Bryn Mawr CollegeDiscussion Discussion

I think that everyone has her own experiences in terms of meeting boys, so I can only give you my experience mixed with what I've heard. First, a lot of students like to party, and that's a great way to meet guys, though it doesn't USUALLY produce a real relationship. It's pretty easy to go out on the weekends and meet boys (through the Tri-Co, Penn, Villanova, etc.), so that is one way of finding a more "traditional" college experience. That said, the parties don't usually come to you; for the most part, you have to leave campus if you want a larger-scale party with a good guy-to-girl ratio.

Besides partying, I think with enough effort some people do succeed in making Bi-Co/Tri-Co relationships work (with students at Haverford and Swarthmore, if you're unfamiliar with the terms). However, it's pretty rare. Like with musical theater, though, if you have your heart set on it, you can probably make what you want out of it! I do know of a few longer-term Bi-Co relationships, it's just preeeeetty rare. If that kind of thing is super important to you, Bryn Mawr's not the first place I would recommend, but if you love other aspects of Bryn Mawr, you might be able to make it work.

I also know a lot of people who come into Bryn Mawr as freshmen already in relationships, and at least during the first year, it seems like it's hard but it works out okay. Maybe that's one way that a women's college makes that easier!

Guy friends can be super easy to make if you're really outgoing, what with parties and classes and stuff. If you take a class at Haverford, you most likely won't be the only Bryn Mawr student in it (this is rarer at Swat), and almost all classes at Bryn Mawr have at least one guy in them, sometimes even a Swattie. There are guys walking around campus during the day, but not so much at night, and the dining halls are full of them. So if you're really into meeting people, you can definitely make platonic guy friends through the consortia. If not, then you might have more trouble -- Like I said, I think the most common and the easiest way to interact with guys at Bryn Mawr is to meet them through the party scene, and that doesn't usually yield lasting friendships or serious romantic relationships (but it can be fun!).

Hope that answers your questions! Some girls seem satisfied enough with this aspect of Bryn Mawr/the consortia, some girls complain but seem okay with it, and some girls seem quite unhappy; however, I think that if you go for it and try to create the social scene you want to have ("Be the change you want to see in the world," lol), you'll probably be okay.

thank you sooooo much!

Good info.

Question 1. One of the dorms was famously designed for one specific girl (a legacy student back in the day, I think) who was very short. So Rockefeller Hall is definitely for shorter people, at least in theory. That said, I don't think that any of the dorms are unlivable for tall people; that just wouldn't be fair! I can tell you though that some of the living arrangements, whatever the dorm, are a little cramped, so if you're in a quad with bunk beds, depending on what specific room/floor/dorm you're in, it might be a little uncomfortable. That's the double-edged sword of housing at Bryn Mawr: all the rooms are uniquely shaped, so it's hard to know! But I don't think you'll have any major problems with that.

Question 2. Theater is a Bi-Co program, so you'd be involved with Haverford people and Haverford resources too. I think that for rehearsals and performances, they try to be equitable and fair in terms of location. You can read more facts and information on the website or Facebook page: http://www.brynmawr.edu/theater! From what I hear, the straight plays are good and the theater and technical theater classes get great reviews. A theater course just went to perform Shakespeare in an international festival in Dubai over Spring Break, I think! So as a non-theater student, I would recommend the program. In terms of musicals, as an audience member and a friend of some participants, I can observe that there seems to be a lot of heart and a fair amount of talent, but that it's not by any means a main attraction of Bryn Mawr/Haverford. I think, though, that if you're really into musical theater, you can make it happen, and if you have talent and some time, you can wind up center-stage! And as I said, the Bi-Co straight theater program seems very legit.

Question 3. I think that everyone has her own experiences in terms of "girl drama" and boys alike, so I can only give you my experience mixed with what I've heard. First, a lot of students like to party, and that's a great way to meet guys, though it doesn't USUALLY produce a real relationship. It's pretty easy to go out on the weekends and meet boys (through the Tri-Co, Penn, Villanova, etc.), so that is one way of finding a more "traditional" college experience. That said, the parties don't usually come to you; for the most part, you have to leave campus if you want a larger-scale party with a good guy-to-girl ratio.

Besides partying, I think with enough effort some people do succeed in making Bi-Co/Tri-Co relationships work (with students at Haverford and Swarthmore, if you're unfamiliar with the terms). However, it's pretty rare. Like with musical theater, though, if you have your heart set on it, you can probably make what you want out of it! I do know of a few longer-term Bi-Co relationships, it's just preeeeetty rare. If that kind of thing is super important to you, Bryn Mawr's not the first place I would recommend, but if you love other aspects of Bryn Mawr, you might be able to make it work.

I also know a lot of people who come into Bryn Mawr as freshmen already in relationships, and at least during the first year, it seems like it's hard but it works out okay. Maybe that's one way that a women's college makes that easier!

Guy friends can be super easy to make if you're really outgoing, what with parties and classes and stuff. If you take a class at Haverford, you most likely won't be the only Bryn Mawr student in it (this is rarer at Swat), and almost all classes at Bryn Mawr have at least one guy in them, sometimes even a Swattie. There are guys walking around campus during the day, but not so much at night, and the dining halls are full of them. So if you're really into meeting people, you can definitely make platonic guy friends through the consortia. If not, then you might have more trouble -- Like I said, I think the most common and the easiest way to interact with guys at Bryn Mawr is to meet them through the party scene, and that doesn't usually yield lasting friendships or serious romantic relationships (but it can be fun!).

Lastly, girl drama: I think that there always is some, but that's true at co-ed schools too. I don't think that college students instantly become 20x more mature than high school students, so in the first couple years especially, there will be drama wherever you go. Not to let Bryn Mawr off the hook -- girl drama seems to fester more here than at some of the other colleges I hear about from friends! What can you do? Close quarters, all girls, stressful workload at times... that's the breaks. But at the end of the day, despite the undeniable occasional moments of drama, Bryn Mawr is also an atmosphere where MOST students feel safe and comfortable and meet a lot of close friends. If you decide to come here, I hope that's the case for you! And whatever happens, here or elsewhere, put the schoolwork first in times of drama because it's a good distraction and it needs to be done anyway ;)

Good luck with your decision! I tried to be fair and thorough with my answers but they obviously only represent one side of it.

Wow, thank you so much! I know my questions might have sounded silly, but they were some of my concerns and I really appreciated the way you answered them with such depth. Thank you for spending so much time on this! :)

I know that there is a shuttle that goes in between the first three, I think its called the blue bus, that is free for students of the tri-co. As far as UPenn goes, I think that they will pay for the subway tickets, but I'm not positive.

I'm a current student, and there is no cost to travel to Haverford or Swarthmore as there is a reliable, good college-run bus/shuttle system throughout the Tri-College Consortium. To get to UPenn, you either have to drive or take the regional line on the SEPTA train system, and I think that you can get tickets directly from Bryn Mawr (but I'm not sure). But yeah, as for the Tri-Co, there's no cost whatsoever, whether for going to class or going to a party or event.

I know exactly how you feel. I might have to go to grinnell instead :(

I'm a current student, and Bryn Mawr's financial aid offers can be stingy/very loan-based at times! I believe that anyone interested in any school can appeal their financial aid offers (i.e. ask for more money) once they enroll, but it's not a surefire way to get more money. I'm also not positive how the appeals process works but you can likely read about it online/in the fine print on whatever paper offers you received from Bryn Mawr. Good luck and I hope you end up happy wherever you go!

Hi! I'm a freshman at Bryn Mawr this year, and I was in basically the same situation as you last year. My mom and I wrote up an appeal letter to the financial aid office stating every valid reason we could think of that displayed the need for more aid (income that had changed over the course of the year, having to pay some money out of retirement fund, etc.) and sent it to them. When I came to visit for Preview last year, we sat down with the financial aid office, talked through what in the letter could potentially get me some more aid, and a week later I received about $5,000 more in grant money from Bryn Mawr, which was really awesome and was what enabled me to actually come here this year. So my advice is to look at the financial aid office website and the steps for an appeal, meet/email with someone there to discuss your options (Ethel Desmarais is who I went through and she was extremely kind and helpful) as soon and as much as possible so that you can write an appeal letter and hopefully receive some more aid. If not, you can always look into more loan options aside from what Bryn Mawr has given you, though I know some students may not want to take that route. Best of luck to you!

stick in there. if your other schools offer a refundable deposit, go with them first(: then just wait and see if bryn mawr calls back

me too!ah....

It's good compared to other colleges, that being said it's not perfect. When they say they meet 100% of need, they mean they meet 100% of the need you have according to the formula they use. The formula they use it's always accurate, especially when accessing the needs of middle and working class families. This is true for A LOT of colleges though. Apply and see what they give you.

They were the most generous to me, they met 100% despite having a small loan each year.

Apologies! I meant to say their formula isn't always accurate.

Yes there is a large community and it's very close knit. Even those people who don't identify as LGBTQ are extremely supportive of those who are. The Rainbow Alliance, and other similar groups are very active on Campus. 'Out Week' is a very big event and at the start of every semester is a 'Q-Sem', a forum that freshmen are encouraged to attend during which questions about the LGBTQ community, and what it's like to be LGBTQ are asked and answered.

My daughter has not found this to be true at all. She has loved her freshman year tremendously and believe me, does not come from money!

Granted, Bryn Mawr does have its share of students from wealthy families but it also has a good percentage from other segments of the financial continuum. In general, catty and snobby are not the character traits I think of when it comes to Bryn Mawr women. More like serious, driven, involved and welcoming. I think the "traditions" that occur in intervals throughout the year help bind the student body together into a community whose members genuinely look out for one other.