<p>Another perspective:
My daughter does not like the fact that Barnard is all women. She did not feel that it was a good thing to have only women in her first year studies course, or to have other classes largely dominated by women -- on the contrary she has told me that she feels that something is lost when the male point of view is left out of the discussion.</p>
<p>However, as far as the school is concerned, for academic & administrative reasons, Barnard wins hands down. For example, my d. has nothing nice whatsoever to say about Columbia's Pres., Bollinger -- and everything nice to say about Barnard's pres, Judith Shapiro -- I know she is expressing her own point of view but also echoing what she picks up from other students. It is only when you get to a college that you realize how important the administration is, and how important student/faculty/administrative relations are. It's hard to put in words because it doesn't have a direct effect on course content, it certainly has absolutely nothing to do with the dating scene (the apparent source of the negative stereotype).... but it has an overwhelming influence on how students view their school and their role within it. I think Barnard students feel that they have a voice and that they are valued by their faculty. </p>
<p>Also, now that my daughter is getting into her major, she has pointed out that almost all Barnard majors require a senior thesis, whereas Columbia majors don't. Since she is a poli sci major I went on line and compared the requirements -- in both colleges the same array of courses would be taken, but at Barnard there is more time spent in small seminars or colloquia... and there is that senior thesis which my d. says is an 80-page paper. Now this is not something that my d. is telling me in praise of Barnard -- on the contrary, it is part of her woe-is-me, griping about how "hard" she has to work at her school -- but from my perspective as the tuition-paying parent, I think tougher is better, and I also feel that the senior thesis requirement is something that reflects an educational philosophy that favors students exploring and creating new knowledge as opposed to merely taking in what is taught to them. So if I were to evaluate the academic programs, I'd think that Barnard's was stronger, especially now that I've seen 9-ways-of-knowing in action -- although it is more flexible, I think it actually forces a deeper and broader general education than Columbia's core. For example, my daughter is very weak in math, and she took a science course (astronomy) that filled Barnard's quantitative reasoning requirements, but she won't be able to use it for that because she also needs to fill the 2-semester lab science requirement -- so I think she will end up having to take more math & science to meet the 9-ways requirements than she would have at Columbia, where the science requirement can be met via general lecture courses without taking lab courses. </p>
<p>So all in all... from the perspective of someone whose daughter is not in love with all things Barnard.... it still seems to be the preferable program. </p>
<p>If you think about it though... you can see another very big reason for stereotyping and hostility: envy. While my d. and her Barnard friends were opting for advanced level and even graduate level courses during their freshman year, the Columbia students were slogging through the core taking classes like Lit-Hum or Frontiers of Science. Meanwhile my daughter's experience her first semester was that except for her first-year writing course, most of the students in her other classes were sophomores or above. One of the most amazing things about Columbia & Barnard is that the policy toward course enrollment is extremely liberal - you can pretty much take anything offered if you have the prerequisite or foundational courses -- but the Columbia students have more required freshman-level courses, which of course limits their options in terms of elective courses. If you combine that with the close advising Barnard students get (my d's adviser is the head of a Barnard department and also the head of a separate graduate level department at Columbia) - it looks like Barnard students have greater opportunities in terms of being able to take advantage of the amazing course offerings of both schools and faculty contacts.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you really are a Megan McCafferty fan and your true goal is to find a college where your social life and romantic prospects are enhanced..... go to NYU. My d. says the boys there are a lot cuter, and quite frankly, Morningside Heights can't compete with the East Village night life.</p>