Why I Chose An All Womens College :: essays research papers

Rasheedah PhillipsWhy Bryn Mawr?As a young woman growing up in an urbanized lay and attending public domesticates all of my life, when the time came to start planning and search for colleges, I searched for schools that I felt fit my persona, that I would be commodious attending for some of the most integral years of my life. My search include schools such as Temple University, and Pennsylvania State University, higher gentility institutions that allowed me to challenge myself, only when at the same time would put me in a setting where I would be with others just like myself, fitting into the standard American university fashion. The thought of an all womens college never once crossed my mind in envisioning my perfect school, and when it was introduced to me, it was finished the prodding of a high school counselor who felt that my information would be better realized and liberated at a school such as Bryn Mawr. After carefully researching Bryn Mawr and all it had to offer as an elite academic institution with stringent admissions requirements and its strong reputation as one of the best liberal art colleges in the nation, I had bittie doubt that, as far as my intellect and devotion to a rigorous curriculum went, I could run with the best of them. But I remained skeptical that, socially, financially, mentally, and to some degree, academically, I could fit in with the top women in the country who got accepted into a school such as this. I certainly had my biases about all-women colleges, and to find that Bryn Mawr was the best of the best certainly did not aid to curb them if anything, it created more.My prejudices remained intact up until the day of my scheduled campus visit, overnight stay, and interview on October 7-8, 2001. Stepping up to the door of the admissions office, many of my resolves all but dissolved, as I was kindly greeted by several groups of women who guided me done registration, campus tours, alumnae speeches, and a most excellen t dinner, attended by the College President and a presentation of classical music played by four intelligent young women. I was absolutely enthralled by the beauty of the campus, and agreeably taken aback by the size, cleanliness, and grandeur of the residence halls. Though these things did help to curtail much of my cynicism about the all-women college, I believe that the experience that really attracted me to Bryn Mawr began when my hostess picked me up in the admissions office.