Bryn Mawr College Top Questions

Freshman year starts off with a week orientation known as Customs Week. You gradually branch out during the year, making friends with people in your classes and clubs, but I have to say, my best friends are in my Customs group (meaning, they lived on my hall.) We are deeply rooted in traditions, of which there are four major ones and countless minor ones. I love traditions...they too are a great way to meet people and just bond. I am in SGA, which is the Student Government Association. We make our own rules...basically, the college doesnt really tell us what to do unless they've had student imput to a certain extent. If I'm not partying, Im hanging out with my friends, either at a rock concert at Haverford, grabbing a bite at Lusty Cup, or watching movies in the dorm. We feel totally safe at Bryn Mawr...I often left my door unlocked last year, although, since I'm living in a single next year, I probably wont do that as much. Bryn Mawr really stresses community, and that really does exist. We are family, even with people we don't really know.

Social life at Bryn Mawr is certainly uninteresting. There are random interesting events (in terms of parties), but for the most part I think that people leave campus to do something fun. If you are looking for cultural events and intellectual speakers, I would say we generally have something going on. They key to having a social life is making a group of friends who enjoy the same kind of things you enjoy, otherwise you are screwed! Literally! Bryn Mawr has a very clicky nature! Dating? Only if you are lucky or you are a slut or if you are interested in girls (though there is a lot of girl drama!).

Again, I'm just going to go down the list of recommened topics. We have our fair share of partiers (some peole woudl argue that we have a drinking problem - I say definately not true - I don't drink and have never felt pressured to). There party dorm, Radnor, can be pretty crazy, especially on Halloween. Yes, students leave their doors open. No, athletics events aren't very popular (we're Div. 3) unless it's Rugby. Yes, theater can be pretty popular (come early to shows). I meet my closest friends through Customs Week, a week of being introduced to Bryn Mawr life and compus life in general, where frosh meet their hall and other frosh in their dorm. Generally, very busy, but great fun. No, frats clearly, no sororities either. On a Saturday ngiht, there's always some kind of play, concert, singing performance, comedian to see. You can always get games from the SGA house, or rent the kitchen, or get a movie, or go into town, or go out to eat, or go to the library or hang out on your hall/in your dorm. You can go to Haverford, to Swat, to UPen, into the city, see a baseball game, anything.

Bryn Mawr is big on traditions; however, I wish there was more enthusiasm for other social activities on campus.

I'm not going to lie: I really wish Bryn Mawr parties were better. We have one or two really fun times during the year, but you need to Swat or Haverford for the more generic college gatherings.

None. There is absolutely nothing to do in the surrounding town. Go to haverford but haverford parties are horrible and swat is too far. And if you go, you automatically get grouped into the stereotype of desperate bmc girls going to haverford to meet guys.

There are not a lot of parties on campus. Philadelphia is right here, but many people do not take advantage of it. Haverford offers free concerts to Haverford and Bryn Mawr students, which are excellent and draw some big names. As for the dating scene: Dating is pretty normal for my friends who are interested in women. However, I've found that a majority of my friends who are interested in men simply do not want to date. I am a woman interested in men (and dating), and I've found it nearly impossible to meet men. There are just too few within the tri-co (Bryn Mawr/Haverford/Swarthmore). Frankly, it sucks.

To be quite honest, I went to the doctor one winter break because I was having constant stomachaches. My roommate had the same problem. She told me it was just stress, and jokingly asked if my friends and I sat around having Tums parties. I told her yes, and it was true. I have honestly had weekly study parties with my friends where the only thing imbibed was coffee and Tums. It's not exactly a roaring social scene, but it's nice to have so much support when you're out of your mind with work.

I think that student government is pretty popular. I work on the literary magazine, which isn't that great, but with work it could be amazing. I go to see most of the plays that Bryn Mawr and Haverford students put on, and I really love to watch screenings of films. Athletic events aren't that popular. I think that the events with the greatest amount of spectators was either Capie quidditch or prom dress rugby. Friend-wise, I think that a lot of Bryn Mawr students generally don't like to fully commit to friend relationships. They'd rather feel more independent. This mindset really bothers me, but for other women, it's really helpful and appealing. Over the weekends, it's fun to go to parties, to stay and play video games or board games, to reserve the student government kitchen and make meals. At Bryn Mawr, lots of women spend lots of time over the weekend with studying. Tradition-wise, Bryn Mawr has a whole lot of traditions -- from Parade Night, to Lantern Night, to Hell Week, to May Day. Plus more. These traditions really pull the school together and add magic to all the studying and hard work that Bryn Mawr is known for. Outside of campus, I see a lot of movies at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute which is within walking distance. And I love to take the R5 into Philadelphia to visit the art museum and Chinatown. And dating-wise, sure there aren't many boys. But if you want romance -- either with a woman or a man -- you can find it.

People who claim that BM deprives of a social life, are people who didn't try. They probably stayed put and expected the party scene to come to them. If you want a social life, you need to go out and try to meet people and change scenes now and then. I have a totally satisfying social life. Sometimes I'm thankful that Bryn Mawr's campus itself doesn't have as much (as often or as big) parties on campus, because it's easier for me to balance academia and partying at the same time. I attend church on UPenn's campus every Sunday (and often on Fridays as well) so I meet a lot of people though the church and have lots of friends on other campuses through that. My two best friends at BM are from my hall from freshmen year. One of them was my roommate and the other lived across the hall from us. We lived together (the three of us) sophomore year and will be hall mates senior year. Some of my other close friends are from classes/extracurriculars. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I'm studying (class-reading or writing a paper). Partying really depends on the person. On a Saturday night, other than drinking, I'd be ordering in and watching a movie with my roommates. Students in dorms leave their doors open (especially in the fall semester, because it's warmer). A lot of people leave things outside their doors as well - their junk, shoes, or even candy for passer-bys!