Katie
Bryn Mawr honestly does have great academics. I love that I can have relationships with my professors. I recently missed a week and a half of classes, and most if not all of my professors were just as concerned for my health as they were for my work. The professors are all excellent at what they do--I have yet to come across a poor professor. The administration is fabulous, as well. It's easy to form a relationship with your dean, who can help guide you through registration, personal issues, extracurriculars, and time management. The campus has a very close feeling of community, which can have its perks, but also its drawbacks. Sometimes, it can feel claustrophobic. With a campus as small as this, one can feel cramped. I'm sometimes starving to just be anonymous, but everywhere I go, I see someone that I know. What's more, the surrounding town is pretty dismal. Other than the independent movie theater, there's not much that's catered toward a younger crowd. The R5 train can take you into Philly pretty easily, but even then, unless you have a lot of money, it's hard to find cheap things to do. You can always go over to Haverford, Swat, or Villanova for parties, but the fact that you have to search them out gets old, and the judgment on being a Bryn Mawr woman gets old even faster. Another problem is that there is a bit of racial tension on campus. I wasn't here for this, but last year there was a huge scandal that involved a student in SGA sending out a racist Facebook invitation. It wasn't meant to be racist, but it came off that way, and suddenly there was a huge split in the campus between those who were offended and those who defended this girl. You can still feel a lot of the tension--racial groups tend to draw towards each other.
Emily
Overall, I think Bryn Mawr is a great place for women t o go to school. It can feel a bit small at times (like when everyone you pass knows your name), but in the same token that smallness can be comforting.
When people are told what college I go to, you can see a clear generational gap in the responses: the younger crowd either has no idea where and what Bryn Mawr is or thinks it is a "lesbian school", where as the older crowd is impressed by the clout the name holds.
Madison
I think Bryn Mawr is an incredibly unique experience. We're given power, independence, and respect in a way that I can't imagine getting at other colleges, but at the same time, there's tremendous pressure, both on an academic and social front. You're expected to do your best and work your hardest, which is both empowering and a little exhausting at times. Bryn Mawr has an incredibly beautiful campus and committed community members who all really want to be a part of things; we're also one of the most academically intense schools in the country. I think Bryn Mawr has name recognition in academic circles, but I genuinely wish that we got a little more credit for putting in as much effort as we do. The friends you make here are the best you'll have in your life - I finally understand what everyone meant about keeping their college friends. I'm part of a family and part of a community in a way that I think would be impossible at a larger, less community-based school.