@baywatch2023 My nephew is class of '22 at NU, my daughter '22 at Barnard. Both are such great choices! Evanston isn’t just cold, it’s Polar Vortex tundra cold lol! Seriously, it is unbelievably harsh. That said it doesn’t bother my nephew (Los Angeles native), but my daughter had a hard enough time with the mild NYC winter. My impression is that NU has good and nice dorms with communities, but that overall it is not a terribly social place. For my daughter, Barnard is a VERY social place… everywhere she goes, in elevator, or walking down hallways, etc, she runs into friendly faces. The access to professors is incredible, and the small class sizes really have enabled her to get to know professors. This has been incredibly helpful to her when choosing a major/career path. The new Beyond Barnard program is really great… the new director is just on fire bringing opportunities in. But, I’m sure NU has something similar, as my nephew has a nice on-campus research position lined up for summer. In terms of location, my daughter just loves NYC, and gets out and about exploring frequently. I believe that NU had clean and nicer campus vibe, because there is a function of being in the city in historic buildings that is just a tad gritty. I have observed that as Barnard is part of Columbia U, there are many things which are very very competitive… the student clubs frequently have multi-step application processes, and it can feel harsh trying to find your group. My daughter ended up joining a sorority, which surprised me, but she is happy and always has friends to meet up with for lunch, or an upperclassman to help review a problem set or paper, etc. She prefers Barnard classes to Columbia because they are typically smaller and taught better, but it is really nice to have options in the larger CU class offerings. Good luck to her!
Wow, that’s my daughter!! My D loves to be in the middle of action, so even 20-30 minute easy train rides from Bryn Mawr and Wellesley to the cities were too far for her.
I think your daughter fits in Barnard very nicely. I might be wrong but I think Northwestern kids are more main stream than Barnard?? Barnard has a lot of edgy fast-paced kids.
Congratulations on her excellent choices!
My daughter considered Northwestern and Barnard. She applied ED to Barnard so she did not submit her Northwestern application. The Northwestern application was due the day the ED decision was released. She spent two weeks during the summer after her junior year of high school at Northwestern exploring a business training program.
She applied to a media fellowship program during her senior year of high school, did not get selected, reapplied during her freshman year at Barnard, and got assigned to our local news station. After a summer concave with the foundation, she began applying to media outlets in NYC for internships during the school year. She completed five internships altogether, including one with CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, two with BET, and she did some work with Hearst Luxury Beauty Group while in NYC. She was also offered a final interview with CBS where only two people were being interviewed for two positions. However, she had already accepted the position with BET. EVERY semester I saw loads of internship opportunities in NYC. Her first time entering into the media industry was her internship after her freshman year. I write this to give you an idea of some of the opportunities presented by attending school at Barnard.
She said she would have been happy at Bryn Mawr, Northwestern, Barnard or Emory.
@calmom @divarose @HiToWaMom @Tampa2015
Thank you all for your fantastic input! After careful consideration, my daughter finally committed to Barnard today. She is so excited to dive into her classes and the city next year!
@mayaic4 Hello, I am applying RD to Barnard Class of 2024. You offered to answer any questions about Barnard in the 2023 RD thread. Does your offer still stand? Thank you!