<p>My daughter has accepted a place in the 2010 class and will be enrolling this fall. My wife and I were surprised when she chose to attend Bryn Mawr and are concerned that it is not the best fit given her interests. She intends to major in Physics. The latest, but not the only concern we have, is that the only sections of the math (Calculus 102) and physics (Physics 103) courses that she will need to take in the Fall 2006 semester are offered at the same time.</p>
<p>Unlike many other applicants, neither my wife and I, nor our daughter, has had any personal contact with anyone at Bryn Mawr. She visited on spring break of her junior year, applied and was accepted by letter. She attended the admitted student program after acceptance. She did not receive emails or telephone calls before or after she was accepted or after she informed the school that she planned to attend. We therefore have no idea who to contact with questions. When I have emailed the admissions office I haven’t gotten responses.</p>
<p>I would like very much to communicate with someone who knows something about the Physics department and who would perhaps be willing to answer some questions we have, about about majoring in a physical science at Bryn Mawr and other more general questions.</p>
<p>Even though my daughter has informed the other schools to which she was accepted that she will not be attending, I am thinking seriously about talking to her about perhaps not enrolling and reapplying to colleges this fall.</p>
<p>I hope there are still some Bryn Mawr parents or students reading these threads who are willing to respond. Thanks.</p>
<p>I go to Swarthmore, so I don't know much about Bryn Mawr in and of itself, but I have some information that might be of interest to you. Your daughter could probably take a comparable calc or physics class at Haverford (or Swarthmore, for that matter). Haverford is only 10 minutes away, and vans run between the colleges at regular intervals every day. Swarthmore is a half hour away, making Haverford a better option. If you're interested in this option, I would recommend she take calc at Haverford so that she can become familiar with Bryn Mawr's physics department.</p>
<p>Since the admissions department is not responding, I'd recommend contacting the chair of the physics department or the registrar. You should be able to find their contact information on the school website.</p>
<p>Thanks. I have looked at both the Haverford and Swarthmore course schedules also. At Haverford the comparable courses start on the half hour instead of the hour so she would have to take both math and physics there. At Swarthmore there is an appropriate math course but there would only be 40 minutes to make the commute back to Bryn Mawr to take the Physics course so I guess it depends on the bus schedule. The scheduling of the same math and physics courses on both the Haverford and Bryn Mawr campuses also make it very problematic whether Intermediate French can be scheduled, but that doesn't seem as important.</p>
<p>usually popular intro classes like calculus I are offered at more than one time, sometimes with different teachers, but if you really want to take the two classes there's not much room to be picky about teachers. </p>
<p>in terms of physics, i was a math major at bryn mawr so i was in the math and science building a lot, and though i never took a physics class, i knew a few people who were very interested in it and took several classes. i have heard from several people that our physics department is extremely respected and a very solid department. according to one of my friends, it used to have a very close link with princeton and has maintained those standards and quality throughout the years. though there are always the hard classes and the teachers you'd rahter not take a class with, you will find that at EVERY college. </p>
<p>i dont think it would be smart to withdraw your daughter and have her reapply to other colleges. though many people have reservations about all-womens schools and going to bryn mawr, it usually turns out to be the best decision for the person who goes there. if not, you can always transfer, which would probably be better than withdrawing and reapplying to other places. bryn mawr does not get the credit it deserves in terms of math and science departments, and i saw that with an unbiased opinion. i actually am transferring out of bryn mawr for personal reasons: the academics were absolutely amazing and transferring out was the hardest decision i have ever made because i didnt feel i could find another school that matched such an education and opportunities at other institutions like haverford, swat, and upenn. i went to a very prestigious high school and i am a very academic person, so i do not think i am giving bryn mawr any false praise. the physics department is very close and provides tremendous support. if your daughter decides it's not the style she likes or bryn mawr is not for her, shes not trapped.</p>
<p>in terms of math, science, and languages, it does tend to be a problem. i myself wanted to take some science classes, but i was also very determined to take intensive first year chinese, which conflicted with every single science. sometimes you have to make sacrificies and take what you want to the most and maybe wait a semester to take other things. i never had such a problem in high school and it frustrated me in college, but it happens every where and its something that all students have to deal with.</p>
<p>Bryn Mawr has an excellent
reputation for physics &
the sciences. Take a look at
Tri-Co course scheduling web
page because the 1st year math
and physics courses are offered
at numerous different times.
In addition, your daughter may
not need to take select intro courses
provided she had AP courses or grades
high on the math exam during frosh
customs week. BTW, my D goes
to Bryn Mawr & loves it</p>
<p>Thanks for the replys. Regarding the math course, only one section of the course that Bryn Mawr's catalog says my daughter should take given her high school courses and AP test score is offered fall semester. It is offered the same time as the only section of the Physics course she should take. The most likely students who would want to take the course in fall semester are beginning students who want to major in chemistry, biology, math or physics like my daughter. The one section that is offered would work for the other three majors but not for physics. I really do understand about scheduling problems, but if you want to major in Physics and can't take the beginning math course that is appropriate for you and that is required for your major, it doesn't seem right. I suppose she can wait until the spring semester to take the math course, but that's not what she would like to do nor does it seem academically preferable. Anyone who has looked at the number of required courses and how the prerequisites work when a student majors in physics or chemistry would understand why getting the required intro courses out of the way as qucikly as possible is important, particularly if the student wants to take a semester abroad.</p>
<p>We have had a very difficult time finding anyone to communicate with at the College about other questions we have had. I really would like to talk with someone there about my general concerns. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>How about giving the head of the Physics department a call? Your d can't be the only student who's had this problem - there may be a simple solution available.</p>
<p>My daughter will be attending in the fall and I am surprised you haven't received correspondance from the Dean's office. We recently received a letter from the Dean explaining who her Asst. Dean would be and how to get in touch with her if you have any questions. I suggest you call the Dean's office if you haven't received the mailing.</p>
<p>Your daughter has a chance to attend BMC and you're thinking about giving that up so easily? My sister actually was accepted to both Haverford and Swarthmore but decided on BMC and graduated in 1993. She currently does high risk OB/Gyn and loves the school. For some reason, BMC doesn't get the respect it deserves on CC but it is a very fine college and I'm surprised that I feel even need to say that. The best aspect of LACs is that the professors do care about the students, so, you should not even think twice about emailing the head of physics with your question. As there are always a few physics majors per class, I'm sure there's a reasonable answer to your concern.</p>
<p>I find this very strange, also. The op says he has emailed admissions, but why not call?<br>
[quote]
She did not receive emails or telephone calls before or after she was accepted or after she informed the school that she planned to attend.
[/quote]
This would worry me. Are you sure that they know she's attending?
You haven't received any mailings since she accepted? She should get on the phone, pronto.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the comments and suggestions.</p>
<p>We have received the "official communications", just nothing else. I checked again with my daughter and we have not received a letter from the dean regarding her assistant dean or anything else. We also have not had any "personal communications" of any kind nor did we expect to receive any. I mentioed it because apparently other people have and that might have been a point of contact.</p>
<p>I am not suggesting that Bryn Mawr isn't a fine liberal arts college. But I do have the concerns I have mentioned and others.</p>
<p>I will try emailing the Department Chair and see if I get a response.</p>
<p>if you have any way to call anyone, that usually gives u a more immediate response. in my whole transfer process, ii found t was always much more effective calling the person i wanted a response from than emailing.</p>
<p>Invirginia: My daughter is in the Class of '09 and I'm also a member of the Parents' Council. I took the liberty of forwarding this thread to Jenny Rickard, the Director of Admissions. In her response, she asked that you please call her directly at the Admissions Office or e-mail her (<a href="mailto:jrickard@brynmawr.edu">jrickard@brynmawr.edu</a>) so that she could point you in the right direction. She was genuinely concerned about your issue and, more importantly, about the lack of communication since the College tries assure that all incoming students get some form of personal contact. She referred to a recent mailing from the Physics Department to all prospective physics majors. I am sure this was just the result of an unfortunate glitch. For what it's worth, my daughter has been thrilled with her Bryn Mawr experience and my wife and I have been tremendously impressed with Bryn Mawr's constant efforts to enhance the quality of life at Bryn Mawr for its students.</p>
<p>Thanks bklyndad. I emailed the Physics department chair on Tuesday and he replied yesterday and is going to get back to me. I will also email Ms. Ricard. For whatever its worth, my daughter did not receive a mailing from Physics Department.</p>
<p>Both the Bryn Mawr Director of Admissions and the Physics Department Chair have responded to my emails. The Director's response says that additional information will be forthcoming and the Chairman's response was very, very helpful. My anxiety has been lessened and I thank those who suggested that I contact these individuals.</p>
<p>Hi. I graduated from BMC in '97. Both the Physics and the Math program are <em>EXCELLENT</em>, so do not worry about your daughter's choice to attend. </p>
<p>It used to be said (I don't know if it still holds true) that Bryn Mawr was 2nd only to MIT in the number of undergraduate females who graduate in Physics. I know (according to the physics department) that they still graduate 50 times the national average.</p>
<p>I never took Calculus 2 at BMC. I started in Multivariable Calculus. I had a minor in Mathematics. I also took Physics. I would be very shocked if there was not a good solution for your daughter. When I was in school, there were several sections of Calculus and Physics. Perhaps she can take a course with Post-Bacs?</p>
<p>(Bryn Mawr has an awesome program for Post-Bacs that are going to Medical School).</p>
<p>For parents of a smart kid you seem pretty helpless. Why not just pick up the telephone and call someone? It's summer, so you may not get someone immediately, but they'll respond. Bryn Mawr is a highly respected, expensive school, and didn't get that way by ignoring parents who are shelling out the money.</p>
<p>Better yet, have your daughter do it. She needs to start taking control of her life anyway.</p>
<p>One other suggestion ... I would assume each student will be assigned an advisor and perhaps Bryn Mawr could let your daughter know who will be her advisor ... the advisor is the natural resource at Bryn Mawr to help yoru daughter work through situations like schedule conflicts and ensuring all pre-reqs are completed on time.</p>
<p>While I can't address the Physics aspect of your question, I can say that the Math department is excellent. I'm a math/Archaeology double major (Class of '09), and I've had great experiences with the math dept., and friends of mine highly recommend the physics department. One thing you and your daughter should consider, though, is that just because she may not be able to get into Calc 102 first semester, it is offered second semester as well. Additionally, the extra class slot would give her time to take Humanities and Social Sciences courses for the other academic requirements she would need to get done if considering going abroad. This will probably not be her last experience with scheduling conflicts (although Math and Physics are much, much easier to schedule together than Math and Archaeology), and she should learn early how to make the best of these situations.</p>