It’s good to know that about Scripps… but yes, honestly everything you’re saying makes so much sense. I’m still so astounded that BMC gave me so much money and I think the golden handcuffs thing is real in that it’s such an obvious choice but it’s just as good as the other schools I’ve been accepted to, and I genuinely love it, so honestly the obvious pick. I suppose I made this thread to hear what people thought about all the schools but it’s definitely illuminating that BMC is the very obvious best option haha.
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I applied for need based financial aid and got $5,500 in unsubsidized federal loans per year as my package at most of the schools, or nothing (understandably, bc my EFC is very high), so it’s a very different ballpark compared to the merit.
Some say love the one who loved you.
If you did a fafsa you get the $5500.
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Another vote for Bryn Mawr. Great school, and I just don’t think it’s worth the extra $150-200k for the other schools.
As an aside, and speaking purely to location, I’d much prefer the vibrancy of rainy Portland over the suburban sleepiness of sunny Claremont. Portland is a fun city and it’s especially fun if you’re young.
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Bryn Mawr, unless you hate it. But it doesn’t sound like you do. Philly isn’t that snowy, is it? hehe
You have the Tri-Co and I believe you could even take an occasional class at UPenn. That gives you an excuse to go into the city and eat a bunch of great cheesesteaks.
But seriously, these are all very good schools, so when one of them is half the price of the others, they are showing you that they really want you there. To me, that’s hard to pass up.
You can head for the mountains of CU or Utah or U of Washington (Mt Rainier NP) for grad school, and pay for it with the money you’ll save at BMC.
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Seems like a no brainer to me. My daughters all toured BM and we all loved it. I hoped one of them would choose it because I personally liked it so much. Skidmore’s academics are as strong as the others, so that’s not an issue if you like it. But the money is compelling at BMC, which itself is as strong as the others.
Bryn Mawr—it’s a great LAC and it’s hard to beat that scholarship. I’m biased because my younger D is a BMC grad. The Tri-co gives you lots of options for courses and majors. My D took courses at Haverford and Swarthmore. You can also take courses at UPenn—it’s not quite as easy.
Philadelphia is a great city and BMC is right next to the commuter rail that goes there. There’s skiing in the Poconos, about 100 miles away. All the colleges you are choosing from are top notch!
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Congrats! Awesome to have so many good choices and the scholarship from Bryn Mawr!
I’ll just chime in about Reed – one of my friends from high school is there now, and she’s felt like it had less of an academic vibe than she expected. Someone just transferred from Reed to my school because he felt like the academics at Reed were really disappointing. He seemed to be focused on English, and took some high level classes – his overall impression at Reed was that not many people were actually reading everything for the classes, and people weren’t taking the classes too seriously. I don’t know if these two people’s experiences are actually representative of Reed, maybe they’re just outliers. It’s enough for concern though…
I’ve also heard that a lot of their education can be a bit Eurocentric – check out their profs, and read about the controversy around Humanities 110. Bryn Mawr will have many more options than Reed, especially with the consortium (super important for International Studies!). Just my impressions…
congrats again!
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Bryn Mawr hands down! You’ll be glad to have saved that money for grad school or for future children or retirement one day. Bryn Mawr is an amazing school, as well. It would personally be my pick even without the cost savings 
Also, I know someone who teaches in the English department at Bryn Mawr and it sounds like an amazing department and college from what she says.
That is an amazing scholarship for Bryn Mawr. Also, you referred to “snowy Philadelphia,” which is a little bit of a joke compared to Oberlin, let alone other Bryn Mawr competitors like Smith or Wellesley. And Skidmore? Good grief it is very very cold up there! You seem to know that but really… Philly is wet for certain, but not particularly snowy.
With this list of schools, you will be going to grad school. Nearly everyone with a liberal arts degree does! Save your money!
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BMC is an excellent choice, no doubt about it, however, I am surprised by what you say about Reed. Frankly, the reading list is massive, and you are not expected to read everything. Part of a college education is learning how to read selectively. Reedies tend to be very serious about their studies and your friend’s comment that not many people take classes seriously is not consistent with most observations.
BMC’s consortium with Swat and Haverford provides additional opportunities but the distance from Swathmore means that comparatively few students attend classes there.
I was an international studies major at Reed (back when it was called that) and I and my classmates received a first-rate foundation for our further professional and academic work. The merit scholarship you received is a wonderful financial carrot for BMC, and BMC would be a fine choice but not necessarily a better academic choice than Reed.
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Congrats on all your acceptances and merit awards.
I have a D21 at BMC who also got into Scripps, Reed and a few other LACs/UCs some with/some without aid. We could pay full-boat, but were also on the hunt for merit, as who wants to pay full-boat? We’re from SF/CA.
My D21 is absolutely loving BMC. We just visited this past week for S24’s college search (Penn/Swarthmore/Haverford/Drexel/JHU). Spent a bunch of time on campus, saw a performance by the BMC Shakespeare troupe, ate in the dining hall (food is very good), hung out with my kid’s friends, hung out in Philly, toured other area colleges. D21 is an English major (probably concentration in creative writing, minor in Classics). They love all their English classes/professors and the English department in general.
The weather was beautiful, with a bit of rain thrown in. The snow has been non-existent this year, and only a bit the prior year. The weather is pretty mild tbh, for the east coast. And the buildings/dorms are pretty close together, so you’re not outside much if it’s raining/snowing. My Cali-kid wants more snow/weather fwiw.
They also got a large scholarship (not as large as yours), but it really made a difference to them, made them feel very wanted by the school/admissions. (They also got scholarships at other schools, but not at Scripps, and because Reed gives no merit, non there.) My impression, based upon my kid’s experience and their friends, the student population at BMC, due to the presence of merit-based scholarships, is more even in terms of socio-economic diversity than a place like Reed or other schools that offer no merit based scholarships and therefore is sort of a barbell (either full-pay, or on financial aid). And imo the east coast just seems more “intellectual” than the west coast in terms of academics, versus the more laid-back west coast. That said, Reed did seem to my D21 (and based upon statements from friends who were there at the time) to be more of a pressure cooker, competitive environment, and less of a cooperative learning environment than some other similar schools). That was also the opinion of other academics we talked with during this process. It also seemed more party-oriented (read: lots of weed) than BMC.
On a final note, my D21 is certainly a quirky kid (knitter, DNDer, etc) who has felt they found their home at BMC and friends for life. Loves their profs, loves the classes, loves living on the beautiful campus, loves the traditions, and is all in on BMC. Due to the bi-co and tri-co, it doesn’t feel so isolated like some of the other women’s colleges.
On a final, final note - when deciding amongst their final choices, my D21 looked at the course catalogs, major and minor offerings, and took shadow classes to gain insight into the actual academics of the various schools. They felt they were more interested in the course offerings at BMC than the other schools they were looking at. Okay . . . enough from me! (Connect with current students at the campuses for further insight into the current scene there.)
Good luck!
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Hi, this is so helpful and encouraging!! Thanks so so much for your input and kind words 
What did you decide? And do you mind sharing your stats? The BMC offer is fantastic and I would love to know more about admissions offers there!
Hi!! I actually haven’t decided yet because I was accepted off the waitlist from Kenyon last night and that has kind of thrown off my decision, but my stats are: 3.9 UW GPA, 1480 SAT, 8 APs overall and 5’s on the 3 I took junior year, and decent essays + extracurriculars. Let me know if there’s anything else you want to know!!
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Who was in the lead ?
Did they (Kenyon) give you merit ??
The $36k price at Bryn Mawr vs full pay at the others - are your parents still open to the others ?
How does Kenyon rate cost wise ?
Kenyon is rural so a bit different than your others. Does that matter ? Have you visited ?
Wonderful! and what a great decision to have to make. I still lean towards BMC yet, pick the campus where you feel you get the best ‘vibe’ and perhaps location will play a role for you? My daughter (junior) and I have been to 26 campuses and BMC is tops in her book, loved the people, sat in on a course and the faculty have been warm and welcoming. You have great choices, you can’t go wrong! Once you make a decision, don’t look back, it will be the right one. Good Luck!
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Mmm, that is tough, especially for an English major/writing sort. Kenyon doesn’t give big merit awards—my D22 got 15k and we heard some slightly higher numbers were possible, but still less than half of Bryn Mawr’s offer.
But Kenyon is also very much a “fit” place—have you been? It’s beautiful but also rural/remote. You have to intentionally choose it.
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Kenyon gave me $25k merit which is their highest!! I was super shocked to get that coming off the waitlist. My parents are supportive of it especially because they have a good amount of merit. I visited today and absolutely loved it, I really like how in nature the campus felt and didn’t mind the small feel since I’m from a small area and am used to that. My admissions officer actually came in on her day off to meet me which was incredible and she was super sweet and friendly, and the college put us up in a hotel last night after I emailed them saying I was driving up to visit. The campus itself was great and all the English programs especially sounded incredible.
It’s crazy because Kenyon hasn’t even been an option the last month and a half, but I think I’m going to commit!! I connected to it in a way I didn’t to any of the other schools. It’s funny how the universe turns out this way. Sorry to everyone who encouraged me to pick one of the others, I too had no idea I would end up at Kenyon!! But thank you all for all the help, it’s been a wild journey.
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No need to be sorry - you were planning given the situation you had. The situation changed and for the better. I’m glad you were able to visit.
That you’re on the right place for you is all that matters!!
Best of luck and thanks for the update.
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