors after class and even have their cell phone numbers but I think I'm an exception. BMC's academic requirements blow (specifically the language credits). The education is geared towards getting into graduate school.

Classes are small and the professors are great. I love the close interactions between the students and the professor.

By the end of the semester, all of my professors know my name. It's not hard to have a relationship with your professors, either. I mean, obviously if you sit in the back of the classroom and never partake in discussions or ask questions, you can go through the semester unacknowledged. Professors make it easy to meet with them, which I've started to take advantage of. It really depends on the workload that someone is taking, because some people seem to be studying all the time, and others have a lot of free time. Bryn Mawr women do have intellectual conversations outside of class, but in my experience, most of them are driven by current events (at the moment, the 2008 Election is a hot topic). More often, students talk about popular culture. The academic requirements aren't difficult at all. If you come into the school with an AP credit or two under your belt, it's especially easy to get through all the division requirements and still have plenty of room for credits toward your major. I was worried about PE credits coming in, but they're so easy to fill. Every freshman is required to take a wellness class, which is pretty much the equivalent to high school health class. After wellness, you can fill PE credits with a huge variety of classes, from pilates to kickboxing to rowing. A lot of people fill PE credits simply by playing a school sport.

All of the professors in my major know me by name. I think that's a significant advantage to going to a school of this size.

Bryn Mawr is one of the most unique academic environments I've ever encountered. To be fair, it's not for the faint of heart; this is not a college you attend if you're interested in partying every single night and not doing the reading. You put in the work and your professors acknowledge you for it. I think the level of intensity really varies, but I walked in to the bio department passionate about being involved, and I got a response. Every professor I had first semester freshman year, even in large seminar classes, knew my name and at least a little about my personality. It's hard work, it's intense, and there's an incredible amount of pressure, but the sheer amount of faith professors place in their students is astounding. Partially because of the Honor Code and partially because of a system of mutual respect, we're expected to meet our full potential. If you don't do the reading, no one is going to chastise you for it, but if you do, it will open doors that you can barely imagine. Professors routinely walk out while students are taking tests, we're allowed to schedule our own exams, and I was offered research positions off the bat freshman year with a professor I'd never met because my lab instructor noticed how hard I'd been working and how important the department was to me. You do have to put yourself out there, raise your hand, and participate, but the rewards and completely worth it. Some classes are better than others, and yes, I've had a few I really disliked, but overall, professors are committed to being a part of students' lives and educations, and the academics here are like nowhere else.