Currently accepted to both Barnard and Vanderbilt as a transfer applicant. Not stating more details here because I am looking for general (objective) opinions regarding how great and prestigious these two schools are: 1) how they will prepare me for a grad school/job, 2) which vibe do you prefer more, and 3) which would you pick.
Thank you!
Your major and desired graduate school or job?
No one else knows your preferences, so no one else can give you any idea of how each fits or does not fit your preferences.
Does cost differ or matter?
Thanks for your reply!! The major I used to apply to both schools was psychology.
- When looking at psychology research programs at Vanderbilt, they don’t have many in social psychology. So I’d say I personally favor Barnard for its research opportunities.
- At my current college, I’m majoring in psychology and public policy with a minor in data science. My interest in psychology is more than evident and I believe I have the capability to study it well. I also have some interest in data science, and am trying out for public policy (I’m interested, but not sure that I’m good at it). If studying at Vanderbilt, I’d major in psychology and cs, minoring in human and developmental studies. If at Barnard, I’ll probably go with psych + cs, and something else.
- In terms of my future, it’s hard to say that I know what I will do even if I know what I want to do. For Barnard, NYC certainly has a better physical location in terms of job opportunities. I could also expect more diversity. There should also be a tighter community. However, I’m not a big fan of NYC because I’m from a very large city as well. For Vanderbilt, I could imagine myself transitioning more into cs and hod, as psych program doesn’t have much in what I want – focuses in neuroscience and developmental psychology. I could also imagine many opportunities there as it’s a top school.
- In terms of cost, Barnard is certainly more expensive than Vanderbilt. I am using my parents’ money – They didn’t say that I should return the money to them, but I figure I should.
I am fine with both schools and wouldn’t regret going to either one of the two, but it’s a really tough decision for me. I also think that I can be top students at both schools.
Psychology does not have as strong major-related job prospects as CS, although CS can have industry ups and downs (the last industry downturn was about two decades ago, and it was quite bad for both new graduates and those already in the industry). But have you taken the introductory CS courses at your current school and enjoyed and done well in them?
How do the psychology, CS, data science, etc. offerings at your current school compare to Barnard and Vanderbilt?
In terms of the money, would your parents have to borrow, or would the money spent impact their retirement or college funding for any younger siblings?
Yes, I’ve taken several of the CS courses at my current school and have been doing pretty well - all As. I finish the final with the shortest time among my peers. While I could imagine Barnard CS to be closely related to the one offered by Columbia, I also believe in Vanderbilt’s reputation.
In terms of the money, it’s not too big of an issue though I imagine living in NYC will cost significantly more money. It wouldn’t impact a lot but money is after all money.
For psychology, I am pretty satisfied with the lab I’m in at my current school. I really enjoy doing research–thinking is quite nourishing. However, my current school is public, which means the undergraduate experience isn’t very good, especially in terms of course offerings. Some people at my university even joke that don’t choose some minor because you can never graduate (they won’t open courses).
I have a friend who goes to Vanderbilt and she loves it, so I am personally a little biased towards Vanderbilt. I would say that since both schools are prestigious and are fairly equal when it comes to academics, you should weigh cost and job opportunities the heaviest. If you can get a similarly prestigious education with a school that has an esteemed name that is recognized in the job market at a lower tuition price, I would personally say that would be the better option. However at the end of the day only you can make the decision.
These are both excellent schools, and nobody can tell you where to go. I would sit down and have a conversation with your parents and ask them if they have a preference, since you indicated that Barnard is more expensive.
Both schools will prepare you for life after college. You should know that your success (acceptance to grad school, etc) is on you…and not your school. I don’t know anybody who did research at Vanderbilt, but I have no doubt that it exists. I do know Barnard students who were involved in psychology research.
Lastly-
“my current school is public, which means the undergraduate experience isn’t very good”
This statement is simply not true. My assumption is that your school is/was not the right fit for you. I will leave it at that so as not to drift off topic.
Good luck!
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They are like Chalk and Cheese. Objectively, Barnard is a small women-only, no-sports, LAC in Manhattan which has declining population. Vanderbilt is a co-ed, mid-sized research university in the big-time SEC Conference in booming Nashville. Barnard is more expensive according to your calculations.
Questions you asked:
- When it comes to employment, Barnard is a local brand. Vanderbilt is a national brand. When it comes to grad school, both are highly recognized.
- I far prefer the work-hard, play-hard, active, and very friendly Vanderbilt college campus vibe, the offerings of a larger institution, the nearby hopping city of Nashville and the surrounding rivers, lakes, and mountains for easy get aways during the undergrad years. Enjoy the college years in a more collegiate environment. I would consider a bigger city for grad school.
- Vanderbilt University, hands down for me and my daughters, but we are not you.
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Barnard does have sports. In fact they are Division 1 and compete in 15 sports as part of the Ivy league (affiliated with Columbia U). But it does not have a strong sports culture. Barnard students can major in nearly anything that the other Columbia undergrads do.
For a psych major, I don’t see a huge difference between the two. Barnard would have a leg up in case you are interested in finance/tech.
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I also disagree that Barnard is a local brand. The affiliation with Columbia makes Barnard/Columbia a well known brand across the US, even internationally.
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citation needed
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Transferred to Barnard as a psych major years ago. Wonderful experience and support of women and their career paths. Columbia campus is lively. Sounds like you have two great options — where did you feel most like you fit in and would grow?
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You have two outstanding but very different options. Both can get you wherever you want to go in terms of jobs and/or grad school. I’d first discuss affordability with your parents. Assuming the two schools are affordable it should come down to what environment YOU would prefer to spend the remainder of your undergrad years. This is a case where two reasonable people could make two different decisions and both be extremely happy.
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Objectively?
Vanderbilt can stand on its own merits - no need to be “creative”.
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Barnard College is one of the three “traditional” undergraduate colleges of co-ed Columbia University, of international renown:
List of Schools | Columbia University in the City of New York
All university students take classes together, from the university’s course catalogue, and share the university facilities. -
For the classes of 2025, there were 2,338 first-year students enrolled at Barnard College, Columbia College, Fu School of Engineering - 32.8% of which from Barnard.
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All students at the university graduate together with their Ivy-League Diploma from Columbia University, which has more than twice the student body of Vanderbilt, and 3 to 4 times the number of postgraduate students. (And as has already been pointed out, they do compete in the Ivy League, division 1.)
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I love Nashville for many reasons, but I’m willing to bet that by the time this student graduates, the comparative relevance of Manhattan, and greater New York, won’t have shifted drastically towards Nashville.
To elaborate a little, as a women’s college fully integrated in the large, co-ed university, BC is drastically different from what you might think of as a usual women’s college. It does have all-female dorms, however, the campus, library, dining halls, courses, etc. are actually co-ed - just as the rest of the entire University. Barnard’s unique role is to level the playing field, tearing down (implied) gender barriers/ceilings, and expressly promoting the pursuit of certain academic or professional fields that currently might not have achieved gender balance and income parity.
People should and will have different criteria and personal preferences, making either of these two a better choice for them - for all the right reasons.
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Barnard has a 13% acceptance rate. If it’s declining, I’m not sure anyone else is aware of that. In fact, it’s class size increased by 300 students last year, so that makes no sense.
Barnard is VERY prestigious and people who matter will know of both schools. The vibe at these schools is very dissimilar. No one here knows what vibe appeals to you most, but you seem to care a lot about prestige, so I’d say Barnard due to its prestige and connections to
Columbia, which help you with jobs and contacts.
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My daughter majored in Psychology. She was able to pick up relevant internships in Manhattan (even full-year, at a different T20 university in the city), as well as a practicum at a local practice.
So while it is normal (if not expected, due to the tiny cohort sizes) to have to re-apply for a year or year’s, before hopefully being accepted into Doctoral programs for Clinical Psychology some day, my daughter was lucky to move straight on.
Of course, this kind of anecdotal experience is not transferrable from person to person, and there is no way of knowing which specific factors lead multiple Grad Schools to offer her interviews, some many flight-hours away. But since I do lack a Nobel prize and didn’t fund a new building, I’m assuming that the opportunities she was able to seize in Manhattan, and the national recognition of Columbia University, didn’t hurt her application.
Yes, very diverse indeed - and my daughter agrees that Barnard has the most “school spirit” among the University’s colleges. Even when attending University commencement, it’s hard for the audience not to notice which of the many schools was the most lively and vocal throughout those long hours.
Well - that is something you should resolve, whether you even think you could love living in Manhattan. I had occasion to visit most of the largest cities in Europe, and been to many U.S. cities - and the geography and density of Manhattan does make it stand out amongst them. If you have not yet spent much time in NYC, the vibe might be quite different from what you know from other cities – which could either be a positive (as it is for me), or negative.
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To update, the acceptance rate for the class of 2026 was 8%! So what’s “declining” is the acceptance rate 
I’m not sure that this is accurate?
The number of students admitted for classes of 2025 and 2026 is about the same, and the number of first-year’s continues to be in the high 700’s. For certain, there has been no talk about any major change to class size, or that the college has managed to suddenly increase capacity by almost 40%.
FWIW, it’s sister college, Columbia College just completed an inquiry about possible increasing class size (the proposal failed a few years ago), and the feedback they received was not favorable.
I was a transfer to Barnard many years ago. It was the best decision I ever made! I loved the school and found that a lot of doors opened for me as a Barnard grad. If I were you, I would weigh what type of learning environment you prefer. Barnard is a small, liberal arts women’s college in NYC. Transfers are not guaranteed housing so you need to either be outgoing to find your people or be okay with have a small-ish group. Vanderbilt is also an excellent school but the environment is very different - large, coed and “sporty.” You have two great options. Best of luck to you!
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Vanderbilt.
If the comparison were Vanderbilt v. Columbia, I’d say either.
Sorry, I compared 2020-2021, when I meant to compare 2019-2020 to 2021-2022. For the last four cycles, the total number of enrolled students has increased. There are nearly 400 more students than four years ago. And yes, acceptance rate has decreased. I should not have said class size, but overall enrollment. That indicates they are admitting more students.
Section B1.
https://barnard.edu/institutional-research
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