Other Student Resources and Tools

Assessment tools are one way to learn more about yourself. While no assessment provides an exact formula, the personalized data that the tools offer can help you identify and explore your preferences, behaviors, and styles. Equipping yourself with this information allows you to incorporate your learning into future situations, whether that be groups in classes, externships, internships, sports teams, future or current jobs, or social situations. In addition, professional staff members will meet with you to discuss your results, further your exploration, and learn about yourself, your styles, and your tendencies.

• Assessments and interpretations can be expensive, but current Bryn Mawr students can access these self-assessment tools for free.
• For the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a counselor must first recommend this assessment during an appointment. Click here to make an appointment. 
• To receive a code to take any of the assessments below, please complete the following link. After completing the link, you will receive an email from Career Engagement that will include the details and instructions for taking the specific assessment(s) that you selected.

The Career & Civic Engagement Center is proud to introduce a new career exploratory resource for students and alumnae/i in Mawrter Connect - Pathway U! Pathway U is an online platform that uses predictive science to help you make more informed decisions about your academic program and career. The platform is designed to be a self-paced, easy-to-use guide for discovery, exploration and connection with training, education and employment. After setting up a profile, you will be directed to complete four mini assessments to gauge your interests, values, personality and workplace preferences. The platform's algorithm uses your assessment responses to identify jobs across various industries that are either very good, good, fair or bad matches based on your assessment responses. (Don't let a "bad" or "fair" match discourage you from learning more!)

Are you curious about what you might discover? Log into your Mawrter Connect account now to explore Pathway U. Hover over the Career menu option on the Home Screen and select Pathway U. Your browser will be redirected to http://brynmawr.pathwayu.com/.

Do you need help accessing Mawrter Connect or getting started with Pathway U? Contact the Center by emailing cpd@vbj4.com, scheduling an appointment with a Career Counselor on Handshake, or stopping by The Well during drop-in hours. We're excited to learn what you discover with Pathway U!

The CareerLeader tool is a fully integrated approach to business career self-assessment built on the premise that your interests, motivators and skills will drive your future career success and satisfaction. Based on more than 50 collective years of scientific research and career development experience, CareerLeader has been designed to:

• Provide expert assessments of your unique pattern of business-relevant interests, motivators and skills;
• Match you to specific business-related careers when compared to their database of hundreds of thousands of business professionals and;
• Help you understand what organizational cultures will be the best fit for you.

The CliftonStrengths assessment tool allows you to better understand your strengths and learn how to build off of your talents. There are 34 different themes that have been identified based on a 40-year study of human strengths. This assessment generates data that allows you to identify your top five themes and comes with a report that offers ideas for action, an activity to help you explore deeper, and an action plan to help you set goals for how to best apply your strengths.  ​

The Interpersonal Leadership Styles (ILS) tool allows you to better understand the implications of style diversity and its impact on your leadership and the leadership of others.  This assessment explores how you use power and how you prefer activity, generating data that allows you to see where you fall in a range of four areas, as well as where you fall in terms of 21 different distinct leadership styles.

The Meaningful Work Kit is a career assessment tool to help you understand and prioritize what makes you thrive.  Developed by Stanford Career Education, this free tool involves a user-friendly card-sort activity to help you reflect on your interests, values, strengths and workplace preferences.  You'll get a pdf of your personalized results and questions to consider as you continue reflecting on what's most meaningful to you.  Our Career & Civic Engagement Center team are happy to provide ideas on how to make the most of your results. 

We will forward copies of these letters to graduate schools or employers at the written or emailed request of students and alumnae/i. 

• Credentials files are opened and serviced only through your degree granting institution. 
• Sign a "Credential Release Form" (link under Forms on the bottom of this page) and email it to Career Engagement at cpd@vbj4.com. This opens your file. 

• Provide a “Credential Reference Form" to each potential reference writer. You can access the form on the link under Forms at the bottom of this page. Each form should indicate whether the specific letter of reference is to be confidential. You must sign the form before giving it to the writer. You may choose to have confidential and non-confidential letters in your file. 
• A reference writer must write a letter on stationery from his/her department. All completed letters of recommendation should be sent directly to Career Engagement at cpd@vbj4.com. 
• Several (three to five) letters of recommendation should be part of your file. Ask people who know you well (professors, employers, or others) to write on your behalf. 
• Personally seek letters of recommendation and discuss the letter's purpose with the writer (e.g., graduate school, employment). It may be helpful to provide a resume/curriculum vitae for the writer. 
• You are responsible for contacting reference writers and following up on their compliance with your request. We recommend that you check with Career Engagement within a reasonable amount of time (three weeks) to see if the letter(s) has arrived and is in your file.

• Letters of reference from your file will be submitted only with your written/emailed permission. 
• Please send an email to Career Engagement at cpd@vbj4.com with your stated permission to have specific letters submitted and which institutions/programs will be making requests. 
• Many programs/institutions now provide links for uploading letters to their site. Career Engagement can submit your letter(s) through this method if you provide the link or designate our office as the one to submit credentials. However, if the program/institution states letters must be submitted by the recommender only, you must contact that person(s) directly to let them know.  
• Letters for which access rights have been waived can only be sent directly to the organization identified in the request. The only exception is when a graduate program requires applicants to collect and send all application materials in one packet. At the time of the written request, please provide a copy of the part of the application that states this requirement.

Civic Engagement will reserve and pay for the cost of using Bryn Mawr vans for student groups who have been approved by SGA to receive Civic Engagement transportation funding, or for programs directly sponsored by Civic Engagement.

Civic Engagement will not reserve or pay for individual students to use vans.

Students may request to rent one of two types of vans: minivans (seats six passengers in addition to the driver) and large passenger vans (seats seven passengers in addition to the driver). Please see the Transportation website.

All drivers must become Van Certified through the Transportation Department before they are eligible to drive BMC Vans.

Submit a Van Reservation Request Form a minimum of one week in advance to Sydney Robertson, srobertso1@vbj4.com. The form is also available at Civic Engagement.

You will need to include the following information:

• Your name and phone number and the driver’s name and phone number (can be the same person)
• Organization
• Event
• Date
• Time (leaving campus and returning to campus—please account for travel time)
• Number of passengers

We cannot guarantee that all requests will be filled, but we work closely with the transportation department to try and meet all students’ needs.

• After you have placed the request for a reservation, you will receive confirmation of your reservation prior to the event date. Confirmation will include the name your reservation is under, so please have that information with you when you pick up your van.
• When you go to pick up your van, make sure to fill out all the information on the purple Civic Engagement Van Rental Sheet located in the bins to the right of the dispatch counter. This includes the vehicle number and odometer readings. This is how we process the billing so it is very important that you do not forget this.
• Please be courteous—other students use the vans after you, so make sure you leave the gas tank at least half full, and clean up the van before you turn it in. Don’t leave anything behind.
• When you turn in the van, fill out ending odometer reading and turn the van keys back in.

Civic Engagement relies on students who become BMC certified van drivers to make transportation possible for Civic Engagement sponsored programs and events. In order to drive the Bryn Mawr vans, students must become certified van drivers through the Transportation and Public Safety Departments. If you are interested in becoming a van driver to drive for a program or Praxis course in which you are involved, please follow the steps below. And remember, only students who have had a valid driver’s license for at least one year may become certified drivers.

1. Contact the Bryn Mawr College Transportation Department to obtain and fill out the driver's license review form, and bring it, along with your driver's license, to the Transportation Office in the Ward Building. Ask for Steve Green, Director of Transportation, or David Holland, Transportation Coordinator, and let them know that you are interested in becoming a van driver. Steve or David will take your form and make a photocopy of your driver's license.
    
2. Once your driving record is reviewed, you will receive an email with a link to an online driving test. Take this test and print out the certificate at the end that says that you passed. If you do not receive the link to the test within two days---call the Transportation Department at x5206  to follow up.
    
3. Once you have passed the online driving test, call the Transportation Department (x5206) to schedule a behind the wheel test. You will drive one of the BMC vans around the campus with a staff member from Transportation as your passenger. Behind the wheel tests usually take place on Mondays and Fridays.
    
4. Once you've completed these steps, you are a certified van driver! Please let Civic Engagement know when you have finished the process. You only need to become certified once, so when you have, you can drive the van for any programs/field placements, etc.

We will add you to our list of certified van drivers. Civic Engagement occasionally hires students to drive vans for programs or volunteer events when necessary—it’s a great way to earn extra money and learn more about civic engagement opportunities in our community. 

Please note: You must be diligent in following up throughout this process. The Transportation Department is very busy and if you don't hear back about your van certification request or don't receive the link to the online test within a day or two, please call to follow up.

You should not have to pay anything in order to get van certified as long as it is for a Civic Engagement sponsored program. Tell the Transportation staff that you are getting certified for Civic Engagement and that they should bill Civic Engagement for the test.