<p>Besides the obvious, that Barnard is an all girls school, which wouldn’t be appealing to some, are there any other reasons NOT to attend Barnard? I mean, I know the dorms aren’t the largest nor most luxurious… but besides that, I can’t think of anything not so attractive about the school… anyone???</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>The City. As much as many see that as a definite pro (including my self), a lot of others don't.<br>
The Cost. NYC is undeniably expensive (though considering your living in a dorm room, and have a meal plan, your necessities are covered.)
Sports. they don't have teams, is it even possible to get an athletic scholarship then? just Columbia then, right?</p>
<p>The City. As much as many see that as a definite pro (including myself), a lot of others don't.<br>
The Cost. NYC is undeniably expensive (though considering your living in a dorm room, and have a meal plan, your necessities are covered.)
Sports. they don't have teams, is it even possible to get an athletic scholarship then? just Columbia then, right?</p>
<p>i disagree with the comment about sports. barnard women participate in columbia athletics and even get recruited to columbia teams. there are many women here who get really into the school spirit thing and go to football games and homecoming and everything. barnard doesn't give athletic scholarships, because they dont give any merit scholarships at all. (i'm not sure about columbia's policy on this.)
cost is definitely an issue. sure, you could go to barnard and not spend any money at all except on textbooks (i know someone who never leaves campus because she doesnt want to spend the $4 subway fare) but it's pretty miserable to be in new york and not be able to take advantage of it to the fullest. but i see this as a great exercise in budgeting and getting a job, that will make you more independent and capable than going to school in the middle of nowhere would.
one reason i can think of to not like barnard so much is the construction of the new nexus building, which i am personally very excited about, but it's going to be really annoying having construction on campus. i dont think it's going to be that big a deal though, and definitely not enough to make someone not want to go to barnard.
for me, the worst parts of barnard were crappy first-year housing (i got a really tiny room that has been said to be "cursed," but that is NOT the norm so dont let this worry you) and a restrictive meal plan. both of those things will change next year and it's not that big a deal. honestly, i cant think of any reason not to go to barnard. there are some pretty obnoxious people here who get me down sometimes, but they're at every school and barnard has enough amazing women to more than balance it out.</p>
<p>oh, and for all the people who are discouraged from coming to barnard because it's all women, they are wusses. barnard is really far away from being an all women's college. i wish it werent this way. barnard women are amazing and strong and inspiring because of all they have done and they know they dont need men in their lives to do this. there are lots of people who come here after not being interested because of the single sex factor, but after being here for a while i guarantee you pretty much everyone will stand up in defense of women's colleges and barnard.</p>
<p>first off...sorry about the double post...this site has been going so slow and I was in a rush when I posted and it wouldn't let me edit without taking 3 1/2 hours. </p>
<p>Secondly, scarfmadness, how hard was it to get a job once you got there? Also, is it easy to get involved with Columbia intramural sports? Where is the first year housing located exactly? I stayed in Sulzberger during the pre-college program, so I kind of know where things are in relation, but not totally. The whole floor I was on was doubles (Sulzberger), and suites and a few singles (rest of the quad). Lastly...restricted meal plan? what's that about?</p>
<p>it's very easy to get a job on campus, although if you're on work-study you do get priority. tons of people bartend and way more babysit, if you don't want a steady time commitment.
i dont know anything about sports, but i see a lot of signs up about it, i know several people on teams, and columbia and barnard are a lot more integrated than you might expect. so i would think it's pretty easy to get involved with basically anything you want, columbia intramurals included.
first year housing is in sulzberger, reid, and brooks. the singles that you remember are in hewitt which is part of the quad but it's for upperclassmen. it's pretty nice in general and it's a lot of fun to be with the entire first year class.
people will tell you that the dining hall (hewitt) has good food, and it does, but the hours suck. the only other place you can go with your meal plan are macintosh (only open for lunch on weekdays) and java city (a coffeeshop that doesnt serve real food, just muffins, and is barely even open on weekends). so if you're hungry after midnight or just when hewitt isnt open, you have to find food elsewhere. you can get dining dollars (from columbia, you can use them at places that are open until like 4 am) but that's in addition to the barnard meal plan which is required for living on the quad. so for first years although the food is good, it's pretty restrictive. but that changes sophomore year when you can be on a less limited plan or not at all, and i'm sure every college has some sort of issue with their dining situation. (except possibly nyu, of which i am rather envious.)</p>
<p>Just to pump the sports available, I'm currently on two volleyball teams, one co-ed intramural and the Women's Club volleyball team, both at Columbia. I only transferred in this semester, and found it incredibly easy to become involved in both teams. Since I didn't know anyone for intramural, I went in as a "free agent," and there were enough other people interested that didn't have teams that we were able to form one of our own. In terms of the Club team, I just got in touch with the captain after getting contact info from the Club sports director at Dodge Fitness Center. So basically, if you're interested in playing sports, it's very easy to do so. Oh, and my practice and game hours are typically later in the evening (usually after 9:00), so that allows them to fit into my schedule and still lets me be involved in plenty of other activities. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Thank you to everyone who replied!!! </p>
<p>If I get accepted at Barnard, I'm pretty positive that I'll attend...!!!!!!!! Barnard was actually the ONLY school where I didn't go on an official college tour... and it was actually much better to walk around by myself ... got a good feel of the place... and i love love the tightknit campus feel, haha...</p>
<p>I was at Borders the other day and picked up a book called: The Last of Her Kind... by Sigrid Nunez, a Barnard grad, and the novel is about two Barnard students... I just finished the first chapter, but so far it's fabulous!</p>
<p>Highly recommended.</p>
<p>Anyway, thanks again to everyone who posted ;) 13 DAYS 'TIL THE 30th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>I also have some questions about Barnard. I'm aiming for a top med school (i.e.: Columbia Med), and I was wondering how many people at Barnard are pre-med, and would it be slightly easier to get into a Columbia Grad School, being from Barnard?</p>
<p>Anne_shirley: here are some articles u might find worthwhile -</p>
<p>"Science, Health, and Barnard: Great Chemistry"
<a href="http://www.barnard.columbia.edu/president/message-summer2003.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.barnard.columbia.edu/president/message-summer2003.html</a></p>
<p>"For women only"
<a href="http://collegeanduniversity.net/collegeinfo/For_women_only1953.htm%5B/url%5D">http://collegeanduniversity.net/collegeinfo/For_women_only1953.htm</a></p>
<p>and here's another piece of related info... don't know much other than this though</p>
<p><a href="http://www.barnard.edu/academics/ao.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.barnard.edu/academics/ao.html</a></p>
<p>PROGRAM PLANNING FOR STUDENTS INTERESTED IN HEALTH PROFESSIONS
The basic pre-medical and pre-dental requirements are two semesters of introductory biology and two semesters of biology laboratory, all at the 2000 level or higher (BIOL BC 2001, BC 2002, and laboratory BC 2003 and BC 2004); two semesters of general chemistry and one semester of laboratory (CHEM BC 2001, BC 3232); two semesters of organic chemistry and one semester of organic laboratory (CHEM BC 3230, BC 3231, BC 3328); two semesters of physics with accompanying laboratory (PHYS V 1201-1202; V 1208-1209); two semesters of English (fulfilled by First-Year Seminar and First-Year English); and one year of college-level mathematics. Highly recommended courses, required by some schools, are two terms of calculus and one semester of biochemistry (CHEM BC 3282).
Students should become familiar with the most recent edition of Medical School Admissions Requirements, an annual publication of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Pursuing a major in the sciences is not necessary for premedical students, provided they include the aforementioned required courses in their programs. The science requirements should be completed in the year prior to the year of desired entry, at which time students are advised to take the Medical College Admissions Test, normally offered in April. The test is repeated in the early fall for those who wish to retake it or who, for compelling reasons, were unable to take it in the spring.
All students who are interested in the health professions should consult their advisers as early as possible and should open a file with the pre-professional assistant and consult the designated dean in the Office of the Dean of Studies during the sophomore year. Applications for the standardized tests and other relevant materials are available in 105 Milbank. </p>
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<blockquote> <blockquote> <p>plus, keep in mind, u can always take courses at columbia if u feel the need to</p> </blockquote> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>i definitely think the most important thing is that at barnard you will have the backsupport for pursuing the sciences.</p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>there are lots of pre-med students at barnard, i dont know how many, but a lot. there is a pre-health students organization on campus and lots of ways to get involved if you are interested in health-related things. i have met several women who thought they were going to be premed and changed their minds, and several women who said they'd never be premed and now they are. so barnard has a good support system for figuring out your real interests and pursuing them.</p>
<p>about getting into columbia grad schools, i would say no. well, yes, on a certain level, because they know how rigorous barnard is compared to other schools, so if 2 candidates were identical but one was from barnard and one was from, i dunno, podunk u, they'd take the one from barnard if they had to make such a choice. but there aren't spaces set aside for barnard/columbia students, the degree just gives you a bit of a leg up (as it should for jobs, etc).</p>
<p>I have a friend that goes to Columbia who says that students from Columbia (and I assume this would cover Barnard as well) are actually at a disadvantage when applying to Columbia grad schools if two equal applicants apply. His advisor claims that they want to give the opportunity to someone who has not already spent four years at the school. I don't know how true this is, but he's quite driven, has an amzaing GPA, and is looking at the top law schools (Columbia included).</p>
<p>^^ makes sense to me. if you select kids you didn't come from your undergrad, you will have a larger alumni base.</p>
<p>more total alumni = more donations
more total alumni = more people that can potentially become famous while associated with your college</p>