Office of the Dean
Bryn Mawr College
101 N. Merion Avenue
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010-2899
610-526-5375
BRYN MAWR
Application for Position as Peer Mentor for 2008-2009
Instructions:
Complete and return to the Deans Office (deansoffice@brynmawr.edu), by email,
by 5 pm Friday March 7, 2008.
If you are chosen as a finalist, you will be notified by email by 5 pm, Tuesday,
March 18.
The interview schedule for finalists will be posted on Dean Rona Pietrzak’s door
by 5pm, Tuesday, March 18. Each finalist must sign up for one of the interviews.
************************************************************************
Application:
Name: __________________________________________
Class: ______________________
Major or Intended Major: ___________________________
Email: _____________________
Reference (a faculty member or dean) _______________________________________________
(Please do NOT ask for a letter at this time; PMS will contact this reference if you are a finalist.)
I expect to be JYA in (mark one):
fall 2008
spring 2009
neither
Underline or otherwise indicate no more than 4 of the following residence halls in which you
would like to live. Please do NOT list preferences among the four.
Brecon
Denbigh
Pem East
Pem West
Rhoades South
Erdman
Radnor
Haffner
Merion
Rhodes North
Rockefeller
Identify no more than 2 residence halls in which you would prefer not to live:
_________________________________
_______________________________________
What courses do you think you will take next fall? Next spring?
08 pms ap
Using no more than 200 words per answer, respond to the following
questions:
1. What is the role of a Peer Mentor? What skills or other qualities do you have that prepare you
to perform this role?
2. Describe one or two specific experiences you’ve had which will contribute to your
effectiveness as a mentor.
3. Identify one or two of your most successful study strategies. Be sure to explain why you have
found them effective.
4. A major challenge for PMS is finding ways to “break the ice” with students, because many are
shy about seeking help from mentors. Identify one or two ways you, as a Mentor, will work to
overcome this problem.
5. What do you think are the most difficult academic challenges facing Bryn Mawr students,
especially in their first year? How would you, as a Peer Mentor, work with mentees around these
challenges?
6. How would you handle the following scenario:
A student knocks on your door at midnight, while you’re in the middle of writing a paper due in
your 9 AM class the next morning. The student is having a major academic issue (getting started
on a paper or how to study for a midterm in the next two days) that she says must be solved by
tomorrow.
7. If you are selected as a peer mentor, what would you like to learn at the peer mentor training
in the fall? Give specific examples.
8. What do you do to avoid becoming over-extended or over-committed?
9. What other employment, extra-curricular, co-curricular, and/or athletic activities do you expect
to take on next year? How do you plan to schedule yourself so that you can meet all the
responsibilities you commit to?
Peer Mentoring Services, 2008-2009
08 pms ap
Required Time Commitment:
a. You must be ON CAMPUS and moved into your residence no later than noon,
Saturday, August 23, 2008 to begin the PMS training, which will continue through
Tuesday, August 26. (PMS will arrange for your early return.)
b. You should expect to be assigned to mentor work for an additional 8 to 16 hours
during Customs Week.
c. You should expect to commit an average of 4 to 6 hours per week to PMS work
during the academic year.
d. You are expected to attend monthly meetings of all the mentors; typically, these
have been scheduled for 4:30 – 6pm, one Sunday a month.
Peer Mentor Duties:
 complete successfully the Peer Mentoring training;
 serve as mentor for students in the residence hall in which you live as well as
other mentees referred to you by faculty members or deans;
 establish and publicize weekly office hours in your dorm;
 work cooperatively with HAs, Customs People, and CDA’s to form trusting
working relationships with all students in their area, and particularly with first
year students;
 plan, publicize, and/or offer workshops on study skills during the semester;
 attend monthly meetings and training workshops arranged by the Mentoring
Coordinator;
 complete and submit Weekly Logs of your work for PMS;
 complete and sign a PMS contract; and
 perform other related duties as assigned by the Mentoring Steering Committee
and the Deans Office.
Peer Mentor Compensation:
Student pay rates for 2008-2009 have not yet been set. However, in 2007-08, new peer
mentors are compensated at a minimum rate of $8.10 per hour, and returning peer
mentors will be compensated at a minimum rate of $8.35 per hour.
08 pms ap