<p>I really want to go to a school that is rigorous. Don’t call me crazy… but I’m taking 4 APs and started taking them freshman year! I have a 3.88ish GPA. My SAT is like 2150 or so. Do you find the academics at BM challenging and stimulating?</p>
<p>You can make Bryn Mawr as challenging as you like, but it’s just as easy to get through with minimum effort. That’s the beauty of picking 4-5 classes out of 340! </p>
<p>It’s all too easy to get overwhelmed, actually. For example, it’s not uncommon to read one book per week and class in upper-level social science and humanities classes; if on top of that you are lucky enough to have several big writing assignments due in the same week, you’ll be making offerings to Athena. 
I personally find it more rewarding to take a lighter courseload and use the extra time to reflect on my coursework - half of the books I read for class have changed my world view in some fundamental way! </p>
<p>There are plenty of opportunities for intellectual engagement outside of the classroom too. Departmental seminars and colloquia are totally worth attending. Guest speakers from outside of the college are invited to give 45-90 minute lectures about a topic of their expertise, a self-contained mini course if you will. I have been exposed to a tremendous amount of material over the years by going to 1-2 talks per week. And of course there are all of the various extra-curricular activities that you can get involved in. The Bryn Mawr bubble - students, faculty and staff - as well as the city of Philadelphia, are filled with amazing people and you can learn so much from them if you are just willing to listen.</p>
<p>The Quaker Consortium is an extremely valuable resource too. I started taking PhD-level courses at Penn in my junior year, when I was looking for a new challenge in my major. I ended up working with a research group at Penn from the summer after my junior year up through graduation, socialized with graduate students at Penn and enjoyed the entire experience so much that I decided to go to graduate school myself!</p>