Philadelphia Colleges

Last week I had the chance to tour several colleges in the Philadelphia area. It was bitterly cold during the latter half of the week (something my Bay Area students need to keep in mind!) but the campuses were beautiful and green and lush after the rainfall.

Going on these tours helps me better understand these colleges and whether they would be a good fit for my rising seniors. The best part of the tours is the time we get with staff - many times it's the Dean of Admissions or Asst Dean - and we get front row seats to the most current information the colleges have to offer. Here's part 1 -

Bryn Mawr College -

They are proud of their institution and it shows in everything they do. When we asked why a young lady should choose a women's college over the other 4,000 colleges in the country they replied -

Their mission for centuries has been to empower the next generation of female leaders
Their students never have to ask to have their ideas taken seriously
Across professions, their alums claim entrepreneurial and positions of leadership at a substantially higher rate than those who graduate from co-ed institutions.
Their graduates enter into what is arguably the most powerful professional network in the world!

The undergraduate enrollment is just under 1500 students. 25% of their applicants are international students with most of their students coming from India. Overall, almost 15% of the student body enrolled is international.

Bryn Mawr has the best of both worlds - it's a quick 20 minute train ride to vibrant Philly but nestled in a beautiful, quiet, leafy suburban area.

The architecture is predominantly the collegiate Gothic style, a combination of the Gothic architecture of Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Bryn Mawr has a program with Haverford College (called the Bi-Co) and students are able to take classes at either college. Students may also cross-register with Swarthmore (called Tri-Co); 95 % of Mawrters take courses at these institutions (primarily Haverford) at some point during their four years. A free shuttle bus connects all three campuses. Also worth noting - five-year dual-degree programs in engineering are offered in conjunction with Caltech, Columbia, and Penn.

Roughly 90 % of undergrads typically reside on campus, and housing is guaranteed for all four years. Classes are typically co-ed with many Haverford students enrolled on this campus as well.

Bryn Mawr offers a wide array of services to their students including health services, emotional counseling, international scholar advising, first generation and undocumented student support, etc.

Shown here - Athena, the patron goddess of the College, plays a starring role in one of many Traditions. Students and faculty make offerings to Athena for good luck, emotional help, remembrance of good times, and support through challenges.

All in all it was a wonderful opportunity to tour and research this prestigious women's college.

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Haverford College - The Haverford campus was fairly quiet but the students we saw seemed happy and engaged. This prestigious Quaker campus is much smaller than the other schools it's compared to but it's big benefit is it's close relationship with Bryn Mawr.

With just under 1,500 students, it is quite small but they're big on their honor code, in fact, their honor code drives much of the campus culture - everything from academics to dorm life. Students schedule their own final exams, take unproctored tests, and police underage drinking on their own. The honor code, in some respects, is a self-selecting system which draws many students to Haverford.

30% of the student body is into athletics. Like Bryn Mawr, it's a very collaborative environment with academics a high priority. 100% of students do a senior thesis and 98% of students live on campus. Approximately 12% of students are Asian American, 13 % are Hispanic/Latino, 5 % are Black, and 9 % are multiracial. Though the college is nonsectarian, the Quaker influence lives on in the form of an optional silent meeting each week. Students tend to be interested in progressive political and social ideas,

Students must take courses in each of three major academic divisions (social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities) for a variety of ideas, concepts, and intellectual approaches. The most popular majors at Haverford are biology, psychology, political science, and computer science and the physics and mathematics programs are also very strong.

Similar to Swarthmore, no Greek Life on campus.

One thing I didn't expect here - They have a varsity level cricket team! Apparently it's the only varsity college team in the nation!

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Swarthmore College - A highly selective liberal arts and sciences college in Swarthmore, Pa., it's just 11 miles outside Philadelphia and is definitely one of the most academically strong colleges I've visited this year. Although it has Quaker roots, it is no longer a religious institution. Cross-registration is offered with nearby Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and U Penn.

Greek Life was banned in 2019 and there has been no football team since 2001. Economics is big here and engineering, biology, and CS are also very popular.

The first semester is strictly pass/fail giving students a chance to get acclimated to the college and also take certain, harder classes without the fear of a dip in their GPA.

While Swarthmore students feel challenged, the environment is not competitive but actually collaborative.

Swarthmore's Honor's Program is unique - it starts in the third year and students have final written and oral exams which are evaluated by community experts/professionals in their fields. Honors students also work closely with faculty in interdisciplinary majors and classes are capped at 12 students. Overall, 23% of the student body is in the Honors Program.

Impressive fact - 100% of the students applying to law school get in and close to 80% of the students applying to med school are also successful!

Also worth seeing when you visit - the Swarthmore Amphitheater. One of Swarthmore’s most treasured spaces, it is the site of new students’ first formal gathering as a class, First Collection, and their Last Collection - the day before they graduate. It’s also a venue for music, dance, and theater shows, as well as informal gatherings.

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Muhlenberg College -

The first thing you notice at this college (besides the beautiful campus) is that all but one door is painted red. The red doors signify hospitality and Muhlenberg's signature warmth and welcoming way of life.

This is one of the rare small liberal arts colleges which is also a DIV III school with an impressive gym and health center.

1st year students are supported by a dedicated life coach, career coach, and a faculty advisor. It was a cold day but students were sitting outside on picnic tables studying and snacking. We were told they have the best campus food in the state and they weren't kidding!

Muhlenberg is strong in pre-med, pre-law and known for it's performing and visual arts programs and boasts a challenging but supportive atmosphere. In fact, a large number of students apply to MC because of it's pre-med program. They boast an impressive 90% admission rate to med school.

26% of it's student body comes from PA and another 58% from the surrounding states. 4% come from the west coast.

25% of last year's class was filled via ED. They're test optional (since 1996). Interviews are encouraged and may be mandatory for some specialty programs.

Students are required to live on campus and MC guarantees housing to all undergraduates.

For students looking at the health field, Muhlenberg is definitely worth researching. Merit scholarships are offered to a few but there are no athletic scholarships. The student body seems diverse but more importantly students seem to be getting the advising they need to not only survive but thrive here.

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Villanova University -

Nestled in an upscale Philly suburb, they're motto is "Veritas, Unitas, Caritas," (Unity, Truth, Love) which reflects their pursuit of community, academic excellence, compassion, and service.

It's only one of two Augustinian universities in the country and this faith is the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. (St Augustine was considered the Father of Modern Thought)

Highly selective and with it's strong academics, Villanova is usually compared to Boston College.

Villanova is known for Nursing and Business but engineering is popular too. Students apply to the college and declare their majors in their second year. There are only 108 seats for nursing, 225 seats for engineering and 435 seats for business. College of Liberal Arts/Sciences is the largest with approximately 1,000 students.

Villanova has been steadily growing and has increased it's freshman class to 1,920 in 2026 (up from 1,720 just a few years ago).

While applying undecided is okay, there is no option to go into engineering undecided.

Calculus is required for Engineering and Chemistry/Biology is required for Nursing. They are test optional until 2026 but very recently 70% of their applicants applied with test scores. A few years ago they received 23,835 applications for a class of 1,720.

Merit scholarships are automatically offered to their strongest applicants and housing is guaranteed to all students for 3 years.

Approximately 300 students are in the honors program and 40% study abroad every year.

There's also a lot of construction going on at the campus and they'll soon have a new library in early 2027!

Overall, as impressive as I thought it would be. One of the few small liberal arts schools which is constantly growing and doing their best to accommodate more students. It's not easy getting in but once you're in, you'll get all the help and guidance you need to succeed.