<p>I have posted this in the Bryn Mawr forum, too.
What do you think are the differences between Smtih and Bryn Mawr, besides the obvious facts (location, size...)?
Could you Smithies imagine going to Bryn Mawr, too?</p>
<p>Well, from talking with friends who went to Bryn Mawr, I believe I know a couple of differences. Gay and trans culture is larger at Smith. Economic diversity is larger at Smith. Bryn Mawr is possibly somewhat more academically focused -I believe they require a thesis of everyone, and a higher % of mawrters go on to get Phds. Bryn Mawr is closer to Haverford, and has more of a relationship with Haverford than Smith does with any of its consortium schools. Some of Bryn Mawr's departments are stronger than Smith's, and vice versa. (you'd have to look at individual depts to know for sure)</p>
<p>Take a good look at the courses you want to study. My d. originally wanted to go to Haverford/Bryn Mawr (either would have done) until she realized that many of the classes she hoped to take weren't offered at least two years in a row. </p>
<p>Bryn Mawr is much smaller, as you know, even when paired with Haverford. There are both advantages and disadvantages to that which go beyond the obvious.</p>
<p>BTW, I think Bryn Mawr's dorms and buildings are better kept up than Smith's, although Bryn Mawr does not have a campus center, a drawback IMO. Bryn Mawr's campus is prettier, has easy access to Philly, but the town of Bryn Mawr (that is, the area within walking distance) is not nearly as nice and as student-friendly as Northampton.</p>
<p>You really need to visit both. Sit in on some classes. You'll know which is better for you once you do that.</p>
<p>Momwaitingfornew, Bryn Mawr DOES have a campus center, in fact, they have a beautiful campus center:</p>
<p>
[quote]
The Marie Salant Neuberger Centennial Campus Center is the humming engine that powers much of Bryn Mawr's extracurricular life. A big stone faux castle that was once the College's gymnasium, the Center contains the mailroom, the Bryn Mawr Bookshop, the Uncommon Grounds Caf</p>
<p>LOL! Thanks for the correction. I wonder why that wasn't included on the two tours I took? That is a huge oversight on the part of admissions.</p>
<p>I visited Bryn Mawr and really did not like it much. The atmosphere was just wrong, and that's a reaction that several of my Smith friends have shared. So I guess if you're asking if the same type of students go to Smith as go to Bryn Mawr, i would say no. Not that there is anything wrong with Bryn Mawr, it's a good school and all, it's just that it was very wrong for me, while Smith was very right.</p>
<p>Unfortunatly I won't have a chance of visiting the two campuses (at least not before application deadline, most likely not at all).
May I ask how you experienced the atmosphere at Smith and at Bryn Mawr? Or what "type of student" would go to each of those schools, in your opinion?</p>
<p>Well, for one thing, I didn't like the impression I got that Bryn Mawr students went to Haverford for fun. When you have two schools that are so closely linked, and one goes coed as Haverford did, I think the single sex school really suffers. I like how Smith has lots going on right on campus and in town. In my opinion, it makes the community stronger if students aren't scattering to other schools and towns on weekends.</p>
<p>Prospective students should also keep in mind that Haverford is now 60% female. That means that, when the two schools are combined, there are approximately 1600 women to 400 men. The argument that Bryn Mawr's close association with Haverford makes it almost co-ed is weak.</p>
<p>My d's final choices came between Smith and Bryn Mawr even though she didn't originally want to attend an all-women college. She chose Smith because she liked the larger size (although it's still not big) and the greater course selection. After attending classes at both schools, she found Smith's to be more challenging in the areas she wanted to study.</p>
<p>She really liked the women at both campuses. I would say that, aside from the gay population, Bryn Mawr appeals to more mainstream, upper-class women. Smith has a much more nonconformist feel. Part of the differences comes from the geography of the campuses. Bryn Mawr is located on Philadelphia's Main Line, an old-money, wealthy area where as Smith is in Massachusetts, a much more casual and liberal area. (Caveat: this doesn't mean that Smith doesn't have upper-class mainstream women or that Bryn Mawr doesn't have fierce nonconformists; I'm speaking in very general terms.)</p>
<p>Honestly, though, I think my daughter would have been happy at either school.</p>
<p>Bryn Mawr didn't make D's cut purely on size. I'm sure that she would have probably liked BM if she had gone there instead of Smith. Fwiw, she's much more mainstream than non-conformist, though she's more "any money?" than old money or new money.</p>
<p>Now that I think about it, exposure to "Old Money" has been a minor part of her educations at Smith. Different from the DotCom money or ShowBiz money that pops up more frequently in our area.</p>
<p>My daughter seriously considered Smith and Bryn Mawr -- in fact, they were her top two choices. When she overnighted at both schools, she felt that they were very different in feel. Smith had lots going on: lectures, movies, a lively town and campus. Bryn Mawr was very quiet. There were more academic options at Smith, as well as a powerful art/art history dept (lacking at Bryn Mawr).<br>
The bottom line is that they are both excellent schools, but the fit was better at Smith for my daughter.</p>
<p>During Open Campus, Bryn Mawr's campus WAS extremely quiet, even though classes were in session.</p>