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Colleges and Universities A-Z Barnard College
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<p>I hope this thread is still alive. I would be so grateful if someone could give me a more in depth summary of the whole Columbia-Barnard link. As in can students go to classes in either school if they wish, do the guys come on campus at Barnard a lot, and will attending Barnard make you feel isolated or alienated from guys? </p>

<p>Also, I am an International student, and I would like to know just how accepting Barnard is of minorities, and people who may not be used to american culture. (I guess my main concern here is the atmosphere at Barnard) Thanks!</p>

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<p>mschm95 – if you look at other posts in this thread, you will see that your questions have been answered over and over again – but just to help you out, I’ll give you a quick answer to each of your specific questions:</p>

<ol>
<li>can students go to classes in either school if they wish?</li>
</ol>

<p>Yes. The registration system for all classes is completely integrated, and probably 99% of classes are fully open to students at both CC and BC. The exceptions are classes that are geared specifically to students of each colleges, such as Columbia core courses, and the Barnard First Year Seminars; and some classes that are limited to majors within a particular department. Also, in some cases when a class has limited enrollment, a preference might be given to a student at one school or another. (“Limited enrollment” means class size is restricted and more students sign up than can be accommodated). That is usually a problem only with very specialized classes. </p>

<ol>
<li> do the guys come on campus at Barnard a lot?</li>
</ol>

<p>Yes. There really is not much separation between the campuses. The Barnard “campus” is only about two city blocks, located directly across the street from the Columbia campus. Barnard students spend a lot of time on the Columbia campus, to attend classes there, use the library. Students from both campus end up eating at the dining halls on both campuses, sometimes because of a particular preference or convenience, but sometimes simply for variety. </p>

<ol>
<li>will attending Barnard make you feel isolated or alienated from guys?</li>
</ol>

<p>No, not unless you want to isolate yourself. Keep in mind that these campuses are in NYC – it is a very busy city with a lot of people around. </p>

<p>When people ask this question I think that they really don’t appreciate how physically small the Barnard and Columbia campuses are, and how close everything is. By the time my d. was a senior, what she wanted most – and got – was the opportunity to live in small apartment by herself 10 blocks away from campus. I’m a parent and not a student, but I don’t see how it is possible for anyone to feel “isolated” at Barnard, unless a student is very shy or introverted and spends all her time studying in her own dorm room. “Alienated”-- certainly - if there is not a good fit for a person with Barnard and/or the urban culture, then that person may feel like she doesn’t fit in. But “isolated” is hard to imagine. </p>

<ol>
<li> I am an International student, and I would like to know just how accepting Barnard is of minorities, and people who may not be used to american culture. </li>
</ol>

<p>It’s New York City. It is a very diverse environment, both on and off campus. You probably will not find many places in the US that could be any more accepting. On the other hand, it is an environment where people are expected to function independently – if you have a hard time adjusting to American culture, you may have to reach out to others for help.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for your reply. After spending the past day researching, Im completely sold on applying to Barnard ED next year. Sorry to have asked some repetitive questions, youre so helpful to have answered them so thoroughly!</p>

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<p>Functuay370, I don’t know of the exact percentage. I know, thought, that in my year, there were three internationals on full financial aid, though.</p>

<p>mschm95, hey! I’m an international. I honestly feel that first people at BC/CU are very excited about your being an international, but then… it passes. New York in general is kind of ‘oh, you’re out of town? get over it.’ It’s not accepting, it just doesn’t care. Very many people in NY come from somewhere else, right?
Barnard/Columbia link is tougher to figure out. Yes, you can take any class at either school. Barnard departments are okay with your substituting courses from Columbia for classes at Barnard. Buuuut Columbia departments are not so forgiving and restrict their students from taking major classes at Barnard. At least, that was the case with Econ dept.
There are not many boys at your Barnard classes. But then again, you are very likely to end up on the other side of Broadway anyway. I would find it very hard to only take classes at Barnard. On the other hand, I know people who refuse to go to Columbia at all. Go figure.</p>

<p>You will not feel isolated a lot because you have access to almost everything Columbia undergrads have access to: gym, cafeteria, libraries, classes, what-am-i-forgetting, clubs. In fact, as far as I’m aware, JJ’s is the only place that is closed to Barnard, but again, it is not always closed for us. The only time I’ve been there it was wide open to feed us junk food.
Besides. If you try hard enough, you can bend the rules.</p>

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<p>I’ve got into reading some posts above, and I have to correct two points.</p>

<p>The registration system is not integrated. The webspace for coursework (courseworks) is, however.
Columbia’s core classes are open to Barnard ladies, but you have to get permission from your Dean, I believe.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Maybe this is just a matter of semantics – or have they changed things since my daughter attended? My daughter could do all of her course registration through a single web portal, which included the ability to choose from all Columbia courses as well as Barnard courses. She did not have to go through any separate or additional steps to choose classes at Columbia – the course listings were fully integrated. The course listings are also still combined at [CU</a> Directory of Classes](<a href=“http://www.columbia.edu/cu/bulletin/uwb/]CU”>CU Directory of Classes) – that is, if you look up “history” at that site and then click on a link for all history classes in the coming semester, you will see all of the course listings for both Columbia and Barnard on the same page.</p>

<p>Is there something else Barnard students must now do in order to select a Columbia course? (My d. graduated in 2010 and registered via eBear – I know that the eBear portal is being replaced, but I was under the impression that hadn’t happened yet).</p>

27

<p>Hey there,</p>

<p>I’m an incoming senior beginning her college applications. Barnard is one of my top choice schools, but I am also planning on applying to Columbia. Because I know a lot of students consider Barnard as a kind of “back door” into Columbia, doing this is a little conflicting for me. Plus my college counselor actually advised against doing so, warning it could hurt my application. </p>

<p>When I think about the kind of student I am, I think Barnard would be a better fit, but I am also going to apply to Columbia because it too fits my preference for a rigorously academic school in an urban setting. Is my counselor right in deciding to apply to one or the other? My guess would’ve been that most people apply to both, but I also don’t want to send the impression that I’m just looking at Barnard as a “backup plan,” which is grossly untrue.</p>

<p>Thanks for your help!</p>

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<p>Barnard and Columbia admissions are separate, so the respective admissions committees don’t know where else you have applied unless you tell them. Based on responses to an admitted student questionnaire, Barnard reported that 98 students in 2010 were “cross-admits”, admitted to both Barnard & Columbia. I don’t know what the response rate of that questionnaire is – that is, there may have been many more cross-admitted students who did not answer the questionnaire or report back to Barnard. That number also would not include the students who applied to both Barnard and Columbia but were rejected from one. </p>

<p>But the point is, a significant number of students do apply and are admitted to both schools. </p>

<p>As a parent, I would advise you to stop worrying about “chances” and simply apply to whatever schools you would like to attend, assuming you have at least a marginal chance of admission. Just be sure to differentiate your applications to fit the schools you are applying to. My guess is that Barnard probably does look carefully at the answer to the “why this school” question on the application.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I know that many students do apply to both – however, I think it is a mistake to assume that most other Barnard applicants are also applying to Columbia. My daughter didn’t, and never even considered applying to Columbia. I think one advantage of Barnard was the access it gave to Columbia’s resources, without any of the drawbacks of attending Columbia – those Columbia drawbacks were enough to deter my d. from applying.</p>

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<p>“My daughter could do all of her course registration through a single web portal, which included the ability to choose from all Columbia courses as well as Barnard courses.”</p>

<p>I assumed, you were speaking about the system being common among colleges.
In this case, I apologize - we do still register through eBear for any class open to us. Say, not Law School ones.</p>

<p>elgar15, admissions are separate. That’s a fact. So your counselor is not right in that respect.
Now, I have a friend who applied to both Barnard and Columbia, but the rest of them never considered Columbia as an option. I, for instance, didn’t even know that Barnard and Columbia were connected that much. I have an excuse, though - I’m about as foreign as you can get.
Also, don’t let the weird Barnard essays stop you from applying.</p>

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<p>I have a couple D’s that I am currently remediating online. I have pretty good SAT scores, great teacher recommendations, and I can write pretty good essay. I want to know if Barnard will let you explain why you received the grades that you did and if they will just look at your highest grades. Does Barnard look at the whole package?</p>

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<p>Hi! What was your interview experience like? Thank you so much for doing this, by the way!</p>

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<p>Calmom, what did your daughter view as drawbacks for Columbia?</p>

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<p>I assume you are asking about my statement above,

</p>

<p>I think at the application phase, the primary deterrent was the Columbia Core. My daughter was attracted to schools with flexible or open curriculums – she also applied to Brown and to the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU. I think the whole concept of a “core” where all students take the same underlying courses very much goes against her creative and highly individualistic inclinations. </p>

<p>There was also a perception of Columbia as being more impersonal, simply in their application process. Barnard seemed more interested in knowing who my daughter was. I think my daughter really enjoyed completing applications that gave her a chance to show her personality. (She also refused to use the online Common App – she actually did a separate, paper application for any college that would accept one, except for a couple of schools that offered free online apps). </p>

<p>After my daughter enrolled at Barnard, she also perceived a very significant difference in the academic cultures of the two schools. At Barnard the students, administration, and faculty have a very positive relationship. The faculty seem to respect their students and there is a comfortable, easy interaction between students and faculty. The students also seem to really like their President and various Deans – my daughter still has a very good relationship with the former Dean of Studies and has had repeated contact with him post-graduation. </p>

<p>Of course my daughter had many classmates and friends at Columbia, as well as taking many classes there. She felt that the Columbia students had a poor relationship with the school administration, with a sense that the administration didn’t care about their needs, and a much more distant relationship with faculty. That could be part of the dynamic of a research institution vs. liberal arts college – many of the Columbia faculty may be more focused on their research and graduate teaching responsibilities, rather than their undergraduate responsibilities. </p>

<p>Also, the Barnard advising system is set up to promote a much closer relationship between students and faculty. I think Columbia’s advising relies on a dedicated staff of Deans and peer advisers, rather than teaching faculty. So when my daughter started college, she was assigned an adviser who was the head of the department where she seemed likely to major (she ended up with a different major, but preserved her friendship with her advisor, whom she really liked.)</p>

<p>I do think that Columbia has more resources for financial aid, so that could be a significant factor for many families.</p>

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What’s a typical day (weekday) at Barnard?

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The typical weekday? Stay up too late talking to friends in the dorm (and avoiding doing homework as long as possible), getting up late, going to 1 to 2 classes, engaging in some activity or socialization with friends in the afternoon, and then studying in the evening. Barnard is in NYC, so many students head into the city. In my case, I spend 60% of my time on the Columbia campus, taking classes and using the facilities there; others spend much of their time at Barnard. Whatever you do, rarely are you bored for want of something to do!

36

Hi guys!
I’m a current high school junior at a pretty rigorous prep school starting to think about colleges (obviously). I haven’t visited either yet, but am looking at Columbia and, partially because of its high acceptance rate, Barnard. Only problem is, all the YouTube videos and stuff of people at both schools say they didn’t like it at first and many students consider transferring freshman year. Is this true??? I want to love my school!!! Someone also said that she felt the jump from high school to Barnard was like going from high school to grad school, and overwhelmed her. What are your thoughts on that?? Also, how flexible is the core schedule in terms of minors and concentrations? Honestly, any other first hand information would be great!!! I LOVE my current high school(of course it has its flaws, but overall) , so you could say I have pretty high standards for college. I want to go somewhere where the students genuinely enjoy their time there and want to be there.

Side note: how difficult are Barnard classes compared to Columbias? Or are they the same classes?

Thank you both!!!

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@BoundForSantaFe,

I am intensely interested in your question about how students have acclimated in their first year, in light of your statement that you’ve found online comments about not liking Barnard “at first…[with] many students consider[ing] transferring freshman year.”

I will check what is on YouTube as well, and contact a young lady I met while at Barnard who just graduated this winter. Of course, the experience is different for every person, but remember that in today’s world we tend to go online and post most when we are upset or displeased. So there may be a majority of posts by the minority of students who simply did not find their fit at Barnard.

As you come from a rigorous secondary school, even if the Barnard experience does reflect an intense and accelerated jump into a higher level and pace of coursework and instruction, I would think that if you are doing well in HS, you should be able to do well at Barnard.

Have you looked at the offerings for minors and concentrations at Barnard? I would strongly suggest you do so, as the core there, their “9 Ways of Knowing” has been eliminated, and yet everything sounds as if the main reasons for offering a “core” has been expanded to reflect and accommodate the wide range of interests and accelerated academic access of the new generation of young ladies entering.

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Hi! I am applying to Barnard and I want to know what my chances are for early decision. I have a B average GPA which is a 3.3 unweighted but weighted I have a 4.3. My SAT score is a 1480. My essays are very good and I have truly shown interest in Barnard for the past 3 years. I am also a minority and have legacy.
I have 4 leadership positions from Editor in Cheif to President and Vice President and Treasuer. My community service is also over 100 hours.

As a alumni what do you think my chances are?

39

@ everyone thinking about applying to Barnard because of its acceptance rate compared a certain neighbor across the street: please don’t, or at least look into the differences in their respective programs. It’s a cliche, but Barnard is not your backdoor to Columbia. It’s an amazing school in its own right, don’t humor it.

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@Waiting2exhale You’ve exaggerated a bit. The “Nine Ways of Knowing” has been replaced by Foundations. While different, the Nine Ways still survive. Barnard has had a “core” and Foundations is definitely not an attempt to replicate one: just the opposite. It seeks to install what Harvard calls “general education” though in a more structured fashion.

As for transfers, they are negligible. Those who talk about transferring generally say this after having had their first papers or mid-terms graded. They then discover that they are no longer top of the heap. This phase passes and is true for all other rigorous universities. As for transfers to the place “across the road,” they average 1 or 2 a year. About 3 or 4 make the opposite trek.

Finally, I’d be careful of gambling on the higher acceptance rate as a way of getting in. Barnard’s admissions are very quirky. Many highly, highly qualified students are not admitted.

One other caveat: people who go to the trouble of posting videos on YouTube usually have an agenda. College is for adults. You cannot blame others if you made a bad choice or were unprepared. And the 98% of Barnard students who are happy do not necessarily broadcast this fact.