We visited Bryn Mawr recently as my daughter is interested in going to a woman’s college. We felt that the academics were top notch and were recently impressed by the faculty and programs they offered. But, when she asked a couple of students what they did on the weekend, she either got “netflix” or “I’m too tired to do anything during the weekend and just like to chill.” Mind you, my daughter is not looking for parties, but was sort of hoping to hear about social activities on campus that they did or that they took the train into Philadelphia, etc. Can any current student comment on this? Thanks!
My D is just finished her 3rd year at BMC. She and her friends go into Philly quite often to study, eat or just hang out (not partiers either). With a few people, Uber can be cheaper than the train.
I know she has complained that her windows of “free time” often don’t line up with those of her friends. People get REALLY busy with their studies, then they seem to come up for air at different times.
There’s no lack of social opportunities, you just sort of have to find your thing.
Message me if I can help with any specific details.
@arc918 Thanks so much for responding. I’m getting the feeling that the culture of the campus might be just a little too intense for my daughter. While she is a serious student, she definitely enjoys pursuing her other interests (theater, writing, etc.) and I’m wondering if it might not be the right fit for her.
Full disclosure: I’m a Haverford parent whose son has friends at BMC and has had a lot of interaction with the BMC community via the bi-co relationship. I know several BMC parents and they would agree with the below points.
There are many things that impact a student’s free time, but here are some of the more important ones IMHO when considering a highly selective school:
- What does the student want to do for a career? For example, getting into law, medical, dental, vet, and pharmacy school requires superior grades and test scores. Even if if someone isn't 100% sure about pursuing one of these, if they are considering it they must walk into the door at their respective college with an eye towards completing requirements and maintaining a competitive transcript. Regardless of the student's ultimate goals, they need to take advantage of the opportunity to prepare themselves for life beyond school.
- Choice of major. Humanities and social sciences majors may not get deluged with problem sets daily, but just try getting an A in a 300-level history class without doing the reading and participating coherently in class. On the other hand, STEM majors tend not to write as much, but the pressure is constant and lab-intensive majors can require a lot of out-of-class work due to chemicals, critters, or whizzbangs not cooperating for some completely unknown and untimely reason. Fine arts and performing arts require a lot of individual work to hone and practice skills. It takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to prep for an end of period recital or put together a portfolio.
- Choice of extracurricular activities. Some require a greater time commitment than others and might have less flexible schedules. At any rate, find something you enjoy doing outside the classroom...finding others to do it with makes it even more enjoyable.
- Commitment to hard work. This isn't high school and high grades have to be earned. While all schools have their share of bright students, more selective schools like BMC have a higher concentration of them and it takes more to stand out.
- Time of year. If you recently visited BMC, the students were getting ready for finals at the end of the academic year. You might well encounter a cheerier, more ebullient student body if you were to return in September.
I believe you will find students at other highly selective colleges for women such as Wellesley, Barnard, and Scripps have experiences not too dissimilar to those of BMC students.
Best of luck to your daughter wherever she decides to go!
Hi, current student here. Bryn Mawr is definitely not a party school, but there are lots of other opportunities to have fun here. My friends and I usually have some kind of get together over the weekend, whether it’s watching a movie, going out to dinner, or getting into Philly. I’m also in a sketch comedy group which has been a lot of fun for me! Students at BMC tend to be introverted, which might explain the impression your daughter got.
I think it’s very fun - I am a current student and though I work almost 20 hours a week and take relatively intense classes if I manage my time well I’m able to do things with friends and make meetings for my extracurriculars. It’s hard, no doubt about it, but it also depends a lot on your personal circumstances (which classes you’re taking, how much time you generally take to complete homework, if/how much you work) so nobody will be able to say if it’s too intense for your daughter. Generally though, students here are very much focused on school but are not at all afraid to have fun - and everyone does that in a different way.