Swat vs. Bryn Mawr

<p>I know this probably isn't a super common issue, but I am right now really deciding between Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr. The real difference comes down to the fact that I got 20k a year in scholarship to Bryn Mawr and I'd be full pay at Swarthmore. </p>

<p>My parents are willing to pay roughly 200k for my education. If I went to Swat, that would all be spent in undergrad. If I went to BMC, I'd have 80k left over and potentially parents who like me a lot better. Haha. </p>

<p>My passion is education reform. My ultimate goal is to join Teach for America and then eventually pursue a PhD in Educational Policy. </p>

<p>Swarthmore offers Education Studies as a major and it seems to be a real strength at the school, kind of a niche major. Bryn Mawr, otoh, offers and Education Studies minor only. Both seem to have very good connections with the Penn Graduate School of Education which is appealing to me. Bryn Mawr, though, offers an early acceptance to their Urban Studies masters program whereas Swarthmore does not. If I go to Swarthmore, there would be a large push to go straight into my PhD with no masters in between in order to not spend a whole lot of money since I probably won't have much from being a teacher. </p>

<p>I know there is a fairly good possibility of me changing my major but I feel like I need to make this decision with the information that I have - I know my passion right now is education reform. </p>

<p>Some other pros and cons about the school are -
Swarthmore pros:
- Bigger student body
- Coed student body
- Major in my field of study
- More clubs and organizations
- More all around academic strength in case I change my major
- More prestige
- Quirkier students </p>

<p>Swarthmore cons:
- Expensive
- Possibly too much academic intensity
- Possibly a less rah-rah alumni network than Bryn Mawr
- Fewer PE classes (I know that sounds dumb but it matters somewhat to me)
- Crappier food
- Crappier dorms
- Worse town
- Misery poker (thats a REAL negative to me)
- Overly competitive students
- Inconvenient Tri-Co</p>

<p>Bryn Mawr pros:
- Cheaper
- Great alumni network
- More moderate students in terms of academic intensity
- Great food
- Great dorms
- Cute town
- Could pay for grad school
- Penn grad school program
- Convenient Bi-Co
- Diversity
- AWESOME traditions
- Good professional school prep (idk about Swats really)
- Great PE classes</p>

<p>Bryn Mawr cons:
- All girls
- No major in my program
- All girls
- Possibly less intelligent students
- Apparently lots of people who don't care about their hygeine
- Fewer clubs
- Lack of a heterosexual dating scene </p>

<p>Help me!!!!!!!!</p>

<p>I’m currently a student at Swat and I really like it. Just fyi, I don’t think misery poker is as prevalent as online college guides or whatever say it is. It may depend on the kind of people you hang out with, but I personally haven’t experienced it often at all. Also, I think the Swat student body is more cooperative and supportive than competitive, and that’s one of the reasons why I chose to attend. GPAs are not emphasized, and we’re all more focused on learning more/pushing ourselves to do our best, not do better than others. I also think that Swarthmore is great at prepping its students for grad school; the 2 year Honor’s Program is pretty much a mini emulation of grad school, and Swarthmore churns out lots of future PhDs (3rd most by percentage in the US). </p>

<p>With all that said, 80K is A LOT of money. And when it really comes down to it, your success is more about your own capabilities and less about the school. I think you’d do great at either, so you have to decide whether 80K is worth it for a Swat education, what kind of environment you think you would prefer, etc. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Swarthmore does not have an Educational Studies major. You can do a special major with another department, though. But frankly, you don’t need one if you intend to get a PhD. Both schools certainly will give you the educational background you need.</p>

<p>I don’t think I can tell you which to choose since I’m a guy and Bryn Mawr isn’t an option, but I will say I was enamored with Swat when I visited, and based on what you regard as pros and cons, I think we are very different people (the academic rigor would be a pro for me, and I prefer Swat’s relative detachment from the consortium, when compared to Haverford). I agree with the above poster that Swat probably wouldn’t be described as “competitive.”</p>

<p>I’m sorry my semantics were off. Yes, my plan to is to become a special major of Educational Studies and Political Science. That is a niche major at Swarthmore. </p>

<p>I value intellectualism a lot. But I do not wany people focused on academics all the time. I like people who like to think. I enjoy people less who are focused solely on academic achievement.</p>

<p>You should try to visit both campuses. I don’t know anything about the educational studies programs at either school, so I can’t help you there. But it is important that you attend a college where you won’t feel a lot of financial stress – that way your college experience will be more enjoyable. When I was deciding which college to attend, I didn’t want to factor in differences in how much my parents would have to pay, but I knew that I had to. Again, I think the best situation (if it is feasible) would be to visit both schools with your parents and then you should make your decision. I don’t think Swarthmore students are competitive – I’m not sure where you got that impression. But I do think you are right in that Bryn Mawr will probably be less academically intense. If you can’t make much of a contrast between the two colleges’ educational studies programs (but you should e-mail professors at both schools! It can’t hurt), you should focus more on other factors.</p>

<p>For Swarthmore: Have you factored the various PE-credited student clubs? And the dance courses that can be taken for PE (or academic) credit? I agree with crappier food, dorms, and town; I certainly didn’t choose Swarthmore for quality of life (distinct from social life and students). The students aren’t at all competitive, but I personally am kind of a fan of misery poker because it’s a paradoxical stress reliever for me (also depends on how you define misery poker, do you mean any kind of talk about impending work/due dates?). Tri-Co is inconvenient, absolutely. But equally inconvenient if you ever want to take Ed courses at Swat.</p>

<p>On Bryn Mawr: better quality of life, worse social life (especially dating). Swarthmore has a “relationship culture,” but many Bryn Mawr girls only come for the parties. That is different if you take lots of Tri-Co courses, but taking lots of Tri-Co courses = dealing with a terrible shuttle schedule or (preferably) having your own car.</p>

<p>I’ve never heard of Bryn Mawr having better professional school prep than Swat.</p>

<p>With regard to Ed specifically: I might have told you this before, but one of my friends is an Educational Studies/Political Science special major, just-declared sophomore. There are also a LOT of people interested in teaching or educational policy/reform. </p>

<p>I would say that Swarthmore’s three most distinctive majors are engineering, education, and linguistics. None are the most popular, but those three have a significant impact on campus culture. I don’t know much about Ed at Bryn Mawr, but I doubt that it’s as strongly imbued or well-respected by the student body.</p>

<p>But… 80k is a lot of money. It comes down to how important a vibrant community in your specific major is to you.</p>

<p>Swat was my top choice and Bryn Mawr would’ve been my second when I was applying. I second visiting, and talking to students, although I will also dispel the myth that Swarthmore is competitive - couldn’t be further from the truth. Plus our alumni network is great, and if you’re looking for graduate school development, that’s one of the biggest things Swat is known for (as someone said, check out the Honors program, or feel free to message me about it). Whatever you choose, you’ll be able to take advantage of some of the pros of both because of Tri-Co, and 20k each year IS a big difference. </p>

<p>I definitely got a better intellectualism vibe from Swarthmore - one of the big reasons it was my top choice over any other school - but I probably would’ve been fine at Bryn Mawr. I will say that I sometimes really wish I’d had all the crazy traditions that Bryn Mawr has - we have our own, but they’re way more prominent and numerous at BMC. I’m not sure why Bryn Mawr ranks on diversity for you, since Swarthmore is also a lot more diverse (in many ways), and, as a side-note, more financially secure (so, unlike Bryn Mawr, we don’t cut staff or programs when we’re in economic crisis mode, let alone financial aid, since that’s something you’re relying on in your decision-making). You should also evaluate what’s important to you in a social scene if that’s a priority, since Swat and Bryn Mawr are quite different in terms of parties and big weekend social events (Bryn Mawr only has a few all-campus parties per year, while Swat has open parties/concerts/etc basically every weekend). At this point, you should visit and choose which factors are most important for you - they’re both fantastic places to go to college, and congrats on getting in!</p>

<p>If money were not an issue, Swat would be the hands-down first choice unless one wanted an all-women’s school. The difference in financial aid is enticing, however, and given Bryn Mawr’s close affiliation with Haverford, it offers a strong undergraduate program.</p>