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 2028 Advising and Orientation Moodle (available Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 2pm EST). 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.
• Accept the HIPAA Privacy Practices 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. 

Every student will be informed by email from welcomebmc@brynmawr.edu of their status with regards to this requirement in July. Those who have not yet met the 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.

The Access Services office at Bryn Mawr provides support and reasonable accommodations when necessary to ensure equal access for students with learning, physical and/or psychological disabilities. Decisions about appropriate accommodations are made on an individual basis. Since previous accommodations (e.g. those informally given and/or via an IEP or 504 Plan) do not automatically carry over to college, the process to arrange for your accommodations at your new institution does take some time, so start now to ensure everything is in place for your arrival! If you have a diagnosis, have had an IEP or a 504 Plan in high school and/or for any reason think you might be eligible for academic and/or housing modifications at Bryn Mawr, please contact Access Services as soon as possible at accessservices@brynmawr.edu. For additional information – including eligibility criteria and documentation requirements – please visit the Access Services web page. The deadline is June 1.

TELUS Health Students Support Services 

• Free to all currently enrolled students.
• Confidential mental health support with a counselor at no cost to you.
• Speak with a counselor 24/7 via telephone or chat. 
• Telephone, video, and in-person counseling by appointment for short-term support.
• Language and lived-experience counselor matching upon request. 
• Self-directed resources including articles, videos, assessments, virtual fitness, and much more.
• Download the app now: iPhone  Android

Healthiest You

If you have not opted out of the BMC insurance (UnitedHealthcare) you can login to the UHCSR portal (firststudent.com) to access free online counseling services through Healthiest You. When you sign up for Healthiest You, make sure you choose to sign up using your insurance UnitedHealthcare ID # so that your sessions are 100 percent covered! Even if you do not have the school insurance, telehealth services are available for a fee — go to firststudent.com.

Click here for information about our Counseling Services during the academic year.

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 2028 Advising and Orientation Moodle (available May 28, 2024 at 2pm EST).

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.

Group advising sessions will take place June 24-28 and July 1-3, 2024 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.

Fill out by June 21 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. 

Namecoach and the questionnaire are available on the Class of 2028 Advising and Orientation Moodle (available May 28, 2024 at 2pm EST). 

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 type "Placement Exam Fall 2024" in the search box that opens.
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 2028 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 offer on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 as 12pm EST. Students can register for this webinar on the Class of 2028 Advising and Orientation Moodle in early June. 

Documentation required for all new students can be found on the Health and Wellness Center website and in the June To Dos above. Learn more

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

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

Between June 17 and July 5, select 3 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 2024 and how to register will be available on the ESem website soon. Registration will be available on June 17 and the deadline to indicate your top three choices is July 5.

Students who do not complete this requirement will be assigned an ESem at the Academic Fair on August 29, 2024. 

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 12, 2024.

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.

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 12 and August 16, 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.