@easytiger – Barnard is a wonderful school – but please don’t get your heart set on just one college. No college is worth the role of “dream” school in your heart or mind.
Think about the things you like about Barnard and try to identify other colleges that would provide a similar environment and opportunities, including some safeties where you are more sure of admission.
Of course you should still aim for Barnard and if finances permit, consider applying ED – just don’t limit yourself or your options by buying into the notion that Barnard or any other college is perfect.
@calmom thank you! I have a whole list of schools but most of them are even harder to get into than Barnard! Any of the Seven Sisters and Cornell are viable options as well, but dang I just fell in love with Barnard. I have a good chance of getting in according to every source I looked at, but the stress !
@easytiger – from your stats you have an excellent chance of getting in, but that’s just it: a chance.
You need to have match schools where admission is more predictable and where you would be happy to attend. If any of the 7 sisters is viable, that’s fine – you are probably very likely to get admitted to Smith, Mt. Holyoke or Bryn Mawr.
@easytiger You note that you have a list of colleges, all as difficult to get into as Barnard if not more so. I find this worrying. I’ve worked with a couple exceptionally well qualified students this year in terms of GPAs, test scores, class rank etc. They unfortunately only applied to what I’d call “first tier” universities (i.e., those with admit rates of 15% of less). One was rejected by all of them and the other was waitlisted by those that didn’t reject her outright. She is now looking at having to take a gap year if she doesn’t get off the wait list at one of her colleges.
I agree with @calmom. Don’t get your heart set on any one college. And be very, very realistic when applying to colleges. There really is no such thing as a sure bet.