<p>It’s summer. I’m bored. I just finished my freshman year. I’m not particularly active on campus, but since it’s Barnard most of my friends are. Ask me anything. We’ll see what I can do. I’m ignoring chance threads because I give up on admissions.</p>
<p>How was your freshman year? What classes did you take and did you like them? What major are you considering? Pros/cons of Barnard now that you’ve been there for a year? Thanks!</p>
<p>Barnard was and continues to be my dream school. I’m so very happy with my choice to attend. My room mate is my best friend, and she’s flying down to visit me in 2 weeks. The biggest pro I’ve had is the access to the city and the amazing relationships I’ve formed with Barnard and Columbia students alike. I guess that sounds obvious, but I didn’t know how important that was to me until I got to school. In my experience, especially at Barnard, people are friendly and genuinely want to get to know you. The cons come with the territory. Morningside heights is not close to anything. You will have to take the subway if you want the “new york city” you’ve always dreamed of. That being said, if you don’t take advantage of the city, you’re missing out. Oh, also, everything costs twice as much as you think it will. Get used to it. My favorite class I took this year was Life in the Universe with Laura Kay. She’s a fantastic professor, and the material (it’s an intro astronomy class) was fascinating. This can go towards your lab or quantitative requirement (but not both). Be sure to read reviews of your professors on culpa.info, but take everything with a grain of salt. People who review teachers usually either absolutely love them or absolutely hate them.</p>
<p>Oh, my daughter took classes from Laura Kay too, and really loved her! My daughter also had taken a first year seminar with Laura Kay – that’s why she chose to take astronomy to fill her lab science requirement. She told me that year that she had learned more from that class than any other – though it wasn’t her favorite. (No problem with the teacher; daughter is just not the science type.) But I’d echo the recommendation for that course. </p>
<p>Also, for what its worth, her culpa reviews pretty much match what my daughter told me.</p>
<p>Definitely a good option for students looking to fill a science or math requirement.</p>
<p>As a sophomore in high school, I already know barnard is my one and only dream school. One of my biggest fears at this point in my life is not getting in to barnard, so I am trying to do everything possible at this point in high school to make my application the best it can be. Was there anything you can think of that you did during high school or the application process that really made your application stand out and that you think ultimately led to your acceptance to the school? Also, did you apply for any financial aid? And if so, did their financial aid package meet your needs? Sorry there are multiple questions here 
Thanks so much for starting this thread!</p>
<p>What surprised you the most about Barnard College life?</p>
<p>I’m introverted, don’t make friends easily, and take medication for social anxiety disorder. Will I crumble if I go to Barnard? I feel like everyone there is incredibly well-adjusted and confident, and that I wouldn’t fit in at all.
(P.S. I’ve already been accepted as a transfer student)</p>
<p>What is the worst thing about Barnard? I’ve heard the bad weather but what else? I’m deciding between staying close to home and going to Barnard.</p>
<p>qwerty121812- I think it’s awesome that you’re deadset on Barnard. My sophomore year I was deadset on UVA, and I never even applied. Just keep your eyes open. My grades were decent, my SAT was ok, I held a bunch of different leadership roles, and I conveyed that I was passionate about Barnard. Also, I had something worth writing about. It’s pretty much what you’d expect. Many Barnard students receive good financial aid. Definitely better aid at barnard than NYU. I’m not sure, but Columbia might have better aid than barnard. I can’t really talk about it though.
What surprised me the most: Making friends takes time. Feeling settled takes time. I wasn’t really expecting that. Also, I knew that nyc is a liberal place, but I didn’t understand exactly how liberal until I got there. I know a total of two republicans.
justina11- I think Barnard is actually a really great place for someone like you. It won’t be easy of course, but the school and disability services are very accommodating. You’re probably more concerned about how that will work socially, but again, I wouldn’t be worried. There are a lot of very confident outgoing girls at Barnard…to me that sounds like a good thing for you. People will reach out to you. Congrats on your acceptance!
hopefulgrl11- Hard hard question. A lot of people get annoyed about the new change in the part time policy. You can no longer be a part time student at barnard. You’re either paying full tuition, or you don’t go here at all. That bothers me. Another negative is trying to figure out (or worse–explain) the Columbia/Barnard relationship. That’s a headache you should try to avoid. If you’re debating about whether to stay close to home or to come to the best city in the world during your prime…to me that’s no contest. I have to fly home. This was a huge change for me, and I cannot recommend it enough. I have grown tremendously as a person by learning to live on my own. Go big or go home I guess? ha</p>
<p>Trying to get this info for a long time now.</p>
<p>Barnard girls unanimously advise to bring rainboots. Are the puddles THAT deep?</p>
<p>I’m across the street, but I’m going to go ahead and say that YES, you should bring rain boots. More than obscenely deep puddles (though some are somewhat deep, I suppose) there’s the issue that the paving stones that Barnard and Columbia chose to use on their campuses are irrationally slippery in the rain, prohibiting flip flops or heels, for the most part. Also, I guess, since the city isn’t that clean, you might want to do whatever you can to keep the dirty water off your feet/ shoes/ legs.</p>
<p>I never had rain boots until college (though last year I was at a different, suburban college), but they are amazing and you will love them forever.</p>
<p>No heels is an EXTREMELY helpful advice. Thank you. No, seriously, my ankles are worshiping you right this second! XD </p>
<p>Could you also comment on the winds? Should I get a lot of hair accesoires to account for it?</p>
<p>Haha wind typically isn’t horrible, but there are occasional windy days. The wind effect is enhanced on certain streets; Claremont (behind Barnard, starting at 116th between Broadway and Riverside, running north) in particular gets sort of wind tunnel-y on bad days.</p>
<p>Justina, have you resolved your financial issues? It is always a little difficult for a transfer student to find their bearings at a new school, wherever the go – it seems to me that you are looking at multiple challenges: the need to earn a significant amount of money through the school year, the social adjustment to a new school at a campus and in a city where everything tends to move at a very fast pace, and your own personal challenges. </p>
<p>Only you know the reasons that you are transferring – if you are looking for a challenge and a place to grow, then perhaps Barnard will be the best place to do it. But if you the primary motive is to get away from some problem you encountered at your first college or to resolve social issues… its possible that on the social front things would only be harder for you. Keep in mind that if you are coming from a significantly less selective college, you are probably going to also find the rigor of Barnard’s courses to be something of an adjustment – so between work & study, you may find that you don’t have as much time for socializing and activities as you had hoped, at least until you get comfortable with your new routine.</p>
<p>Occasional windy days is not bad at all. I’ve been to a country where winds are severe. For the first couple of hours couldn’t figure out why NO girl has her hair undone. And then I got out of the building… xD </p>
<p>Would you say campuses are safe? I come from a country where I have no problem walking on the street at 2 am alone. Where if someone gets killed, it’s national news. Where you hear about robberies once a decade. Not to jinx, though xD</p>
<p>Adversa- Rainboots. YES oh my god yes. Puddles happen, and you will take classes across broadway. You will wish you had them. One of my favorite parts about barnard is the tunnels. If you are a freshman taking only barnard classes, you pretty much never have to go outside. So I guess you don’t really need rainboots if that’s the case. I have to do a lot of walking, so they’re fun to have. Ask for Hunterboots for graduation if you want to look forward to rainy days. Excellent question! haha
The wind can be bad. I’ve broken like 4 umbrellas this year. It’s not so bad in morningside though, and it tends to be worse on wide streets than avenues in my experiences (sea breezes?).
I think the campus is very very safe. I have never once felt unsafe in morningside heights. That being said, I have boys walk me back if I’m at Columbia at 2am. Keep your effing iphone in your bag on 114th street at midnight. They tend to get stolen there. I feel very safe in the city as a whole. If you ever feel unsafe, duck down into the subway (not the greatest option, but I’ve done it), catch a cab, or go into a store. I can be in certain areas at 3 am on the weekends because i know people will still be out. That is a great luxury.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, OP.</p>
<p>Calmom, my current school is not particularly selective, but it notorious for an extravagantly rigorous curriculum. I also took a heavy load of IB and AP courses in high school. If anything, I think the primary academic factor at Barnard that would intimidate me is the caliber of the students.
I haven’t experienced any serious academic or social complications at my current school (other than a lack of friends, which is kind of normal for me). If you’re truly curious about my reasons for transferring, I’d be happy to send you my Common App transfer essay.</p>
<p>Another note on safety:</p>
<p>Yes, always have boys walk you home (not particularly drunk or lecherous ones, of course), because while you’re typically safe, things do happen. Robberies are most common, most frequently for iPhones and typically somewhat armed (I’ve heard of boxcutters to knives to guns). We probably had around six or seven this past year. Some were even extremely close to campus (114th, Claremont).</p>
<p>DO NOT go into Morningside park if it’s late (I generally avoid it if I’m by myself at any hour - last year there was a rape at 6pm, albeit not of a Columbia or Barnard student). Similarly, don’t go to Harlem if it’s late. Your best bet is to stay in groups when it’s late, and not flash around expensive stuff, especially when you’re by yourself.</p>
<p>That said, I’ve never felt threatened. Just be mindful of your surroundings and you’ll be fine. The tunnels are also a great resource (I lived on Claremont last year, and frequently cut through Barnard at night or in the rain).</p>
<p>Are you considering a double major? Do you know anyone who does double major and how the workload would be if you did decide to double major? Also, what tips would you give for the essay & supplement questions? Thanks again!</p>
<p>Double majors can be very doable I’m told. I don’t have a major at all yet. Ask me in 6 months. Because of how easy it is to fulfill your nine ways of knowing liberal arts requirements with your major (or double major), I imagine it’s pretty doable. I know people who are doing this. It just takes more planning. For the essay and supplements…god, that’s the worst. I don’t know if they still used the same questions. Basically though, on the “why barnard essay” don’t just say new york or columbia. Even though those are huge pulls, they don’t want to hear it. Barnard wants to feel special. Make them feel special. I talked about the class I sat in on when I visited and the sense of community. Keep in mind, the essays are a chance to fill in gaps of your application. Don’t write about something that is covered extensively elsewhere in your application. Write about something you can’t convey elsewhere. I wrote about 3 different parts of my life and tied them together with a common thread. Be a little risqu</p>