Sydney Gelhar '29

"Bryn Mawr is such a special place and community to be a part of."

When Sydney Gelhar '29 began visiting colleges, she knew Bryn Mawr felt special from the moment she stepped on campus. Below, Sydney shares her application journey.

Bryn Mawr was different from any other school I looked at because it was far from my home state (Maine) and was a historically women's college.

After stepping on campus, I knew I loved the way the campus felt because it is a women's college. On my visits, I felt like people were very friendly and interesting, and it felt like a place that could be my home away from home. After I completed touring all my schools in October of my senior year, I remember I was driving home from school thinking about the way being on each college campus felt, and nothing compared to the warm and welcoming environment I experienced touring and visiting Bryn Mawr.

I was recruited to play basketball, and that is how I originally came across Bryn Mawr. I had been talking to the Bryn Mawr Basketball coach for about a year and had visited campus twice.

Multiple members of the Bryn Mawr Basketball staff and team had continued to reach out to me and were so kind and inviting during every interaction. By early fall of my senior year, as I finished touring schools, I had only felt the need to visit one campus twice. Bryn Mawr was the one school that had shown me that its staff and students are unwavering kind and welcoming, and I knew I wanted to commit to being a student-athlete. Once I had committed to play basketball here, I had no need to apply to other schools, so I decided to apply Early Decision and get the weight off my chest of getting into my dream school.

"By December of my senior year, I knew where I would be attending the following year, and it was a huge weight off my back."

By December of my senior year, I knew where I would be attending the following year, and it was a huge weight off my back. While some of my other friends were stressed about the next application deadline and how to navigate different schools' prompts, I could sit back and focus on having a strong last semester of high school. It also provided time for me to get excited as I watched more people commit to the same school as me and reached out to make friends and find my roommate.

Syndey — Sydney at an event in Philadelphia

The welcoming feeling I experienced as a prospective student does not fade once you are a student at Bryn Mawr.

Everyone on the campus is so friendly. It is very common when walking to class to wave or even stop to chat with classmates, friends, and staff members. It is little moments like this that make it hard to have a bad day at Bryn Mawr because you are always surrounded by some of the nicest and most interesting people I have met. Being a Bryn Mawr student has only deepened my feeling that this is a school that truly feels like a home away from home, and it is because of the people who make up this campus.

Trust your gut feeling about Bryn Mawr. Even though I felt strongly connected to the campus environment, I had doubts and second-guessed myself. I was worried about the distance from home and making friends, but I am so thankful I did not let those doubts stop me. Bryn Mawr is such a special place and community to be a part of, and applying Early Decision helped ease my worries about if I was qualified enough to get into a school that made me feel so at home.

The feeling of applying Early Decision and not having to stress about college makes your senior year full of excitement for the future without the uncertainty.

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