<p>A little concerned about the workload and stress level at Bryn Mawr, the obviously more prestigious of the two. The all female population at Bryn Mawr doesn’t matter to her. Financially, attendance at either school will end up about the same. Daughter plans to major in psychology and go to grad school for a Ph.D in psych afterwards. She enjoys participating in dramatic theater as well, but as a hobby. She is very liberal,but prefers a place where there are a mix of ideologies ; doesn’t want to be somewhere where everyone is the same extreme left. She doesn’t mind working hard and is used to doing so, but needs some time to relax and have fun once in awhile, too. Any thoughts? Which school should she choose?</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about Bryn Mawr aside from the Welsh name, but I can speak to a few things about Bennington. The Psych professors (all two of them) are beloved by the people who study with them. There’s the trade off you get with tiny schools, you’ll have a great working relationship with them by time you graduate, but you’re limited to two professors + visiting if either of them takes a sabbatical during your time at Bennington. There isn’t a mix of ideologies here unless you consider varying levels of leftism varied. Among the political economy students you’ll find a few people in favor of controlled market capitalism, but you’re certainly not going to find anyone that’s socially conservative, aside from a few international students. </p>
<p>As for as academics/work load…Bennington is what you put into it. Classes are usually structured so that you can slack off if you need to. The workload for classes is usually pretty demanding, but there’s always wiggle room to tune out for a week if you’re so inclined.</p>