Hi all
I’ve been looking into the biology programs at Smith and Bryn Mawr college. What’s the difference? Thank you for responding
Differences between the schools overall, or (more specifically) between their Bio programs?
Bio programs
https://www.smith.edu/biology/major.php
http://www.brynmawr.edu/biology/description.html
(It’s unlikely that anyone here will have gone through both programs, transferred from one to the other, or had kids at each. So not much chance of a comparison beyond what’s readily available.)
Both schools offer a BA program in biology. Either program will do a fine job of preparing you for graduate or medical school.
The most obvious difference is that the biology department at SC is significantly larger than the one at BMC (about twice as many faculty). This should not be surprising, given that SC as a whole is significantly larger than BMC (about twice as many undergraduates). So if there is a particular biological subdiscipline or specialty that you are interested in, you might be more likely to find it at Smith.
On the other hand, Bryn Mawr cooperates closely with Haverford College, which is 10 minutes away by shuttle bus. BMC bio majors are free to take classes at HC; in fact, they can even major in biology at HC, rather than at BMC, if it seems like a better fit. The BMC/HC bio depts combined are about the same size as the SC bio dept.
There’s also a difference in feel between the colleges. The honor code is really important at BMC which makes it less competitive among the students, and more cooperative. I don’t know how competitive the student body is among itself at Smith.
Smith, OTOH, is part of the 5-col consortium with free transportation among the campuses. If your daughter decides to take classes at Hampshire, MHC, Amherst or UMass Amherst and mabye do research there, she can do so.
Biology is typically one of the most popular majors at liberal arts colleges. It’s probably safe to assume that any highly ranked LAC has the faculty and facilities needed to provide high-quality undergraduate-level instruction in biology, and to groom students for graduate or medical school. if you have specific interests, look at the course catalog and faculty research projects to see if they are covered.
My wife was a bio major at Smith. Ditto daughter #1 until she switched majors. Having the opportunity to take classes at UMass and greatly expand the breadth and depth of courses can be for some invaluable. The Five College Program in Culture, Health, and Science is of interest, especially for students who are considering a career in the medical field. https://www.fivecolleges.edu/chs
Smith also offers a master of science degree in biological sciences.
https://www.smith.edu/biology/graduate.php
Smith students are much more collaborative than competitive, although they can be painfully over the top with their PCness.
Daughter #2, who was also as bio major until she switched to CS, interviewed at BMC and would have applied had she not been accepted ED at Vassar.
You really can’t go wrong attending either college.
I should clarify that although daughter and/or her friends may consider various forms of Smith’s PCness as over-the-top, there are many others who do not hold the same view.
From what I remember of my BMC tour, the bio dept there and the dept at Haverford have slightly different specialties – one micro and one macro. You’d have to check which is which but I believe that expands the options and maybe makes up for BMC’s smaller size.
We toured Bryn Mawr recently and our Tour Guide happened to be a Biology Major and she was involved in a research with a faculty member and it was posted in the Science Building. I’m sure the programs are strong at both schools, but she definitely provided a great favorable impression of the sciences there. I’m not sure the Honor Code makes it less competitive. But science and innovation need collaboration. Advancement does happen in vacuum.
BMC has a post-bac program for students with an undergrad degree who want to go to med school but don’t have the science courses they need. These students take the same science courses as BMC undergrads in pre-med. Kids who finish at the top of the post-bac program have a chance at provisional admission to a number of medical schools. This would sugest that there are med schools who are familiar with the strength if the BMC undergrad bio/science program and its ability to prepare students for med school.
If I’m not mistaken, Haverford is within relatively comfortable walking distance of Bryn Mawr, and it’s supposedly quite a pretty journey. I’m not sure if the same can be said of Smith’s relationship to any of the 5 colleges. (yes, that is reeeaaallly nitpicking…)
I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned yet, but these are the full consortia for the respective schools:
Five Colleges:
Amherst
Smith
Mount Holyoke
Hampshire
UMass
Quaker Consortium:
Penn
Swarthmore
Haverford
BMC
As you can see, both will offer considerable academic depth, breadth and quality. You’ll want to read up on the specifics – for instance, I have read that it’s more practical/easier for a BMC student to take classes at Haverford than it is to do so at Penn or Swat. Certainly in terms of distance/logistics, that makes sense. But you at least would have the ability to take classes at all of the schools at either consortium, which is pretty cool.
As others have said, both will be fine at Bio. If you have a specific area in mind, you could look at course catalogs to see which school caters more to it though, again, I imagine the other schools in these consortia would supplement any areas of relative weakness.
Note the curricular differences between BMC and Smith and the grad requirements.
Obviously, note the differences in environment, social mores/vibe, and run NPC for cost difference. If both seem pretty even on cost and academics, use those other fit variables to make the decision.
The 5-col consortium offers free transportation among the schools. I’ve known several people over the years who have taken classes at all 5 schools fairly easily.
You can walk to Haverford from BMC–it’s less than a mile. It’s very convenient. My D (BMC grad) took courses there almost every semester.
D had a friend (from high school) who was at Swarthmore. Friend was a geology major–all of the upper-level geology courses for the tri-co (BMC, Haverford, Swarthmore) are at BMC. There are many arrangements like that among the three schools. Another friend of D’s did a major at Swarthmore because BMC didn’t have the particular major she wanted. My D created an independent major at BMC. There is much flexibility for kids who are willing to seek out the programs that they want at all of these colleges.
It is walkable, but there are also free shuttle buses (the “Blue Bus”) in almost constant motion between the two schools. According to the posted schedule, the buses take 10 minutes campus-to-campus, and there are about 34 runs from each campus on weekdays. At peak times, there is little wait; for example, there are five scheduled runs from BMC to Haverford on Monday mornings between 10:05 and 11:05 am.
Getting to Swarthmore or Penn requires more planning. There are shuttles to Swarthmore, but they take longer and are less frequent. For Penn, I think you have to take the train.
Something to consider is that Smith has an open curriculum.
BMC requires a year of a foreign language, six half semesters of physical education, etc.
https://www.brynmawr.edu/node/1311
Any comments on differences between the Chemistry programs between Smith and Bryn Mawr for a student who wants to continue grad studies in Chem? Which college would be a good choice for that
Either school would be able to deliver a fine undergraduate education in chemistry. I’m sure that both schools send lots of students into chemistry grad programs.
Smith probably has a bigger chemistry department, because it has roughly twice the enrollment of Bryn Mawr. On the other hand, Bryn Mawr has a very close relationship with Haverford College, which is is only a few minutes away by shuttle bus. It would even be possible for a Bryn Mawr student to major in Chemistry at Haverford if it seemed like a better fit. The combined resources of Bryn Mawr and Haverford are probably at least equivalent to those at Smith, if not larger.
Smith is part of the Five-College Consortium, so Smith students can take classes at UMass, which might offer more specialized coursework in chemistry than a liberal arts college. Similarly, Bryn Mawr students can take classes at UPenn. However, neither of these options is as convenient as the Bryn Mawr-Haverford option.
Bryn Mawr, while primarily known as a liberal arts college, is authorized to grant master’s and doctoral degrees in a few fields, including chemistry. So Bryn Mawr actually has a small graduate program in chemistry. I don’t know if Bryn Mawr undergraduates have the opportunity to take graduate-level courses in chemistry, but it might be worth looking into.
It looks like the Bryn Mawr chemistry department has a dual BA/MA track, which “lets the unusually well-prepared undergraduate student work toward a master’s degree while still completing the bachelor’s degree.”
https://www.brynmawr.edu/chemistry/