<p>i’m one of the very few asians and even non-caucasians at colgate university (first year), and frankly, i don’t really like that. it’s just like my high school here, very preppy, wealthy, etc. what is barnard like? i know there is a lot of ethnic diversity at barnard, but what do you think? how are the people there?</p>
<p>Can you visit the campus? I know that my daughter's first impression when she visited was that the environment was very diverse. She had been visiting several campuses that week and was very dismayed at what seemed to be a white/preppy atmosphere at some other college campuses, such as American U. -- but she really felt much more comfortable with the ethnic mix at Barnard. </p>
<p>I've never been there myself so I don't have first hand experience, but my impression from what I've seen of the admitted class is that it is very diverse - certainly there are many Asian students as well as other ethnic minorities. On the other hand, I don't get the sense that it is economically very diverse -- I get the sense that the majority of kids come from affluent families. So I honestly think the best thing for you to do would be to spend some time on campus to get a first hand feel for things.</p>
<p>While looking for something entirely different, I ran across this article about diversity at Barnard, from the Barnard alumna magazine:
<a href="http://alum.barnard.edu/site/PageServer?pagename=alu_mag_spring05_y">http://alum.barnard.edu/site/PageServer?pagename=alu_mag_spring05_y</a> feature</p>
<p>It's a brief article, but it explores a variety of issues.</p>
<p>I think Barnard is diverse at all levels- there are girls there who only buy Prada and who play Polo in Greenwich, CT on weekends, there are average suburban middle class girls, and there are less affluent girls from Harlem and the Bronx.</p>