Atmosphere at BMC

<p>Hi, I visited Bryn Mawr last Fall and the first impression wasn’t so great. I’m going to be applying as a transfer this year (that’s the plan so far, at least). I’m still interested because of the tri-co opportunity and the fact that it does seem like a good school academically.</p>

<p>I was just wondering what some opinions on the atmosphere were. When I visited it seemed a little… I don’t know, dead/sketchy. Classes were in session. There were people around, but it wasn’t very busy. None of the students said hi or anything while I was on my tour (it was just the tour guide + me and my boyfriend. Maybe I got a weird vibe because my boyfriend was with me). The dorms looked old and a little gross, and even some of the classroom buildings looked a bit worse for wear (I think I’m remembering the science-area in this case).</p>

<p>Anyone want to refresh my memory about what campus is really like?</p>

<p>The first time we visited Bryn Mawr was for an April accepted students event. The campus was gorgeous, trees were in full blossom and bloom. Everyone said “hello” to us, including staff, professors and students. I’m really sorry that you had such a different impression. It is a smaller school, so it’s very possible that when you visited, it was on the quiet side. As for the dorms looking old etc. well, most of the buildings are older. Actually, the dorms have been ranked (Princeton Review?) as amongst the top, if not, the top in the nation. But, again, it’s subjective and I respect that. My D chose Bryn Mawr over other more competitive, higher ranked schools and is thrilled by the challenge and richness of the academics, the friendships she’s made, the traditions of the school…as you see, I could go on. Oh, she loves her dorm room which is in a part of a tower!</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply! I’ll be visiting again this Fall… hopefully it leaves a better impression. I’ve been reading a lot about the college and it seems great. Maybe the tour guide showed us a bad dorm or something… online all their dorms look like castles haha, but the one I saw just looked like an old appt building. I’m thinking it might’ve been the one built in the 60’s.</p>

<p>Sounds like you visited Erdman (sp?) which was the Louis Kahn designed building. Definitely a one-off and not at all typical of the collegiate gothic architecture at Bryn Mawr. I don’t know how transfers stand in the housing lottery, but I do know that you can at least express your preferences. </p>

<p>I’m glad to hear that you are giving Bryn Mawr a second look.</p>

<p>If you got a tour of Erdman… that explains everything! (apologies to anyone here who may like it). It seems to have a very different atmosphere than the rest of the dorms, in my opinion. Some people love it, but the main campus dorms are more representative of the school (fireplaces, window seats, name plates going back to the 1800’s… etc.). I don’t know about Park Science, I was a humanities/social sciences person so didn’t set foot in there after my obligatory courses freshman and sophomore year. I did love both English House and the Psychology/Education buildings, and thought they were very well-kept and the Dalton renovation is amazing (it was old and creepy when I did my freshman year psych there!).</p>

<p>Bryn Mawr has a beautiful campus and the dorms are some of the best I have seen.</p>

<p>Rather than the dorms, I would focus on this aspect of your impression:</p>

<p>“I was just wondering what some opinions on the atmosphere were. When I visited it seemed a little… I don’t know, dead/sketchy. Classes were in session. There were people around, but it wasn’t very busy. None of the students said hi or anything while I was on my tour”</p>

<p>and see if it happens again.</p>