A Checklist for First-Year Students

After you made your enrollment deposit, you received an email from Admissions that told you your Bryn Mawr email address, your Student ID number, and provided instructions for setting up your account. If you have questions, please contact the Help Desk directly at 610-526-7440.

You will use Moodle throughout your time at Bryn Mawr to see course syllabi and readings, participate in discussion forums, and turn in some assignments. All first-years are automatically enrolled in the Class of 2029 Advising and Orientation Moodle. It's where you'll access many of the tasks on this to-do list, including placement exams, information on choosing courses, schedules and sign-ups for summer group advising sessions.

In order to participate in summer meetings and programs, you must set up your Bryn Mawr Zoom account. All summer meetings and programs require you to authenticate and login through BMC. Learn how to create a Bryn Mawr Zoom or convert a personal Zoom account to a Bryn Mawr account.

As part of the onboarding process, we need you to complete your health forms. All health records are managed in our electronic health record and accessed through the secure Patient Portal. Your access to the Patient Portal will occur later in May. When you can, it is important to familiarize yourself with the Patient Portal: mawr.life/PatientPortal.

Please do the following as soon as possible:

• Make an appointment with your health care provider to complete the Required Student Health Forms and obtain a copy of your immunization records to complete the online immunization record in the next step.
• Log on to the Patient Portal. When you have access, log on and complete the medical history, upload the required documents, and enter your immunization dates. Records will be verified as they are received. Records are only verified after all information is entered by the student.
• Acknowledge the Consent Privacy Policy and enter your personal health insurance information. Upload a copy/picture of the front and back of your insurance card. (Please note that you should upload your current health insurance information. If you later enroll in the Student Health Insurance plan, you will be notified to update your information.)

Review and make a plan if needed!

By the end of their first semester, every student must meet Bryn Mawr’s Quantitative Readiness (QR) requirement, which was designed by Bryn Mawr faculty to help ensure that students have the mathematical, logical, computational, and statistical problem-solving skills that are required in quantitative disciplines across the Bryn Mawr curriculum.

There are 3 possible ways to fulfill the QR requirement:

1. Have a math SAT or ACT score that meets the QR Benchmark (580 on Math SAT, 24 on Math ACT) AND have the College Board or ACT testing service send your official score report to the Bryn Mawr College Admissions Office.
    
2. Complete and pass Bryn Mawr’s Q Test given online over the summer or in person during Customs New Student Orientation. 
    
3. Take and pass Qsem (Bryn Mawr’s Quantitative Reasoning Seminar) in the Fall. Qsem would be one of a student’s four academic classes in the fall.  

A video with more information about this requirement will be posted to the FYE Advising and Orientation Moodle mid June. 

Students who have met the requirement will begin to receive notification in June. Notifications will continue weekly throughout the summer and you can still submit your test scores to Admissions if they meet this requirement. Students who have not met this requirement will be given complete instructions about their options for fulfilling it. In terms of summer planning, students who elect to take the Q Test in hopes of fulfilling the QR requirement should know that the test will be given over the summer on Moodle, from July 1 until August 5. 

The Access Services office at Bryn Mawr provides support and reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access for students with disabilities. Decisions about appropriate accommodations are made on an individual basis. Since previous accommodations (e.g., those in an IEP or 504 Plan) do not automatically carry over to college, the process to arrange for your accommodations at your new institution may take some time, so start now to ensure everything is in place for your arrival! If you think you may need academic and/or housing accommodations at Bryn Mawr, please contact Access Services as soon as possible at accessservices@brynmawr.edu. For additional information, please visit the Access Services web page. The due date for housing accommodation requests is June 1. Requests for academic accommodations can be made at any time, but it's recommended that you connect with Access Services before July 15.

Sign up is available on the Class of 2029 Advising and Orientation Moodle, under First Steps in the Table of Contents. 

Join the dynamic first-year residential experience THRIVE LLC! Centered on the Eight Dimensions of Wellness, the THRIVE LLC will create an intentional community offering co-curricular programming, hands on learning, reflection and connection. Participants will live together on one of the THRIVE LLC residence hall floors for the entire academic year and participate in the same Thrive course in the fall. 

Learning more about the THRIVE LLC on Moodle

Apply Now! 

Before the start of each semester the College requires all students to review their personal details and financial permissions in BIONIC. You have the opportunity to review and update things like your preferred name, home address, phone numbers, and emergency contacts. Learn how to confirm and update your personal details here.

Information on how to sign up for a group advising session is available on the Class of 2029 Advising and Orientation Moodle.

Schedule and registration links will be posted in the Moodle. During the session you will meet your class dean, learn about how you will work together with your dean, and begin thinking about course selection. These sessions will not be recorded and attendance at a group advising session is required in order to participate in pre-registration in August.

Group advising sessions will take place June 23-July 11, 2025 on Zoom. Please be sure to be in a location with internet access to attend a session on one of these days. 

After the session you will receive an email with information on how to have your courses reviewed prior to pre-registration.

Sign up is available on the Class of 2029 Advising and Orientation Moodle, under First Steps in the Table of Contents. 

Fill out by June 15 as part of the placement process. 

Help the Language Department faculty guide you through placement and finalize their offerings by filling out this quick survey and giving them preliminary information about what foreign language courses you might be interested in. 

Available on the Class of 2029 Advising and Orientation Moodle. 

When choosing your courses for the first semester, you will need information about the level at which you should enter a particular field of study. This process is known as "Placement."

In some cases (most often foreign language and math), this means taking a placement exam. All placement exams are completed in Moodle. Here’s how to enroll in them:

1. Log in to Moodle.
2. Click on the magnifying glass icon in the upper right of your Moodle dashboard and enter the language, followed by Placement Exam Fall 2025 in the search box. For example: "Arabic Placement Exam Fall 2025."
3. Then click on the title of the course and click “Enroll.” 
4. You can also find links to each Placement Exam on the Class of 2029 Advising and Orientation Moodle. 

You must enroll in Placement Exams by June 30. However, please be aware that some exams have earlier timelines that must be followed. Please review the information for each language below.

Additional information can be found here. 

A Placement Exam Webinar will be offered in June. Students can register for this webinar on the Class of 2029 Advising and Orientation Moodle in early June. 

First-year students are must complete the Swim Requirement during their first year. This can be completed by taking the Swim Test during Customs New Student Orientation or by completing the Beginner Swim Class. Please complete this brief survey to let us know how you will complete this requirement this year. 

The Swim Test requires one minute of treading water and 75 yards (3 lengths) as follows:
1 length swimming on your front
1 length swimming on your back
1 length your choice of style

There is no time limit. 

Documentation required for all new students can be found on the Health and Wellness Center website and in the To Do As Soon As Possible section above. Learn more

Students who do not fully complete their medical forms will not be able to register for classes in August. 

Sign up is available on the Class of 2029 Advising and Orientation Moodle, under First Steps in the Table of Contents. 

For all new, guest, and transfer students. Check your BMC Email in June for Housing Application Instructions.

Between June 23 and July 11, select three choices for your required first-semester Emily Balch seminar. 

The Emily Balch Seminar (aka ESem) is a small seminar where you will learn critical reading, thinking, and writing skills along with other first-year students. Each ESem has a theme and earns one unit of academic credit. Information about the courses available for Fall 2025 and how to register will be available on the ESem website soon. Registration will be available on June 23 and the deadline to indicate your top three choices is July 11.

Students who do not complete this requirement will be assigned an ESem at the Academic Fair on August 28, 2025. 

Do you anticipate facing nutrition challenges on campus? If you suffer from food allergies or have nutrition concerns, we can provide guidance and accommodations to make sure you are able to dine safely at Bryn Mawr.

Please complete the Special Needs Form and send to Bi-Co Dietitian Natalie Zaparzynski by July 15, 2025.

Once the information is received you will be contacted by the dietitian who will help make your transition to dining on campus successful. Click here for more nutrition information. If you have any questions, please contact Natalie at nzaparzyns@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7417.

OneCard is your official identification card and provides access to the residence halls, other campus buildings, the dining halls, and is your library card. You can also put money on your OneCard account and use it to pay for lots of things on campus. It can be used at both Bryn Mawr and Haverford. Register for your OneCard.

Make sure you have your ID number ready (and then make sure you follow instructions to add two 0’s at the start of the number when entering it). Make sure that you submit a clear photo of the front of your face in front of a solid background – you should be thinking passport photo NOT social media profile pic. Your ID number was in your email from Admissions about setting up your email; it’s at the top of your Welcome Portal and it’s on your Student Services page in BiONiC! OneCards are issued using a student's legal name as entered in BiONiC. Students will receive their OneCard with their keys when they check into their dorm

More information about what you can use OneCard for and how to add funds is available on the OneCard website.

Submit by July 31 to assist the Impact Center in planning for the new year.

Religious and Spiritual Life at Bryn Mawr College is supported through The Impact Center for Community, Equity, and Understanding. Spiritual life is for students of all or no faith traditions. As we work to support students, it is helpful to know the numbers and the breadth of practice on campus. Response to this survey is optional and your specific information will only be shared with your permission below. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, Rabbi Nora Woods, Interfaith Chaplain, nwoods@brynmawr.edu.

Student Accounts provides students and families or other authorized payers a number of options. In addition to the information on billing and payments on their website, students will receive emails from studentaccounts@brynmawr.edu with more information.

Questions should be directed towards studentaccounts@brynmawr.edu or at 610-526-5500.

Two academic specific Town Hall Meetings and one general Town Hall will be held in August. Sign up is available on the Class of 2029 Advising and Orientation Moodle, under First Steps in the Table of Contents. 

International students will receive more information about this process and available resources. 

International students will receive more information about this process and about how the results will be used to identify appropriate resources for students in June. These include placement in Writing 120, the Writing Workshop for Multilingual Writers, participation in the Writing Partnership Program, and more. The Writing Diagnostic will be available in Moodle in early August; students will be automatically enrolled in the appropriate Moodle course. A video with more information will be posted to the Class of 2028 Advising and Orientation Moodle mid June. 

Entering international students must let us know their travel plans to Bryn Mawr. Please click here for the form.

Between August 11 and August 15, you'll enroll in your preferred classes through BiONiC, the Bi-College registration system.

All the work you're doing over the summer -- placement tests, webinars, course exploration, course selection meetings -- is designed to help you make good decisions about the courses you hope to take this fall. More information on course selection and the registration process is available on the FYE Advising and Orientation Moodle and the Academic Resources section of this website.

All incoming first year students must complete various online training modules before they arrive to campus. You will receive information about completing these tutorials in the Tuesday Newsletter in July. 

Gather documents now to be ready for Job Fair on-campus 

Dining Services offers student employment opportunities for all first-year students in our dining halls, cafes, and restaurant/catering facilities. Our operations are major social hubs for campus where you can eat, work and find your community! Check out Student Employment for what US citizens and permanent residents need to bring with them to be able to be employed on campus. Students on J-1 and F-1 visas will go through a separate process for establishing eligibility once they are on campus. Check out the Dining Services Student Employment page for details on the dining facilities where you can work. 

Waiver available end of June and due Aug. 31.

More information about this process and links to the college's insurance provider are available on the Student Accounts website. Domestic students who do not waive the student health insurance by August 31 are automatically enrolled and the charge is added to their student account. International students are automatically enrolled in the international student policy, and waiver is not available.

The Music Department wants to know whether you are interested in participating in the Haverford/Bryn Mawr Orchestra, choirs, or chamber groups. All students should fill out the music interest survey.