<p>Columbia2002, I'm sorry to see that you have such a chip on your shoulder and such a lack of confidence in your own abilities that you have to worry about what other people are putting on their resumes. Barnard has a unique arrangement, but no matter how you look at it, it is also either a subsidiary or partner institution with Columbia, and the terms of the affiliation agreement are that the degrees are awarded by "Columbia University." </p>
<p>So a Barnard graduate who writes "A.B., Columbia University" on a resume is being truthful, though a smarter graduate would probably write it out as "Barnard College of Columbia University". The reason I say "smarter" is that I can't believe the number of accomplished women who have come out of the woodwork since my daughter was accepted to Barnard -- so as far as I can tell there is an extraordinary network of Barnard grads and any halfway intelligent women would want to take advantage of the connections to be made from the Barnard tie in. </p>
<p>And if you are upset by the idea of anyone writing out "Barnard College of Columbia University" then you have a very big problem facing reality - because that is what the affiliation is and that is what the degree says. Although the specific agreement between Barnard and Columbia may be unique, the practice of having several schools with varying criteria for admission is not. My daugher has also been admitted to NYU, and I am quite sure that admission standards may be quite variable for CAS, Tisch, Steinhardt, Gallatin, & Stern - but all students will graduate with degees from NYU. </p>
<p>For that matter, I bet you do a similar thing on your resume - you probably write that you graduated from "Columbia University" rather than than "Columbia College", for fear that the true name of your undergraduate instituation might get confused with some other "Columbia College" located in South Carolina or Missouri or something. </p>
<p>I am sure that you are aware that college admissions has gotten far more competitive over the past decade. If your screen name indicates that you graduated from Columbia in 2002, then it is very likely that it was statistically easier to get into Columbia in 1998 than it is to get into Barnard is 2006. Of course the statistics indicate that Columbia is more selective, but the point both are extremely selective colleges which only accept exceptionally well qualified students. Barnard is the most selective women's college in the US, and women admitted to Barnard on average have slightly higher high school GPA's (3.9) than students admitted to Columbia (3.8). </p>
<p>While some women undoubtedly apply to both Columbia College and Barnard, many don't -- and the ad coms claim that most students who apply to both get rejected from both. That makes sense, because the colleges are very different - Barnard offers the benefits of a smaller liberal arts college such as small classes and close advising, whereas Columbia offers the advantage of a larger research university. Usually a student will be more suited to one environment than the other. So my daughter applied only to Barnard, and when she applied to NYU she chose Gallatin, because she happens to be looking for the benefits of a small college with the resources of a larger university. </p>
<p>It doesn't reflect well on Columbia for you or any other student or alumnus to manifest the attitude that you do. Basically I wouldn't want my daughter attending a college full of self-righteous, elitist jerks - no matter what the prestige of the institution. So I'm glad that she is going to be on the side of the street where respect and tolerance for diversity are encouraged. I have no doubt whatsoever that a student who graduates summa cum laude from Barnard is probably a lot smarter & more capable than a student who graduates with a C average from Columbia -- and I'd expect that a lot of employers would feel the same way. Of course the reverse holds true as well -- it isn't what college you get into, it's what you do once you get there that counts.</p>
<p>Anyway, my point is that you are a very poor ambassador for your school. When someone makes such a big deal over the prestige of a rather old accomplishment, it pretty much sends the message that the person hasn't done anything else of value since.</p>