Hello guys, I’m an international student of undergraduates Class of 2019. I have just received Colby’s off wait list notification lately and am making a tough choice between him and BMC. I haven’t decided my major but currently have interest in Neuroscience or Physiology and am planning to pursue the medical path under optimal circumstances.
BMC definitely has the perfect location, while Colby’s might be a little isolated. However, when it comes to academy, I’ve heard different info. Some say that Colby’s premed is one of the top, while other statistics show that BMC’s graduates excel their JD, MBA, MD, and PhD studies better than most other institutions including Colby…
I’m a bit confused right now 
Could anyone please offer me more information or opinions? Thx a lot!
Very different locations. If you want to be near a city don’t go to Colby. If you like winter and a rural setting better than suburbs then go to Colby. Colby is a very outdoorsy place, students take advantage of the access to skiing, hiking, etc. Bryn Mawr students take advantage of opportunities in the city, as well as their close relationship with Haverford. As for the quality of education, both are excellent and will get you where you want to go for graduate school. I think this really comes down to what setting is more appealing to you.
Consider how you will travel to college. Bryn Mawr is very easy access from the airport and Colby may end being more difficult to get to. Also, BM is all women and Colby is coed and that should factor into your decision.
Colby is much more in the spirit of the typical American college experience. Study Hard and Play Hard, you get the idea. It depends on which environment you want.
Bryn Mawr is atypical but it is close to Haverford and walking distance to Villanova if you want to make friends outside the Bryn Mawr sisterhood and experience Villanova’s bubbly campus environment.
Other than transportation, Bryn Mawr’s proximity to Philadelphia is nothing to get excited about. That is my opinion of course.
The academics at both are top notch- there is no meaningful difference. Both will give you everything you need to get into any graduate school- you are the biggest variable in the equation now!
But- they are very very different environments, and if you are likely to enjoy one more than the other, then you should choose that one- because we all do our best when we are happy and comfortable in our environments. Go spend some time on YouTube looking up the two schools & see what looks more like you.
Both are excellent places. Consider which location and environment would be the better fit.
Both Bryn Mawr and Colby were colleges that my daughter considered applying to last fall – they are both very strong LACs, but as others have noted, they are different from one another. We didn’t get the chance to visit Colby (it’s not so easy to get to), but we did visit Bryn Mawr, so I will just give you my impressions of that college. Bryn is very close to the city of Philadelphia (we stayed downtown and took the train to Bryn Mawr, which was approx 20 minutes) so you can easily spend time in the city if you want to. Also, the college is close to the Philadelphia airport, which makes travel back and forth easier. Bryn Mawr is in the suburbs, so if you want to feel like you are in a remote location, you won’t find it there. It’s quiet and pretty, but doesn’t have the outdoor recreation that a school like Colby will have. It’s also part of a consortium, so there are more classes to choose from. You can take classes at Haverford, Swarthmore, and even Penn. Finally, it’s a women’s college, so it has a unique atmosphere. The women we met there were friendly, seemed happy, and enjoyed telling us about many of the special traditions they have there.
The best thing to do, of course, is visit. But if you can’t, then I would think about the differences and pick the one where you think you will be happiest. They are both excellent schools.
One of my daughters attended Bryn Mawr. She had a wonderful experience there and definitely took advantage of everything the school had to offer. She took classes at Haverford, had an internship in Philadelphia, eagerly took part in all the (many!) traditions the school offers (Lantern Night, “Hell” Week, May Day), and developed close relationships with professors. It is a great place for the right person. Because it’s a women’s school, its feel is going to be different from Colby. It’s also not a party school though you will find women who go to Villanova to find parties. And it’s very small, with only 370 students in each class. It’s a beautiful campus that feels like a campus but it has the advantage of being close to Philly. (And I do see that as an advantage, lol. If the only thing you ever do is get to the Barnes Foundation, you have already exceeded my expectations for most cities.) When my daughter was there, the school provided free transportation from BMC to the city via light rail. There’s also a large and active group of international students and the school offers a lot of support to them.
I don’t know as much about Colby except that the kids I know who have attended were also very happy with their choice. It’s also a small school, with about 450-500 kids in each class. It’s coed and in a more remote location and there’s probably more interest in outdoor activities. They have a January term and that might be a good thing for an international student, depending on your ability to travel home during winter break.
Good luck with the decision! You really can’t go wrong with either one academically so it comes down to your preference and where you believe you’ll best fit.
Philadelphia is a heavily underrated city. It has excellent museums and an excellent art and music scene. Plus there are many internship opportunities.
BTW, BM students can take classes both at Haverford and Swarthmore. All three schools have the same academic calendar and you can use your meal card and attend events at each school.
In addition to excellence in the arts, Philly has a great dining scene. Some of the oldest independent farms in the country are just an hour or two from the city and the Chesapeake is nearby providing excellent local food sources.