Barnard or Wesleyan?

[jerriblank]

<p>Hi, I’m having a hard time deciding between Wesleyan and Barnard. I’m a potential English major (or something in that vein) from LA nourishing dreams of being a comedic writer. I’m interested in a bunch of different things, though, so I’m excited to get the experience of taking a lot of different classes in college. I’d want to get involved with writing for campus publications probably. I’m a good student—very interested in learning and getting a great intellectual experience—but I also love to party and don’t want to be sitting in a dorm room playing checkers for four years. That being said, here are my issues:</p>

<p>I love both schools for different reasons. Wes is a real college campus with interesting people, fascinating classes and professors, and a co-ed experience. I love that there’s a great on-campus social scene that’s varied; I’m really drawn by all the different social opportunities there. I love the housing (WestCo, woodframes, etc) and I love the open, relaxed vibe of the people and school in general. Kick ass school.</p>

<p>With Barnard, I love the location in New York City near places I would love to intern at (Daily Show, Colbert Report, etc) and the fact that it has an amazing writing program, a small community dedicated to the success of its women where you can have close relationships with professors, and the resources of Columbia. And I want to be a Barnard Bartender! So cool. It feels like a perfect combo: small liberal arts school, resources of large university, and all set in NYC—but just far enough away (in a super cute town—I love Morningside Heights!) that you’re not thrown into the midst of the city, like in NYU or Eugene Lang.</p>

<p>Negatives for Wesleyan: I’m afraid about it being in the middle of nowhere—not for the lack of something to do (not worried about that), but for the fact that I’ll be insulated from the real-world opportunities I would be able to have living in New York. You can’t beat New York, and I would love to get experiences interning while living in the city as a student—I’d hate to move there after graduation to try and get a job; it would be so much easier to get that experience as a student. This is the big one for me; how can I turn down an opportunity to live in New York with the support and guidance of a school behind me?</p>

<p>For Barnard, I’m afraid of the lack of a social scene, as people empty out into the city and so not much happens on campus, and I don’t know how I feel about being at an all-girl’s school after having done so for high school—I know it’s not fully co-ed because of the partnership with Columbia, but I like the idea of having guys actually part of MY community, with my school’s name on their sweater and actually having guys at my own graduation. I’m sick of girls! I’m also apprehensive about the monetary demands of living in New York City. Money is tight, and I got generous financial aid packets from both schools—a little more generous from Wes. I’m afraid a city-based social scene would tear my wallet up. And the relationship with Columbia seems complicated and has the potential to be fraught with tension and inferiority/superiority complexes, something I don’t particularly want to deal with.</p>

<p>I’m extremely torn, and the more I write it down, the less clear it gets! Any thoughts?</p>

[mythmom]

<p>I have known kids from both schools who loved them both. My D loved Barnard. A friend’s D transferred from Barnard to Wes for some of your reasons and then regretted it. She felt the academics (especially the writing) was superior at Barnard. But then again, many folks in showbiz have come from Wes.</p>

<p>I don’t think you can go wrong.</p>

<p>My D did NOT find that the school emptied out on the weekends. Some kids club but most don’t. D did not, and an average Saturday night was baking peach cobbler (roomie from GA), doing some work and watching a movie together, which isn’t to say she never went out or dated.</p>

<p>Tough decision. Both great schools.</p>

[liaku]

<p>There’s actually a Columbia bubble up here in Morningside Heights, so I really would not say people empty out into the city, though you can if you want to. There’s definitely a lot of people that don’t ever stray far out of the neighborhood though, so I can only assume there’s plenty of things to keep you entertained in our part of town. Morningside Heights is also a pretty affordable place to live, though I’m sure Wesleyan still has an edge there. Even so, unless you’re truly counting pennies, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.</p>

<p>So far, at least half of my classes each semester have been at Columbia (and no one’s cared that I’m a Barnard girl), so it doesn’t feel much like an all-girl’s school to me at all, not in class anyway. There’s the option of Columbia housing after your freshman year, so you could avoid the all-girls aspect entirely if you really hate it. I went to Boston College before transferring here, and I don’t think the vibe here is any different besides living with only girls in your building, granted you’ll never see a guy wearing your school’s sweatshirt. You will see them eating at your cafeteria though, because theirs sucks.</p>

<p>There are definitely parties here, though by ‘here,’ I mean Columbia, but if you want to party every night and that’s really important to you, I’ve got to recommend Wesleyan. If you’re fine with just some weekend fun (and the weekend starts Thursday night), then you shouldn’t have a problem.</p>

[calmom]

<p>Some comments:</p>

<p>First of all, the Barnard Bartending thing really is a nice way to earn money – as long as you are willing to work. My d. took the first course available as a freshman, and has almost always been able to get plenty of jobs. But unless you have experience already with food service work, you might not find it “cool”. It can be tiring and being the hired help isn’t always fun. On the other hand, my daughter has seen the inside of some pretty amazing parties. </p>

<p>As to the sweatshirt thing, there is no rules limiting who can buy sweatshirts, so you are pretty much free to buy a Columbia sweatshirts and wear it around campus, if it makes you happy. Of course it irks the hell out of some CC posters… which seems to me like as good as any reason to do it. On the other hand, when I’ve visited the campus I don’t see many students on either side of the street wearing school sweatshirts. I think the novelty of a college-insignia sweatshirt kind of wears off once you graduate from high school. (I mean, once you are in college, then it has all the attraction of wearing a school uniform). </p>

<p>Although an option, it isn’t all that easy to get into Columbia housing after the first year – so though liaku is technically accurate, don’t count on it. </p>

<p>Finally, a bit of advice: I am assuming that you have visited both campuses, because you seem pretty knowledgeable about the general atmosphere. Now is the time to get down to the specifics using the course catalog, looking at your intended major, course offerings, professors, and what the structure of a major might look like. Also, if you have earned AP credit, look at the policy of each school about accepting and applying that credit. Barnard has the 9-ways-of-knowing, which means that as an English major you still will need a year of a lab science, up to 2 years of a foreign language and at least a semester of math (though you can test out of the language & math requirements). I have no clue as to what Wesleyan might require. </p>

<p>Even if you end up changing majors, looking at the specifics will help you get a sense of how your academic life will play out. You ARE going to college for the academics, and you are going to spend a lot of time in class and/or reading & studying for your classes – so it makes sense for that to factor into your final decision. </p>

<p>Also, since you are coming from LA… look at airline schedules, cost & transportation. We are also on the west coast near SFO airport – and there are always dozens direct flights into the 3 major NYC area airports, competitively priced. Look at the routing and travel time as well as cost & frequency of flights. Then think about how that might impact you (depending on how often you think you might want to go home).</p>