<p>So, I am currently a junior at a pretty competitive public high school in New Jersey and have recently become very interested in attending Bryn Mawr. I have spent the last few days semi-obsessively researching the college on CC and other sites, and, for the most part, I think it would be a really good fit for me. I have a few questions about BMC and was hoping that some students/parents/alums could answer them. Thanks!</p>
<p>There are many things I like about Bryn Mawr. From what I’ve read, it seems to have a pretty intellectual environment, which I think I would enjoy. I also really like the fact that it’s so close to Philadelphia, as a lot of liberal arts colleges are in fairly isolated/rural towns that I could never picture myself living in, and having the city at your fingertips is great for internships/culture/etc. </p>
<p>I do, however, have some questions/concerns. I am mostly okay with the fact that Bryn Mawr is a women’s college, but it is still something that I’m kind of unsure about. While my primary goal at college is to get an education and I am not someone who is very much into partying/drinking/etc., I would still want to interact with guys and have male friends (not boyfriends, or dates, necessarily, just friends) during my college years and I was wondering how feasible this would be. (I know there are tons of threads about social life/guys at BMC already on CC, but most of them are sort of dated and I just wanted to get more opinions.)</p>
<p>Majors I am looking into are Comparative Literature, Political Science, and Art History. I have heard many good things about Bryn Mawr’s Art History department but has anyone had any experience with the others? I know that Comp. Lit is one of the Bi-Co majors, but what exactly does this mean? Will I be taking a good chunk of my classes at Haverford? Also, I plan on minoring in Creative Writing if I do end up at Bryn Mawr. Has anyone had any experience with the department?</p>
<p>Sorry, I just kind of kept going on and on…but if anyone could answer these, it would be a huge help! Thanks again :)</p>
<p>It’s so great to hear of your enthusiasm for Bryn Mawr, abcd13. While researching colleges can be stressful, it’s also a really exciting time! I’m a current Mawrtyr and will do my best to answer the questions you posed. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!</p>
<p>I, too, was hesitant and unsure about the women’s college atmosphere until I spent time in it. The summer before my senior year of high school I did a summer program at Barnard and really loved being surrounded by driven, engaged, and friendly women. The type of comradery that forms is really indescribable. Being immersed in that culture at Bryn Mawr has been so overwhelmingly wonderful. My best advice to you is to request to stay the night with a student in the fall to get a better feel for the all women environment. </p>
<p>As for guys, being so close to so many other colleges really opens up the social pool. Because Bryn Mawr is in a consortium, there will be male students in your classes and you can join clubs/go to events with guys. It allows for students to make what they want out of the experience depending upon how much effort they want to put in. Even outside of our consortium, Villanova is just down the street and Philadelphia has TONS of college students. I actually have more friends that go to Temple, Penn, and UArts than friends from Haverford or Swarthmore. It just depends what you’re interested in and where you like to socialize. </p>
<p>I have several friends that are Comparative Literature and Political Science majors, and I myself am an Art History major. Since you seem informed about Art History I won’t go too far into details, but it’s as great as you’ve heard (but perhaps I’m biased hah). I LOVE my professors and love having the resources of a graduate school at my fingertips. As for Comparative Literature, a bi-co major just means that the required courses are shared between the two schools so they will typically alternate in offering one course at BMC then the following year at Haverford. Haverford is a 5-10 minute bus ride away so this isn’t a huge inconvenience. In fact, even if you are, say, an English major but prefer Haverford’s program, you could major in theirs even though Bryn Mawr has a program also. This allows for a lot of personalization within your studies. I have many friends that are Political Science majors and rave about their professors and course offerings, but I’ve never taken a course so I’m afraid that’s the extent of my knowledge of the department. As for Creative Writing, we have a really exciting program with more info here: [Bryn</a> Mawr College: Creative Writing](<a href=“http://www.brynmawr.edu/creativewriting/]Bryn”>Creative Writing | Bryn Mawr College)
It can be pursued as a concentration or minor, and the classes are very popular. In the fall I’ll be taking a News & Feature writing course with a seasoned Philadelphia journalist. They also bring a ton of interesting lecturers to campus (more on that here: [Bryn</a> Mawr College | Creative Writing Program Reading Series | Arts](<a href=“http://www.brynmawr.edu/arts/cwprs.html]Bryn”>http://www.brynmawr.edu/arts/cwprs.html)).</p>
<p>Good luck with your researching and do try to visit campus! I applied to Bryn Mawr on a whim and didn’t end up visiting until AFTER I was accepted, but once I stepped foot on campus I knew it was the right place for me. These things can’t really be described in brochures, so my best advice to any prospective student is to come and hang out with current students!</p>
<p>Thank you for such a detailed response, englishivy! Hopefully, I will come visit Bryn Mawr sometime soon. I looked at a video tour on Youtube, and the campus seems absolutely gorgeous! As of now, I’m leaning towards applying Early Decision.</p>