Barnard Chance Me! (91.5/100 GPA and 34 ACT)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Barnard College
1

Hey!

So I was wondering if anyone could chance me for Barnard College? I am currently a junior by the way and I would be applying ED.

High School GPA UW: 91.5/100 - I had really bad freshman year grades that pulled my GPA down due to parent divorce

I go to a small private school in Maryland and my school does not offer weighted GPA, rank, or AP/IB/Honors classes (except for honors math, which I have taken every year). Compared to other students at my school, my schedule/classes are very rigorous (with taking all major classes and two language courses).

ACT: 34

EC:
JV Squash for 3 years - School does not have varsity and I have two school awards for squash
JV Volleyball for 3 years - I have one school award for volleyball
70 hours of community service at a food pantry- I am also the head of the club for the food pantry at my school where I plan who volunteers there from my school and many fundraisers/earth day activities
2 internships at Hopkins - One took place in a lab (where I became proficient in R programming language) and the other for the Bloomberg School of Public Health
I speak 4 languages (including English) and I tutor two of them to kids, I tutor in French for money and I volunteer to teach Farsi
Head of the Mental Health Awareness club at my school - I planned a huge Mental Health Awareness week for my school where we had a lot of speakers and raised a lot of money
I write for the Odyssey and I will be interning at a local teen magazine over the summer
Studied piano at Johns Hopkins Peabody Conservatory for 10 years
Debate Club for 2 years - I have won a couple awards at local debate tournaments
For my religion, I plan youth group activities and teach Sunday school classes
Women’s Empowerment Club for 2 years and I will be a club head next year, I am also attending a conference for young feminists this year

Also…
I do not have any family members who attended Barnard. And minority wise: I am not a racial minority but I am apart of a very small religion and my parents were asylees to the U.S.

What do my chances look like for ED? Is there anything specific I could do to bring them up? In general, I really love Barnard and I would be planning on doing pre-med.

Thanks so much!

2

Your EC sound great! I would pour my heart out into your Barnard supplement essays. I would say passion is a huge factor they look for. Show your interest by scheduling an interview maybe? Also try your best to keep your GPA high during senior year especially your first semester grades. Hope that helps!

3

There’s no reason to go to Barnard unless you really wanted to be connected to Columbia. In which case, just apply Columbia University.

4

??? She said, “I really love Barnard” – that’s reason enough to apply to Barnard.

Barnard is an excellent college, located in NYC, with all the benefits of an LAC, that also provides its students with full access to all of Columbia’s resources, without having to endure any of the downsides of Columbia (such the core, for those students who prefer a more flexible curriculum, or the uncaring administration) Given OP’s high school involvement in the Women’s Empowerment Club, I’d think she would find it very frustrating to be at Columbia and missing out on many of Barnard’s offerings.

5

Just one word: uninformed

6

Hi! Calmom is 100% correct! I love Barnard because it is Barnard, I am not looking for a backdoor into Columbia. I actually just visited Barnard & Columbia today and it confirmed my preference.

7

Hi! Thank you so much for your input! I am planning on scheduling an interview & I actually just filled out my senior year schedule and I am taking advanced math, advanced physics, and continuing with my 6 major class course. Thanks again!

8

Yes, I personally liked Barnard a lot more than Columbia College and SEAS. Barnard is amazing in itself in every way.

9

You are completely right! I visited Barnard today and fell in love again with how the school is structured. I can reap the benefits of an ivy school with still attending a LAC and an all women’s school. Coincidentally, I am actually not interested in any ivy schools (other than Barnard - if you count it as one) but rather my 2nd choice at the moment is Wellesley! Thank you for your response!