My dad does not like that it’s a womens college. His first comment on the school was that he wouldn’t be able to come down to watch any “real” sports games or buy a baseball cap. He also thinks it will either turn me into a crazy liberal hippie woman that wears birkenstocks and braids her armpit hair or Hillary Clinton. He hates both. Both are such ridiculous reasons to disapprove me choosing BMC. He kept repeating that he just hated the vibe. He was a frat boy and a baseball player at a PA public university, so he does not understand why I would choose that type of environment.
My mom thinks campus is pretty, but she is really worried about the proximity to Philly. It is in the suburbs! She would rather ship me out to a rural campus on the Chesapeake. She is also super worried about the all women environment, and she is afraid that I won’t have a social life. She likes BMC because it is the cheapest option, but did not seem thrilled when I told her I wanted to enroll. During an academic tea with social science professors, she wrote “Washington College?” on a napkin and passed it to me. I was so upset. Neither of my parents are being very supportive.
BM is in the middle of the tony Main Line. Nothing to worry about for your mom.
Sorry to hear about your parents’ biases. Although your description gave me a little chuckle, it must be frustrating for you. I hope they will let you choose what makes YOU feel comfortable. Truly, you would get a spectacular education there, but what do I know? My daughter wears birkenstocks and I like Hillary Clinton.
Tell your dad he can go watch some men hit some balls around at Haverford. They’ve got a great baseball team, and if he wants a change, he can watch a cricket match. Heck, I think you could join the cricket team as its coed.
@doschicos Thank you for your response! I am very stressed out at the moment, and it made me laugh. I used the same Haverford response earlier! But I’ll save the cricket response for a time when it’s really needed. Who knows? I might actually join the cricket team.
His biggest issue was with the school being too liberal, even though he knows I am an extreme leftist. He thinks a good southern school would moderate me a bit. It’s a little ridiculous.
@NotSteveBuscemi Well, my guess is if you went to a southern conservative school, you’d become more leftist not less so. Sometimes, being in a more liberal environment can make you a little more centrist as you realize that even good things taken to extremes by some people are not always the best. (Ha, you can use that argument with your dad.)
If your looking for ways to meet people in the Bi-Co and get some exercise, I’d also recommend checking out the women’s rugby (based at Bryn Mawr) and ultimate frisbee (based at Haveford) teams. Both are Bi-Co, very inclusive and fun teams (not overly serious) and they do a lot of socializing with their respective men’s teams.
@doschicos I already plan on joining the bi-co Model UN next year and maybe the debate team. And I think Haverford’s library is the absolute prettiest, so I might be frequenting there.
Plus, I recently made a male acquaintance who is attending Haverford next year. We agreed to be each others wing people, so that will definitely help with socializing haha.
Mentioning women playing rugby might not be the best idea
Underscore the fact it’s a women’s environment for DORMS and ACADEMICS, but socialization is with Haverford. No boy to make you distracted in class (and no boy in the dorms), but plenty of opportunities to date well-to-do young men.
It’s not true (plenty of boys in the dorms and in class) but it sounds like the kind of argument your parents would respond to. I mean, BMC and Haverford are on the Main Line!!! (To be clear, this is like saying they are located in the Hamptons or Kennebunk or Hyannis, except for the rest of the year…American royalty lives there, you know, people for whom “winter” and “summer” are verbs… So if your mother’s concerned about your meeting a well-to-do boy… yeah, your odds are better than at Slippery Rock or Juniata).
Well, you could also say that turning you into our next president might be considered a success by some.
Yes I realize it’s inflammatory so probably best saved for a “Hilary Clinton” moment - in short, Bryn Mawr won’t make you liberal so there’s nothing to fear, and I agree with DosChicos that being in a very liberal environment tends to make one more moderate.
Luckily, he doesn’t have to go there. He doesn’t even have to visit.
You have a clear best choice here. Washington College is not in the same league as Bryn Mawr academically. Gettysburg is a little closer to BMC’s echelon, but you liked it a lot less. The whole point of these little liberal arts colleges is to fit well into the community. You’ve found that at (1) the school with the best academics on your list and (2) it’s affordable for your family. I think you’re done. You’ll learn to ignore your parents’ attitude.
I’m officially committed to Bryn Mawr! I’m so happy and excited! My dad is still a little salty, but he’ll get over it when I buy him a BMC Dad tshirt. So glad to be a Mawrter next year!!!
No boy to make you distracted in class (and no boy in the dorms), but plenty of opportunities to date well-to-do young men.