Trans Women Students at Bryn Mawr?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Bryn Mawr College
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Hi there,
We’re looking at a few of the very liberal historically women’s colleges for our trans daughter (maybe also including Smith and Mount Holyoke). I know Bryn Mawr accepts trans students and that the environment is probably welcoming, but I only found one article online about trans women’s experiences there and the person said she thought she was only trans woman at the college (although she liked it there).

The school doesn’t provide that information and just said to tour and see if she likes it (which we are doing). I can definitely see that there are NB students there and some trans men. But I don’t know how I’d feel if there weren’t some other trans women there. It’s kind of hard to find this information. We are touring, but I’m going to feel kind of awkward going up to random students and asking if there are trans women on campus. Does anyone know a little about this?
Thanks!

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If I were your daughter I would look up Bryn Mawr’s LGBTQ+ student organization and reach out to them with questions. I am interested in dance and theater performance so I have connected with a lot of college clubs on Instagram. They have been very helpful in answering questions. Plus it’s great to follow them to get an idea of what’s happening on campus.

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Thanks! I did that, but they don’t answer. (That was what I have done at other colleges. For some reason, the number for the diversity center doesn’t work) And when I wrote to them by email, I got a nice answer from the dean of undergraduate admissions that basically said they don’t keep track and that she should come and visit—which we are doing. She suggested talking to students, but I don’t feel comfortable asking random students about trans women on campus. That feels…awkward! When we are there, I’ll try to stop by the center and see if anyone is there.

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There is a Rainbow Alliance, but it’s not clear how to reach them. They have a Facebook group that hasn’t been active in several years. I can’t find info on how to actually reach anyone in the group.

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I’m not sure that a small LAC would be the best fit for TG student. Many all-women’s colleges, including BMC, have a visible LGB presence, but the synergy between the different communities in LGBTQ is not seamless. A small LAC won’t provide the same support, not due to lack of tolerance or acceptance, but due to lack of population size. A TG student is more likely to find a peer network, and facilities such as gender identity clinics and medical professionals, in a more populated area of the country with a culture of tolerance. This would leave out states or jurisdictions seeking to ban gender-affirming care, or that are otherwise hostile to gender dysphoria. I think a university community in an urbanized setting with a commitment for tolerance would be a far better fit for a TG student.

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Northampton, where Smith is located, is a very liberal town, with a strong LGBTQ presence, even though it is two hours from Boston and three from NYC. People born male who transitioned to female are eligible to attend Smith, but not the other way around. So if she is seeking a womens college in a liberal area, add Smith to the list. Mt Holyoke accepts all women, and females who have transitioned to male. But it is in South Hadley, which is not as liberal as Northampton. Bryn Mawr is in a main line commuter bedroom suburb, again, not a hyperliberal area, although in general the Northeast is more tolerant than other parts of the country. If youre looking for a womens LAC not in a major Northeast city, but in a very tolerant town, Smith fits the description. Sarah Lawrence might be a fit, too, and is much less selective than Smith. Yonkers isnt as liberal as northampton, but it is a commuter train ride into NYC.

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Thank you! These were my thoughts too, and we’ve mostly been investigating city schools. She will actually be attending an art program at a small school in Philadelphia this summer (although I don’t think she will apply there.) But it will give her a taste of living in the middle of the city. The reason Bryn Mawr was appealing is because it’s outside of Philly and has that connection with Swarthmore and Haverford too. Well, there many other reasons too. But that’s why I thought it might not be as isolating.

I definitely understand what you’re saying about LGB not always being the same at LGBT. We’re signed up for the tour, so we’re going to go! I guess we will see, and I’ll try to report back in case anyone else ever has a question like this.

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Thank you! We were also recommended Smith and Mount Holyoke. That area is kind of hard to access for us—just not great flying or train options and kind of far to drive-but if she likes the feel of Bryn Mawr, we will investigate. I’ve actually been to a program when I was a teen at MH, so I remember that it was in a really small town.

This is sort of an experiment. We haven’t been focusing on women’s colleges. But I know that some of the very liberal ones like Bryn Mawr, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and maybe Scripps (I’m not that familiar with the west coast) have a reputation for being supportive of gender diversity.

My guess is that she will probably end up in a city school in a state that’s safe for trans people. But I thought Bryn Mawr was close enough to Philly to see. Some other schools, like Oberlin, were appealing but I’m not sure I want her in Ohio. I did consider Sarah Lawrence. In fact, I applied and was accepted a long time ago! But she really likes science, and I feel like they are a little weak on that.

There are also some schools on the west coast. We’re on the east coast, so I’m not as familiar with them. Also considering Macalester in Minneapolis.

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Oh. I should also say we’ve looked at Boston area schools and NYC schools. She’s been to NYC a lot and doesn’t really like it. Too big for her. She was meh on the Boston area schools.

We’re in VA, and she has a good shot of getting into William and Mary, but she didn’t like it. She liked the art school at VCU, although I’d thought she wanted to study CS or physics. Although VCU would be a great cultural fit. She’d said she wanted to leave the state.

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Smith is an easy, quick drive from Bradley Int’l which is in Windsor Locks, CT. It is very strong on science, and welcomes trans women (who transitioned from male to female). Northampton is a vibrant, liberal town with lots of shops and restaurants, and a strong sexual minority community. From what you describe, she really should go take a look at Smith.

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I think you might have issues getting hard numbers at most colleges regarding the number of trans students attending. The school might consider that a privacy issue and with such a small population - it probably is.

I agree about Smith being a very good option. S24 just finished up a college tour of MA, RI, CT. We flew into Bradley Int’l - it is a great airport. Small, easy to navigate, very modern. It was about a 35 minute drive up to Northampton (that’s where we went to dinner).

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You probably already found this site, and it looks a bit dated but here is another data point of LGBT friendly campuses

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I disagree with the statement above that a trans student might not be comfortable at a LAC. My D’s friend came out as trans as a sophomore at her top 3 LAC. As far as we are aware, she was the only openly trans student at that time. She was accepted and welcomed. An LAC can be just as good as any other place to be who you are.

Given BMC’s location in a major city, I also don’t think there’s an issue with a trans student having access to a

Isn’t that Philadelphia?

As a whole, there aren’t that many trans students. It’s not terribly surprising that the OP isn’t finding a lot of information about them on various campuses. There are good suggestions above.

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There is a lot of good advice here; I’ll just add that we have a current student at Mount Holyoke and it is a very, very welcoming community across the board. Specific to this question, they are quite clear (and were amongst the first to be clear) of their position as a “Gender-diverse historically women’s college” - not all the women’s colleges have that same clear position. (There is also a broad diversity across many other dimensions as well.)

The town itself is small and quiet but Amherst and Northampton are close, and the population generally seems pretty accepting broadly.

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Here is an article that might be useful, though it is 3 years old and things may have evolved:

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Also, this appears to an active support group. It lists contacts, too, who may be able to provide personal insight:

https://www.brynmawr.edu/inside/latest/events/trans-queer-support-group

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Thank you! That’s exactly what I was looking for! I was looking through the events and never saw that.

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Thanks, everyone! I’ll take UPenn! :joy: I have my doubts that she’d get in there. But I don’t think she’s getting into Swarthmore or Haverford either, and we’re looking at those!

I have also heard good things about some of the schools on that list. We should go look at UMass Amherst and Smith and Mount Holyoke. We just have to find the time. It gets time consuming and expensive.

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I’m not sure how you feel about the states they’re in, but have you thought about Agnes Scott (GA) or Meredith (NC)? For a student competitive for the schools you’re thinking about, these would be very likely admits.

Agnes Scott is in Atlanta and is also part of the consortium that allows students to take classes at other Atlanta-area universities (like SCAD, Georgia Tech, Spelman, and Emory). From its website it says, " A Safe Place to Be You - Agnes Scott’s Safe Zone program seeks to promote both a physically and emotionally safe environment for LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual) students, faculty and staff," (source). On a different page it says, “Despite the exclusivity that the term “women’s college” might bring to mind, women’s-centered environments of learning are typically socially progressive, welcoming and offering a safe space for various gender identities,” (emphasis added, source). @Sweetgum’s family really liked their visit there, I believe. As a NC resident, Sweetgum might also be able to speak to Meredith.

Meredith is in Raleigh, the state capital and part of the Research Triangle. Its diversity statement says,

The College admits undergraduate women students of any age, race, creed, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin.

In alignment with our core values and our mission as a women’s college, the College respects race, ethnicity, culture, sex, gender identity, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, ability, age, national origin, immigration status, veteran status, political affiliation, religion, and spiritual identity that enrich and ennoble our campus conversations, relationships, classrooms, co-curricular programs, and work environments. Our community appreciates that identity is intersectional and that diversity extends beyond this incomplete list of categories.

The College strives to cultivate a climate of respect and dialogue around these aspects of identity. Meredith adheres to a comprehensive non-discrimination policy that recognizes differences and acknowledges that these differences are valued assets that enrich our community. [Emphasis added.]

From its statement, I can’t tell if trans women are accepted, but I think it’s worth a question to the admissions office. At Agnes Scott, I think the answer definitely seems to be a resounding yes.

When you were in Boston, did you visit Simmons? It’s part of the Colleges of the Fenway consortium where there are also cross-registration opportunities (and extracurricular opportunities) with Wentworth Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts College of Art & Design. Its notice of nondiscrimination says, “We support equal educational and employment opportunities for all persons, based on each individual’s qualifications and fitness, and we seek to administer our university policies without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or parental status, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, socio-economic status, ancestry, disability, veterans’ status or genetic predisposition,” (emphasis added).

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Thanks! I am aware of Agnes Scott. I’d not heard of Meredith. But I don’t think we feel comfortable with Georgia or NC because it’s hard to say what will happen in both of those states in the next year or two. I’m not sure what might happen in Virginia either if our state legislature turns red in November. It would be bad. :frowning:

We aren’t wedded to women’s colleges. The only ones we’d really considered were Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, and Smith because they have a reputation as being trans friendly and really liberal. I guess potentially Scripps, but that would be very far. Every other college on our potential list was co-ed.

We didn’t visit Simmons when we were in Boston, but I did hear of it.

Thank you for the suggestions, though. I didn’t mean to give the impression we were only interested in women’s colleges. To the contrary, just a few. :slight_smile:

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