<p>I know freshmen are called “first years.” (so logical!)
anything else?</p>
<p>Logical and feminist. No “man” in it. Frosh doesn’t either, but it’s from a time before everyone abbreviated everything.</p>
<p>Welcome future first years. My D graduated in '09.</p>
<p>Here’s what I found out from a site that CC blotted out in the other thread:</p>
<p>Facts
School Slang</p>
<pre><code>* Courseworks - The network Columbia maintains that teachers post grades, homework, and class notes on.
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CULPA - CULPA - Columbia Underground Listing of Professor Ability - The Columbia Underground Listing of Professor Ability - Everyone checks here during program filing to check what other students thought about different classes and professors.
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Ebear - The network Barnard students use to sign up for classes and to check grades.
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L Courses - These are courses with limited enrollment. When filing programs for the next semester, you are assigned a slot of time during which you are able to go online and add L-courses to your schedule.
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The Lawn - The Lawn is located in front of Lehman Library.
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Points - Points are what Barnard calls their credit hours. They look and act like what credit hours are at other schools, but don’t expect them to always add up to hours spent in class.
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Programming - This is what Barnard calls registering for classes.
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Registration - This is what you do when you arrive at school to let them know you will actually be attending classes, not when you actually sign up for classes.
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Shopping for Classes - Barnard students have a two-week window in which they may attend as many classes as they want before they finalize their schedule with their advisor, called “shopping.”
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The Vag. - The student center being constructed will be named for Diana Vagelos. Before it was known that it would be named “The Diana,” students guessed the donor’s surname would be used. Because “the vag.” is particularly appropriate for a women’s college, this one may stick even after the center is open.
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<p>Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School</p>
<pre><code>* Classes here are competitive—there are many aspiring young professionals here who are “18 going on 30.”
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If you take a class and you don’t expect to do as well as you like, it is always better for your GPA to drop the class and take a W rather than to see what you get in the end.
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Make sure you really look for interesting classes and good professors during the shopping period at the beginning of the semester, since after this time, it is difficult to get out of a bad class.
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<p>Tips to Succeed</p>
<pre><code>* Get a meal plan with fewer meals and more points. You can use points to buy a meal in the dining hall and to buy coffee and snacks at Java City, but you can only use an actual “meal” in the dining hall.
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Take advantage of what New York has to offer. But try to do it in moderation.
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Try to avoid taking more than one course with a lab in a semester. Lab courses tend to demand much more time and effort than other classes.
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<p>Urban Legends</p>
<pre><code>* It is rumored that on Martha Stewart’s notes to sell the Imclone stock that got her convicted of insider trading, there was also a note to send gift money to Barnard College, her alma mater.
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<p>Traditions</p>
<pre><code>* “I Love Barnard” Spirit Day - Once a year, Barnard holds a spirit day in which the school sells T-shirts, holds a barbeque out on the lawn for all students, and gives away all sorts of Barnard goodies. This event really brings students together as a college to appreciate Barnard and what it means to each student.
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Big Sub to Traditions - At Big Sub, which is sponsored by McIntosh Activities Council and held in the fall, students help build a huge, 705 foot long sub sandwich that stretches all over campus. The sandwich is rumored to be totally gone in less than ten minutes.
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Each fall and spring, New York City street vendors set up shop for a couple days on Lehman Lawn.
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Greek Games - Each year, during the spring, Barnard holds the Greek Games, which bring together its students and each class for friendly competition in games, such as tug of war.
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Midnight Breakfast - This event is held twice a year—at the end of reading week, right before finals start, and is sponsored by McIntosh Activities Council. Volunteers and administrators and even the college’s President serve food like waffles and eggs to hungry students who are about to take their semester finals.
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Urban New York - Once each semester, Barnard students start lining up early in the morning in hopes of getting their first choice of the opportunities offered through the Urban New York Program. These opportunities include tickets to Broadway shows, sports games, and concerts as well as free meals at upscale restaurants. Sometime mid-morning, the staff of the College Activities Office bring in donuts and coffee.
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<p>hehe. Being called a “first year” makes me think I’m going to Hogwarts. Well, to a certain degree at least.</p>
<p>@naomiiii: I like to call Barnard/Columbia the big Ravenclaw convention (due to its colors and our clever wittiness).</p>
<p>I know they call prospectives prospies.</p>
<p>The center is open and it’s called The Diana Center. It was called Nexus while under construction. It was never called “the Vag”, though you can bet that many jokes were made about it. It’s a beautiful building.</p>
<p>The lawn is in front of the old library Lowe Library and everyone sits on the Lowe Library steps – the entire Columbia University community.</p>
<p>Lehman is the Columbia student center, and The Diana is the Barnard student center.</p>
<p>can Barnard students use Lehman, and vice versa with The Diana? or is it exclusive for each of the schools?</p>
<p>No, Barnard students can use Lehman and vice-versa. Barnard students also use Butler, Columbia’s library.</p>
<p>The Columbia student center is called Lerner, not Lehman. There are enough places on both campuses called Lehman without confusing things even more!</p>
<p>Low, not Lowe, Library at Columbia has the most famous steps on either campus, but is not associated with a lawn.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about learning terms, you’ll learn them on campus. Congrats on getting in! :)</p>
<p>Dolphins- thanks for the encouragement, but I’m a little too excited not to overdo it. :)</p>
<p>The Diana is not just joked about, but frequently called the Vag by many people, including myself on occasion. And Butler is often called the Butt. We like to keep things thematically coherent.</p>
<p>Bwog - The blog of Columbia’s Blue and White magazine, Gawker-style. There’s plenty of Barnard material on the site too, but expect to find the same exact Barnard vs. Columbia hassle in the comments below, nearly every. single. time. Barnard is mentioned. Even the news-breaking announcement of the “Columbia 5” drug circle on campus devolved into a wor of words after an unusually self-righteous Barnard graduate of '10 (what was she even doing there?) made a few condescending remarks about the university. But it’s dead funny and pretty much everyone reads it, unlike Spectrum (The Spectator blog).</p>
<p>Wiki CU - [url=<a href=“http://www.wikicu.com/Main_Page]WikiCU[/url”>WikiCU]WikiCU[/url</a>]</p>
<p>“CAVA’ed” v. - a term students use whenever they are taken to St. Luke’s hospital via CAVA (Columbia Area Volunteer Ambulances) usually resulting from a night of bacchanal activities.</p>
<p>speaking of hogwarts…i read this somewhere
CC = Gryffindor
SEAS = Slytherin
BC = Ravenclaw
GS = Hufflepuff</p>
<p>Yesss! I love Ravenclaw! Do we have to solve a riddle every time we go through those gates into campus? haha!</p>