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I just discovered Barnard College in New York. I know it's an all-female college that is affiliated with Columbia, but that's about it. Does anyone have any information about it?

By Indiegirl (Indiegirl) on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 01:12 am: Edit

anyone....

By Thedad (Thedad) on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 01:34 am: Edit

My D is applying to Barnard. Of all the schools she investigated, she had the *best* ballet class there.

She found the physical layout a bit on the claustrophobic size...small campus, across the street from Columbia...and the dorms were among the worst we saw out of all the schools we visited (10 or so where we saw dorms). Located in NYC, a plus for us city mice. I hate the word but it seemed much more nurturing than Columbia, including small things like being able to get appointments with your counselor quickly.

I think it's getting more competitive as far as scores/grades go, with increasing numbers applying, some perhaps looking for a "back door" into Columbia (a degree from Barnard has "Columbia" on it, not "Barnard)...I suspect being across the street from Columbia makes it more attractive as a "women's college" to those who might otherwise shy away.

By Indiegirl (Indiegirl) on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 10:23 am: Edit

Thanks for the reply. Is Barnard a lot like Columbia? From what I've gathered, Columbia is more for independent students who don't need a lot of handholding. Plus, people say there's not really a lot of a campus or activities, I guess due to the fact that it's located in New York. I am interested in Columbia; is it true that Barnard is a "back door" into Columbia? And can Barnard students take classes at Columbia?

By Coureur (Coureur) on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 10:45 am: Edit

It is true that Barnard students can take classes at Columbia.

When the 5 remaining Sisters colleges came to town to talk to high school students last year, my daughter was turned off by Barnard because they tried so hard to link themselves with Columbia: you can take classes at Columbia, you can date boys from Columbia, you can park your car at Columbia, and on and on. Their motto seemed to be "We're almost Columbia."

My daughter asked: "Why would anyone apply to Barnard? Why wouldn't they just apply directly to Columbia?" She wanted to find a school that stood on its own feet and did not so desperately grasp for the reflected glory of another college.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 12:45 pm: Edit

Coureur, I felt a little of that when we visited. You even have the possibilty of living in Columbia dorms if some Columbia students want to live in Barnard dorms. To answer your D's question, Barnard is a little easier to get into. Also, I go back to the "it's more nurturing." Also, while it has breadth requirements in The Nine Ways of Knowing, it doesn't have Columbia's Core; the Core is something I can't see many students being ambivalent about...D didn't like it.

Indiegirl, yeah, I think there's a relative lack of campus-centered activities because of NYC. I'm a little hesitant about that becasue even with student rates for everything, NYC is expensive. Exciting...but expensive. Barnard is down D's list a bit because "a sense of community" evolved to be one of her top five criteria...something she wouldn't have thought of had she not visited a number of campuses.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 12:47 pm: Edit

Coureur, how did your daughter like/compare/contrast the other four "Sisters"?

By Perry (Perry) on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 12:58 pm: Edit

I believe that some of Barnard's faculty also teach at Columbia. The student expense issue is a matter of real concern. As already pointed out, NYC is very expensive, and the amount of spending money that any student would need is triple or more what other students would need on a less urban campus. Nonetheless, Barnard itself is reputed to be strongest in the humanities and social sciences. But, then, this matters little since a student could easily concentrate her course of study in the sciences through Columbia.

By Coureur (Coureur) on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 01:03 pm: Edit

My daughter eliminated Barnard and Bryn Mawr from consideration right there at the road show, so we never visited. Barnard for the reasons mentioned and Bryn Mawr probably because the uninformed rep couldn't answer many of her questions (Q: Does Bryn Mawr have an orchestra for students? A: Ummm...not sure).

So that left Smith, Mt. Holyoke, and Wellesley. We visited all three on the east coast tour last summer. Prior to the visit Mt. Holyoke was probably tops in her mind among the Sisters. After the visit her thoughts were that Smith and Holyoke were okay, but they just didn't wow her. Holyoke was probably a little too isolated, and at Smith she was accosted by a drunken derelict whose pants were falling off - not a good first impression. She liked Wellesley just fine. Plus she likes the idea of attending college in Boston, so she is applying RD to Wellesley.

By Lhm501 (Lhm501) on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 01:36 pm: Edit

The really annoying girl on "Rich Girls" goes to Barnard. 'nuff said. Don't you love a high level of discourse?

By Kyle (Kyle) on Saturday, November 29, 2003 - 01:34 am: Edit

Lhm501, i totally agree with you. that girl on "Rich Girls" is ridiculously annoying and stuck up.

By Studentnyc (Studentnyc) on Monday, January 05, 2004 - 12:40 am: Edit

How do you justify coming to a conclusion about an entire institution based on your opinion of a single student's personality, especially a personality that has been created through editing by mtv?