<p>So I heard that the laboratory facilities at Barnard in the Altschul Hall are being renovated? Is that happening now or is it finished or has it not started yet? will it continue to happen throughout my freshman (or woman, rather) year, and when is it going to be completed? I read a few articles on it but I am still unclear about what is happening…</p>
<p>They are talking about the work being done spring & summer of 2011 - see: [Formula</a> for Expansion | Barnard College](<a href=“http://www.barnard.edu/headlines/formula-expansion]Formula”>Formula for Expansion | Barnard College) – so it looks like they hope it will be completed by fall. It looks like it is limited to the chem labs on the 6th floor.</p>
<p>thank you calmom. I actually read this and also the “BARNARD COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY MEMORANDUM” and a few other documents, but I felt like none of them said when the renovation will be finished…I love chemistry and want to choose it as my major, so I was wondering if that would affect the chem dept. in any way. But seems like it wouldn’t matter too much for first year students anyways, and judging by what you are saying it should be done within the year! Thanks.</p>
<p>Yup, the 6th floor is the only floor being worked on. Notices posted on campus say it will be done by the end of the summer. For now, everyone whose offices and labs were on the 6th floor are just moved to other parts of the building. It’s a little tight but not awful. For the record, intro chem labs are on the 7th and 8th floors.</p>
<p>As a barnard student can you study abroad more than once during your undergraduate years? Also, is there a reason that the study abroad percetnages are low at Barnard? (30% a class) I am extremely interested in travelling for study work in forensic anthropology during my college experience.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Hi!
I’m sorry if this has already been asked, but is it possible to use one course to satisfy both a GER requirement and a major requirement? For example, could you use the same Bio course to fulfill the lab req and count towards a Bio major?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Yes, any course required for your major can also fulfill a 9-ways of knowing requirement, but you can’t use the same course to count for two different 9-ways of knowing requirements.</p>
<p>So, for example – my daughter took astronomy. After the first semester, it showed as having satisfied the quantitative reasoning requirement. But after the 2nd semester, it was applied instead to the lab science requirement (as my d. intended), but then her quantitative reasoning requirement reverted to being unfulfilled, so she still needed to take another semester of math. </p>
<p>But my d was a poli sci major, and the courses she took for her major easily satisfied the various requirements for coursed focusing on social/historical/cultural areas. So it doesn’t really end up with students having to worry about all 9 – by the end of the first year most students have already met a significant number of the requirements without thinking too much about it.</p>
<p>lritter, some people study abroad for a whole year, though I have not heard of anyone studying abroad two separate times. Though I don’t think it’s entirely impossible, I’m sure most advisers would not encourage you to do that. Even if it is feasible, you might be forced to take classes you don’t want to at inconvenient times for you. As for the 30%, that seems like a lot to me. The only reason why I would say it’s not higher is not because Barnard doesn’t encourage its students to study abroad (it does), but because there is so much to do at Barnard and in New York, sometimes it’s hard to leave that.</p>
<p>I was just wondering, to any Barnard students/grads- was it hard to get into the courses you wanted in the first semester? I feel like I won’t be able to get into my first choices because they’re so popular. (the course directory already lists 48 people for the only section of intro to psych class that fits into my schedule right now)</p>
<p>On the study abroad part – my daughter spent 2 summers and a full semester abroad while at Barnard. From the end of her sophomore year to the beginning of her senior year, she was abroad for all but 3 months. She spent time in Russia, India, all over Europe & visiting the mideast. There was only one semester that she was enrolled in a formal study abroad program, but there were extended stays abroad as part of an internship she arranged, and she also traveled extensively both on her own and in the company of friends. </p>
<p>Except for the one semester, none of that would be likely to show up in reported stats from Barnard. I think the length of time spent abroad would depend on major – my d.'s decision to study abroad rested largely on her ability to get courses she needed to satisfy her major… (That depended both on the availability of needed courses in her chosen program and pre-approval at Barnard). It would have been possible for her to study abroad without that, but then she would have had to take extra courses her senior year, at the time she needed to work on her thesis, to fill the requirements.</p>
<p>A lot depends on major and planning. </p>
<p>Barnard is very supportive of study abroad as far as financial aid goes – they will adjust the aid as needed to pay for the tuition of the study abroad program, housing & a travel allowance.</p>
<p>Shay, my daughter never had a significant problem getting the courses she wanted. Sometimes a course was full and she needed to get permission of the prof to enroll. Her first semester she took full advantage of the shopping period, so the courses she ended up in were not the same as the ones she was looking at when she pre-enrolled. One issue is that the pre-enrollment form for entering students has some limitations – courses that aren’t included or listed - but the fall registration procedure gives students access to everything. So your schedule in the fall may change in any case.</p>
<p>I see calmom, thanks! That makes me feel so much better.</p>
<p>Hey!
I’m trying to shop for my dorm and I was wondering what exactly was included in the dorm room so I can decide how much I should buy (bins/containers). Also, if you’ve attended Barnard, what did you bring for your dorm. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>The rooms tend to vary a good bit in terms of storage space. Also, you may or may not get a bed that can be raised up so you can store things under it. You will have a bed, a desk, a chest of drawers, some sort of book case and a place to hang clothing. </p>
<p>So your best bet, IMO, is to get the basics: bedding you like, towels, something to keep your bath items in, etc. Then, once you get to campus and see your room, join the masses who will be making trips down to Bed, Bath and Beyond. There is also an amazing hardware store called Clinton’s on Amsterdam (the other side of campus from Barnard, almost across from Plimpton). Clinton’s has great prices and an amazing assortment of stuff. If you don’t see what you want, ask for it!! </p>
<p>My D’s first year room (on the quad, of course) was a 2 room, three person suite. One room actually had an old fireplace in it (non-functional, of course) and they chose to put all three desks in it. The “bedroom” had a bay window, so they bunked two beds and put the third in the window. There also was a pretty large storage closet in that room, but that is not in every room.</p>
<p>I know this question has been asked a lot, but can Barnard students live in one of Columbia’s dorms? </p>
<p>Also, are Barnard students allowed access to most of Columbia’s facilities, such as Butler Library? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Barnard students do have access to Columbia’s libraries, the student center, etc.</p>
<p>They can live in Columbia’s dorms (after first year) if they get in a group of Columbia students to enter the housing lottery. Though many would say that Barnard housing is, in many ways, better than Columbia’s. And Columbia students can and do live in Barnard dorms. And, yes, that includes male Columbia students.</p>
<p>churchmusicmom: Columbia was the first university I fell in love with, so Barnard is basically the next best thing! </p>
<p>I noticed that Barnard doesn’t have an international relations major. That means I can take it at Columbia, right?</p>
<p>I am truly trying to be sensitive and diplomatic here. Hope it comes across that way:</p>
<p>HelloImChelsea, you said:
</p>
<p>I truly do get where that statement could arise, but as the mom of a Barnard grad (and I imagine on behalf all Barnard students and future Barnard students), I would encourage you to learn a great deal more about Barnard. Have you read through threads here before asking questions? If not, please take the time to do so. </p>
<p>Even though Barnard students do indeed share many resources with Columbia University, and even though academic registration is very smoothly integrated between Barnard and Columbia colleges, there are very significant differences between these two college experiences. Of course, my bias is that the Barnard experience is superior to the CC one. Consideration of the Core of Columbia vs the broader and more flexible 9 Ways of Knowing at Barnard comes to mind first thing. Then there are significant factors involving smaller class size; full professors vs Graduate students teaching large classes; better academic advising at Barnard; greater attention to issues regarding women’s health and safety, etc.</p>
<p>Sorry to suddenly be in lecture mode. But I do want to encourage you NOT to apply to Barnard simply because you think it’s the “next best thing” to Columbia. You will most likely not experience a happy result, IMO.</p>
<p>To answer your question, though, a glimpse through the Barnard Political Science Dept website ( [Required</a> Courses | Political Science](<a href=“http://polisci.barnard.edu/required-courses]Required”>Curriculum and Courses | Barnard Political Science) )reveals that:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>So you can, if fact, “major” in International Relations (IR). And you will take classes at both Barnard and Columbia…check out the website and look at the course listing to see which are offered where.</p>
<p>Columbia does not have an undergraduate international relations major. My daughter majored in poli sci with an international relations focus and she is currently employed in a job in her field. She actually has an amazing job – I don’t think she could have imagined anything better.</p>
<p>But I agree with Churchmusicmom, you need to look at colleges more. Barnard is not Columbia. I think my daughter would be able easily tick off a few dozen reasons why Barnard academically is far superior to Columbia, particularly with her educational aspirations, but I don’t want to get into that discussion. It’s just that you need to choose a college based on what it offers for you, not based on where it is, or what you wish it could be.</p>
<p>Hi HelloImChelsea!</p>
<p>I just graduated from Barnard and I’m a little bit…frustrated by your statement that Barnard “is the next best thing.” Sure, I took classes at Columbia, and I did theater that was TECHNICALLY based at Columbia (though we are also recognized as a club by Barnard) and on sunny days I sat on the Low steps. But I consider myself a proud Barnard alumna.</p>
<p>I think it’s hard to describe because you have to see it for yourself - I would do an overnight at each school, or just talk to students. I think Barnard is sort of self-selecting in a lot of ways and the students who go to Barnard want to be in a smaller environment where they know their whole major and many professors. I hate to generalize, and there are obviously plenty of exceptions, but the student bodies aren’t identical and I think that’s something that’s important to realize. </p>
<p>And there are the things churchmusicmom has pointed out: the 9 Ways of Knowing are, in my opinion, preferable to the Core - but very, very different. We have smaller classes, taught by professors. Everything at Barnard is geared very specifically towards women.</p>
<p>And I’ll point something else out - Barnard is unique. Look at what happened to Pembroke (Brown) and Radcliffe (Harvard): they got absorbed into the school once it went co-ed. But Barnard still exists, because it provides something special and because women will still choose it over Columbia. So, just make sure you understand the differences - they’re both great schools, and maybe you’d be happy at either one, but they certainly aren’t identical!</p>
<p>Also, to the person who asked earlier about doing study abroad twice: I know people who did a full year in one place, but I also know people who did a full year in two places. This is especially easy if you choose a company, like IES - you can do your first semester in Barcelona and your second semester in Rome. And this would make more sense if at least one of those was connected to your major - and the most sense if you were a CompLit major doing, for example, Spanish and Italian. You can also always do a summer session.</p>