Copyright 2025 StudentsReview, Ecliptical Technologies, Inc. http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/BMC_comments.html Life at BMC - Comments en http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/BMC_comments.html Bryn Mawr made me cry a lot. But it?s been worth it! I?m now entering my third year at BMC and there have been times when I wanted nothing more than to transfer, and other times when I wanted nothing... Wed, 26 Jul 2017 01:52:24 GMT StudentsReview 1145-180626 1145-180626 1145 17 English Female Undergraduate Class 2019 2nd Year Advice Bryn Mawr made me cry a lot. But it?s been worth it!
I?m now entering my third year at BMC and there have been times when I wanted nothing more than to transfer, and other times when I wanted nothing more than to stay on campus with my friends, soaking up the brilliance of my professors and classmates for the rest of my life. Speaking from my own experience ? because I?m sure other people feel differently ? here are my thoughts?

Some negatives about Bryn Mawr:

1. The Health Center and Access Services are clueless, unhelpful, and problematic. No one takes #SelfCare@BMC seriously, because everyone here suffers in some regard and there are almost no resources available to assist us. But from what I?ve heard from my friends outside of BMC, other schools also have terrible mental health services, so I guess BMC isn?t unique.
2. Callout culture is toxic here. Obviously calling people out when they say something racist/sexist/ableist, etc. is necessary, but it gets to the point where people literally bully each other and make each other suicidal. And might I add that it?s mostly white performative allies doing this. If you?re a hard-right Republican, don?t come to Bryn Mawr unless you?re prepared for a lot of people to not like/trust you.
3. Students of color have a lot of issues with the administration. Professors can be racist and PoC are often tokenized and mistreated in classes.
4. The campus is very small. Bryn Mawr is 1,300 undergrads, and even with the addition of Haverford, the student population only totals to about 2,500. Everyone knows everyone. I guess this could also be a good thing.
5. There?s a lot of competitive suffering because the Honor Code discourages talking about grades directly. Like, ?Oh, I have three ten-page essays and a lab report due on Tuesday, KILL ME LOL.? It gets super old.
6. Parties at BMC are usually lame unless you want to hook up with other BMC students. (There are some fun parties, such as Radnor Halloween and East vs. West, and the FUCS concerts and formals/dances at Haverford tend to be awesome if you bring friends.)

Some positives about Bryn Mawr:

1. TRADITIONS. Oh my lordy, come to Bryn Mawr for the Traditions. Parade Night, Lantern Night, Hell Week, and May Day are some of the most amazing experiences you will have.
2. If you?re super cuddly and outgoing, BMC is the place for you. 85% of the people here are friendly and welcoming. You *will* have friends and you will make them quickly. Coming from a high school where most of my friends were uninteresting and pressured me to conform, BMC is the first place where I truly felt like I could be myself.
3. Personalities on campus are diverse: sweater-wearing, Kombucha-drinking leftists with John Lennon glasses and legwarmers; introverted ?geek girls? who spend most of their time in the library; and, of course, the politically moderate econ majors who are only at BMC for the education and not necessarily because they fit the vibe. Whoever you are, you will find your crowd at BMC.
4. ACADEMICS HERE ARE AMAZING. They?re rigorous, but amazing. Professors know their students by name, and smaller classes allow for more intense engagement.
5. Philly is right nearby! And downtown Bryn Mawr has really nice thrift shops, restaurants, convenience stores, etc.
6. The campus is gorgeous!!!
7. I really like how no one feels pressured to talk about their grades here because of the Honor Code. It?s a breath of fresh air from high school.
8. It's so easy to start your own club and to join many at once. Everyone here is super involved with extracurriculars.

Finally, let me bust some myths: yes, it seems that most people (at least a very vocal and visible minority) at Bryn Mawr identify as LGBTQ+. It was weird for me at first, since I identify as (mostly) straight and had almost no queer friends growing up, but most of my friends are queer at BMC and everyone respects each other. Fellow straight pals ? Haverford is 5 minutes away, and I know countless BMC students with Haverford, Penn, and Swat boyfriends. You don?t have to go without heterosexual romance for four years (unless you want to). BMC is not a convent! You will meet men. They?re always on campus.

And no, BMC is not a ?women?s college!? It?s a *historically women?s college.* Not everyone here identifies as female. If you see that as a problem, then BMC is probably not the school for you.

I?ve changed a lot during my time at Bryn Mawr, and hopefully for the better. You will learn so much from your professors as well as from your peers. There are some truly terrible people here ? like any other school. But there are also some truly amazing people. This is a very specific type of college experience, and you need to REALLY want it. I suggest visiting and doing an overnight to see if it?s right for you. Wed, 26 Jul 2017 01:52:24 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/BMC_comments.html http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/BMC_comments.html Bryn mawr appears to be an accepting and welcoming place where everyone is free to be who they are, however this is only true if you are liberal and white, noncisgender. There's still an exclusive of ... Fri, 10 Feb 2017 04:17:29 GMT StudentsReview 1145-178689 1145-178689 1145 9 Chemistry Female Undergraduate Class 1920 1st Year Negative Bryn mawr appears to be an accepting and welcoming place where everyone is free to be who they are, however this is only true if you are liberal and white, noncisgender. There's still an exclusive of minority students from the white feminists who so call preaches black lives matter on Facebook. Everyone is afraid of offending noncomforming people to he point that literally anything they do they will receive a round of applause and gold stars for it. And if you point out any constructive criticism then you're being an asshole. Fri, 10 Feb 2017 04:17:29 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/BMC_comments.html http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/BMC_comments.html Beautiful campus with great professors students. Women will gain knowledge and be leaders here. Training ground for future female leaders... Sat, 02 Jan 2016 04:19:26 GMT StudentsReview 1145-172249 1145-172249 1145 43 Perfomance Arts Female Undergraduate Class 2019 1st Year Positive Beautiful campus with great professors students. Women will gain knowledge and be leaders here. Training ground for future female leaders Sat, 02 Jan 2016 04:19:26 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/BMC_comments.html http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/BMC_comments.html The good - education quality, faculty, opportunities for leadership, funding for internships and travel, research opportunities, encouragement to pursue personal interests. In many aspects, it is... Wed, 07 Oct 2015 06:37:36 GMT StudentsReview 1145-171183 1145-171183 1145 33 Physics Female Undergraduate Class 2019 3rd Year Neutral The good - education quality, faculty, opportunities for leadership, funding for internships and travel, research opportunities, encouragement to pursue personal interests.


In many aspects, it is what you make of it, and the professors + staff want you to succeed. I have had some amazing opportunities here and felt supported by the administration and faculty departments. They have been very flexible and encouraging to me. Some of the faculty are pretty awkward to interact with but I love them nonetheless.

The Traditions are pretty awesome and really tie the university together socially, but the administration wants to change them drastically + make them lamer, such is life.

One of the most beautiful campuses out there, very safe, and celebrating with friends on weekends is nice.

The bad - while people are generally nice, it's hard to really break into a social group or find people to talk to at more than face value.

There is sometimes a culture of hostility toward people who don't have the "correct opinions" on certain political issues, which I think goes against the values of a "liberal arts" institution. It is easy to laugh at what people think counts as "critical thinking" because usually it amounts to "people here in this bubble agree with me so I'm right." This is the most frustrating part of the Bryn Mawr experience.

People tend to over-applaud people for sharing their personal experiences and stories of struggle. They eat up appeals to emotion, no questions asked or else you're a terrible person for "silencing" them. Professionalism and respect are out the window if you unwittingly upset someone because you voiced an opinion they didn't totally like.

People expect everything to be emotionally safe all the time, which can be kind of childish, and the campus can beat you over the head with talk about safety, peer pressure, etc. Bryn Mawr has got to be the least dangerous or edgy/risky/whatever place you could be. Which is why it's even more baffling that the admins want to crack down on non-existent hazing.

It can be fairly isolating at times. Also, the parties at haverford really, really suck. Classes there are aight though.

Penn classes are a cool opportunity, but honestly i've noticed a lot less rigor (easy A's) and a lot more smelly people. It's great to break outta the bubble though. Wed, 07 Oct 2015 06:37:36 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/BMC_comments.html http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/BMC_comments.html It's an all women's college, so if you're straight, expect to be miserable, isolated and have no social life at all. Swat and haverford look down upon students, so expect to have a Bryn mawr stigma. I... Sun, 21 Dec 2014 01:41:13 GMT StudentsReview 1145-155415 1145-155415 1145 32 Philosophy Female Undergraduate Class 2017 4th Year Negative It's an all women's college, so if you're straight, expect to be miserable, isolated and have no social life at all. Swat and haverford look down upon students, so expect to have a Bryn mawr stigma. If I could go back, there's no chance in hell I would choose to go here. There are plenty of places to get a great education. It's not worth it to go here for one. Sun, 21 Dec 2014 01:41:13 GMT http://www.studentsreview.com/PA/BMC_comments.html