<p>We (father, mother, and daughter) recently spent a day at Bryn Mawr to get a feel for the college. One impression we didn’t expect and were a little disconcerted by, was a lack of engaging dynamic among the students we encountered throughout the day. Our daughter sat in on a class that went like this: 14 students entered the classroom, and sat for 15 minutes prior to the professor’s arrival WITHOUT talking to one-another - they just sat silently for 15 minutes - no friendly chit-chat - nothing. In the room, there was a table with about 10 chairs, and more chairs against the wall - the majority of the students sat back there, and throughout the class, there was very little engaging discussion between the students with numerous prompts and opportunities being given by the professor. We got the same impression from students we passed on campus and encountered in the dining hall. There just didn’t seem to be any sense of connection - no sense of shared unity. It really was quite bizarre.
I’m sure there are click groups where there is more energy and shared enthusiasm, but we’re concerned that the overall student body seems to lack this quality. We loved the campus, the professor teaching the class our daughter sat in on was fantastic, but we’re a little worried about the overall personality of the student body. Any thoughts or comments would be most welcome.</p>
<p>Hi there! </p>
<p>I’m sorry to hear that your didn’t get a good impression of the student body. Keep in mind, there could be several reasons why the students weren’t as talkative as usual: midterms, the time of the class (early morning classes are rough), or they just could have been having an off day. I’m a current student at Bryn Mawr now and I have all my classes with the same 11 students because I am in the 360 program (if you would like more information about what this is, please look on the website). I feel like I know everyone in the class very well because we spend so much time together and because we all went to Japan for two weeks with the professors. I am delighted to see them every day and I really value the perspectives that my classmates have to share, even after spending all semester with them. In short, I wouldn’t base your impression of Bryn Mawr’s entire student body based on one bad class experience. </p>
<p>I’m a transfer student and the friendly and welcoming student body is one of the characteristics that I initially liked about the college so much. I went to a much larger university previously and I felt sort of lonely sometimes because I could walk two and from my activities without ever seeing anyone I knew. Here, I always see people I know on campus and I feel like I am integrated into a very close-knit network. It’s hard to capture the overall enthusiasm level of the student body because we are such a diverse group, but I would say that most Bryn Mawr women are passionate about what they study and that enthusiasm shows through in their academic and personal endeavors. </p>
<p>Again, I’m sorry that you got a sense that the student body here is unenthusiastic but I strongly recommend that you come back for a second look if at all possible. If you can’t come back, reading student blogs is a good way to get a feel for the campus as well. Here is the link to the blog site: [Blogs</a> at Bryn Mawr College](<a href=“http://blogs.brynmawr.edu/]Blogs”>http://blogs.brynmawr.edu/)</p>
<p>Hello Rialto,</p>
<p>I’m glad you had a somewhat positive experience during your visit. I suspect that possibly the reason you felt that way is because you visited during one of the most stressful times at Bryn Mawr. We are currently in that period where midterms are finishing up and work is starting to pile up. I know that I’m a little drained as a sophomore at BMC. But, I would like to reassure you that Bryn Mawr students are not like zombies all of the time. 
Students are typically very engaged in very interesting conversations in the dining halls, walking around campus, in the Campus Center, and in class. I hope you’ll be able to visit Bryn Mawr at another time and see the real character of Bryn Mawr that is exciting and welcoming. We are very much unified and very friendly people. I think at the time of your visit, we were unified in stress LOL. Hopefully this helps to give you an explanation of why you may have gotten that impression.</p>
<p>Cheers,
Gabybojalil</p>
<p>Gabybojalil and Whatwouldjaniedo,
Thank you for your thoughtful response to our post. Not sure we’ll be in that area anytime soon for a revisit, but your student perspective was certainly helpful and we appreciate the
insight you gave to our observation. Good luck with the mid-term pile up!</p>
<p>[ENGLISH</a> HOUSE GAZETTE Stress City](<a href=“http://ehgazette.blogs.brynmawr.edu/2012/01/11/stress-city/]ENGLISH”>Stress City | ENGLISH HOUSE GAZETTE)</p>
<p>I’m worried about this, if my daughter decides to attend Bryn Mawr. Does anyone have any insight?</p>
<p>Splokey, I think your question is being discussed here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/bryn-mawr-college/1310347-daughter-accepted-delighted-but-parent-concerned.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/bryn-mawr-college/1310347-daughter-accepted-delighted-but-parent-concerned.html</a></p>