<p>How do the two compare in terms of</p>
<ol>
<li>Academics (education experience, not middle 50% of SAT scores of accepted students)</li>
<li>Community (friendliness, parties, alcohol?)</li>
<li>Food (variety and number of options–I’m quite a picky eater)</li>
<li>Accommodation (beautiful and comfy? are there single en suite dorms?)</li>
<li>Weather </li>
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<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>While I’m currently a Bryn Mawr student, I’ve spent extensive time at Wellesley since one of my closest friends graduated last spring. I’ll try to be as specific as possible, but if you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask!</p>
<ol>
<li>Academics
Both schools have exceptional academics across the board, there’s no doubting that. The same can be said of any Seven Sister. In this instance I would focus on what programs you’re especially committed to. While both schools offer cross-registration (Wellesley with Olin and MIT, Bryn Mawr with Haverford, Swarthmore, and Penn), from my discussions with my Wellesley friend, Bryn Mawr’s are much more fluid. Boston is difficult to get to from Wellesley, especially with traffic. My friend even had her own car but dreaded going to Boston. While they do have a bus system that I’ve experienced first hand, it’s not as convenient or quick as the bus system between Bryn Mawr/Haverford/Swarthmore or even the train to Philly. Bryn Mawr students can even major at Haverford if they wish, unlike Wellesley’s consortium.</li>
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<p>Bryn Mawr also has excellent resources through it’s graduate programs. For example, as an art history major I could begin taking graduate level classes as an undergrad and receive my AB in 4 years and my master’s after only 1 more. These classes would also be taught with the faculty I’ve had for the previous four years and have established strong connections with.</p>
<p>Because Wellesley is 2x the size of Bryn Mawr, I found they had a lot more lecture classes and they were generally much larger. I sat in on my friend’s art history lecture that easily tripled the largest lecture I’ve had at Bryn Mawr.</p>
<ol>
<li>Both schools are liberal arts colleges so there will definitely be that small community feel. But being 1/2 the size of Wellesley, I think Bryn Mawr’s community is really, really close. I think Bryn Mawr has just overall much more school pride/inclusiveness. When my friend visited she was genuinely amazed that students went to step sings/participated in traditions. </li>
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<p>While my friend also cherished her time at Wellesley, she didn’t feel like she received the support she needed and felt it was a much more competitive environment. Because of Bryn Mawr’s Honor Code, we don’t discuss grades so our only competition is with ourselves. Coming from a competitive high school, I can really appreciate this sense of only pushing myself to be my best, rather than feeling like I’m constantly competing with my peers. </p>
<p>The social scene is whatever you’d like it to be at Bryn Mawr. I’ve spent plenty of weekends with friends in a dorm eating pizza and watching netflix, but I’ve also gone out into the town of Bryn Mawr (which has some great restaurants and shops), but spending the weekend in Philly, New York, or DC is also extremely easy. It’s a mere 20 minutes to downtown Philly while NYC and DC are only 2 hours by megabus. There are parties on campus but unless they’re one of our annual events, they’re on the small scale. Alcohol is present but only if you seek it out. There is no pressure from anyone to do anything-- whether that’s drinking, going out, etc. I know lots of students, myself included, that also frequent Haverford or Swarthmore via the free bus system to go to concerts, parties, etc. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Bryn Mawr is ranked 4th in the nation by Princeton Review for food. Because our dining program is a college run program that is located on campus and not outsourced to a generic company, I think our food really outshines most other colleges. There are always lots of vegan and vegetarian options including opportunities to prepare your own meals. We have make your own stir fry, paninis, omelet/eggs, and more. Our menus are updated weekly and available online if you’re curious. The sheer fact that Haverford has asked Bryn Mawr to essentially take over their dining program I think really says it all.</p></li>
<li><p>Again, Bryn Mawr was ranked FIRST in the nation for housing. Our dorms are quite literally castles. It’s not uncommon to have a fireplace and/or windowseat in a room. Each has it’s own unique design…no cinderblock cells here. There aren’t suites per se, but there are hall groups which are essentially a block of approx 2-4 rooms positions together in a little alcove that you can go in on with friends. Wellesley also has some great rooms.</p></li>
<li><p>I’m from Maine and Chicago, so I’m pretty used to cold weather. Bryn Mawr/Philly is incredible temperate even compared to New York. We get snow, but especially this year, not very much to any at all. It gets warm quickly (yesterday and today it was sunny and in the 60s) and stays warm into the fall. It’s quite pleasant. </p></li>
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<p>Since Wellesley is in New England you can expect New England weather-- lovely summer, cold fall, snowy winter, late spring. Still a beautiful environment, but it is noticeably colder.</p>
<p>Hi, Shootastar! I saw your post in the Wellesley forum and wanted to see if you’d gotten any responses over in Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>Since I haven’t attended Bryn Mawr, I can’t really compare experiences. I’d just like to note add a couple of notes to englishivy’s assessment:</p>
<p>1) It actually is possible to get a degree through Wellesley’s consortium, specifically with Olin and MIT. Wellesley students frequently obtain engineering degrees through those schools.</p>
<p>2) The average class size at Wellesley is between 15 to 20 students. Introductory classes are sometimes a bit larger; e.g., Intro. to Art History may have ~30 students in a class.</p>
<p>3) The bus from Wellesley to Cambridge usually takes between 30 to 40 minutes (due mainly to Boston traffic).</p>
<p>Ultimately, both schools are excellent, and I’d highly recommend women’s colleges in general. A good way to get a better idea of the college that fits you best is to do an overnight visit, if at all possible. Wellesley has a prospective students event coming up in late April, and I’m sure Bryn Mawr has something similar.</p>
<p>Please feel free to PM me with any questions about Wellesley! I’m always happy to talk with prospective students. :)</p>
<p>@englishivy, Thanks very much for such a detailed response! It’s another piece of testimony to the passion of Bryn Mawr’s students for their school :)</p>
<p>@Mariecc1, Thanks also for your clarification on Wellesley!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Though I have never taken a Wellesley class (I am a Bryn Mawr student), I highly doubt the two differ dramatically. I take half of my classes at Bryn Mawr and half at Haverford, and there really is no difference in terms of overall difficulty, engaging professors, etc. All of that depends on the individual professor. However all of my classes have been challenging, even those that I thought would be rather easy. Bryn Mawr and Wellesley are both known to be extremely challenging institutions, which I think is a true statement. But, if one college does not have a major that you are interested in having, then that college probably isn’t the best place for you to go.</p></li>
<li><p>The Bryn Mawr community is really fantastic. Our traditions help bring everyone together, and truly create a sisterhood/sibling-hood among students. As far as parties are concerned, Bryn Mawr is definitely NOT a party school, which is nice. Having heard stories from friends at more party-oriented schools, I almost never come across people throwing up in stalls, vomit on the floor, or pressure to drink. The only times when the first two occur (the last never does, in my opinion) is when Bryn Mawr has it’s lone big party on campus (Pem East vs Pem West, which happens in February in the two dorms). If you do, however, want to go out, going to Haverford parties is easy. Parties normally have some sort of alcoholic beverage if you do want to drink, and it is free! Going to Swarthmore parties is also doable, though a little more complicated because of the distance. Alcohol is provided, and Pub Night (happens on Thursday nights), I believe, costs about $3. UPenn is hard to go to in general, and even more difficult on weekends simply because you have to endure a long commute back home that involves the train (but Bryn Mawr has a van that can pick people up from the train station before a certain hour). </p></li>
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<p>Edit: ALSO an example of how strong the Bryn Mawr community is – today, a “out” undocumented student was arrested for civil disobedience, and a FaceBook event was created to gather Mawrters to discuss ways to support her, and the event has gained lots of popularity.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I like Bryn Mawr food, I work in the dining hall and think that most things tend to be fresh and are yummy! You can eat at Bryn Mawr’s two dining halls (Erdman and Haffner) or Haverford’s dining hall (Dining Center, also known as the DC) without any complications.</p></li>
<li><p>Dorms and campus are both gorgeous. Even though I’m not a big fan of Erdman aesthetically, I often see many architecture tours visiting the residence hall (it was built by a famous architect). And I currently live in a 3-room triple as a Frosh, which is pretty sweet =). Our dorms, I would say, are overall better than your average college or university. </p></li>
<li><p>It’s not too different from Boston weather, however here at BMC we actually get a spring which the Boston area rarely does (I’m a Boston native). I prefer the weather down here, it is usually warmer and prettier!</p></li>
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<p>I had a somewhat similar decision having to choose between HC and Wellesley. The college visits led me to choose HC based on the community, accomodations [I wanted a single room] and location. BMC is a great school for all the reasons mentioned above. Taking classes in Tri-co is super easy and getting to Philly for Penn is a quick train ride.</p>