<p>Hi, I’m really interested in applying to Barnard, but most of the other schools I’m looking at are in small towns or suburbs of big cities. I’m worried about Barnard’s location detracting from the campus social life and the sense of community I’m looking for in a LAC. Does the social life take place predominantly off campus in the city, or are there activities regularly on the Barnard and Columbia campuses? I’m not a big partier and I’m not looking to go out clubbing every weekend. I am an avid theatre-goer, museum-goer, and foodie, but money is also an issue since I’ll be going to college on the good graces of financial aid and I don’t want a social life that requires spending money constantly. So what’s the deal here? Is there inexpensive student fun at Barnard or is NYC always going to be exorbitantly expensive NYC?</p>
<p>There are activities on campus, but you may find that some are kind of lame compared to comparable stuff off campus – it kind of depends on you and your tastes. There are also loads of things to do in New York that is inexpensive, and you can get all sorts of cheap tickets and free passes to stuff via the student activities office… but again, it depends a lot on you. </p>
<p>I’m pointing this out because you say you are an avid theater-goer, museum goer and foodie. I think there are free days and other discounts available to students for most of the museums … but restaurants on the upper west side of Manhattan have outdoor seating – whether you get to eat in those restaurants or or not, you are going to be walking by and seeing others eating – you are going to be tempted. </p>
<p>My daughter was on financial aid and did not receive a dime from me towards day-to-day expenses. She always worked at least 2 jobs – Barnard Bartending in particular was a godsend, because she could easily make enough money to pay for her own entertainment budget. Also, most of the “bartending” was really catering help – she’d be hired for some fancy shindig and help make the hors d’oeuvres – and of course she’d have a taste, plus she was often given the option of packing and taking home leftovers. I don’t think she was going out all that frequently – but she was able to do so on occasion. </p>
<p>The hardest time for her was her first year, when she was on the mandatory food plan – she quickly tired of dorm food, but felt very bad about eating out, knowing what the food plan cost. After the first year, she was never on a food plan & cooking for herself… which is definitely a big help financially. </p>
<p>I do think that if you are looking for a strong campus-based social life and sense of community, you need to think carefully about whether the Barnard campus is for you. I probably have as somewhat outdated viewpoint, because my daughter was at Barnard during the full period of construction of the Diana Center, so for half of her time there, half of the physical campus was inaccessible due to construction, and there really wasn’t much in the way of places for students to hang out on campus – so maybe with the new center there will be more opportunities for on-campus activities. But you are still talking about an urban campus – you may find that Barnard doesn’t quite fit your idea of college life. (My daughter definitely preferred it that way – she was quite appalled when she visited smaller, suburban LAC’s — but she was out and about and all over Manhattan from the start. )</p>
<p>Thank you for your honesty. Barnard isn’t my top choice, and I’m trying to narrow down my college list, so this is a big help since I can’t visit :)</p>
<p>It’s a shame you cannot visit Barnard before possibly ruling it out! Because, as a self-described “avid theater-goer, museum-goer, and foodie”, you will never find a better place than NYC to experience those things. And you will NEVER again have to opportunity to experience these things in this city at a more reasonable rate. As Calmom said, their are free and/or reduced rate tickets to all sorts of things available through the campus activities office, and you can also do student lotteries for the various shows. </p>
<p>My perspective on the relative “sense of community” idea is different. My only basis for comparison is my own and my other kids’ college experiences, which all took place at large Universities. And Barnard offered, hands down, the stronger “sense of community”. Activities such as the midnight breakfast, Spirit Day, the gathering and ceremony they had when they got their Senior Rings (can’t remember what it was called), the “toast” that was held when they declared their majors (again, it has a name, but I don’t remember!) and the “big sub” were things that served to set apart our daughter’s college experience at Barnard as very personal and close-knit. Even in the environment of a large University and all that has to offer.</p>
<p>What great info. My D is looking at Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, and Barnard/Columbia. She loves the atmosphere at Wellesley and Bryn Mawr and I wonder how she will like being in the city. Of course her major is …urban studies…</p>
<p>Does Barnard still have that girl’s school feel to it?</p>
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<p>That may be the difference – I do think that there is a sense of community at Barnard, but it honestly isn’t quite the same as my son experienced when attending a small LAC, or when he later attended a mid-size university in a college town. I attended larger universities, but in college towns – that is, small cities that were dominated by the presence of the university. In both those settings, I honestly think that there was more of a sense of “community” – but at least with the small LAC, it was not altogether positive. </p>
<p>My son’s first LAC was a residential campus where the students did not have a good relationship with the surrounding town, so it ended up with an us vs. them feel. This created a strong sense of community, but also something of a sense of isolation.</p>
<p>The universities in the college towns were centers for the outside community – so they tended to create a broader sense of community. The best arts venues were the ones on campus – if a touring company came to perform, the performed at the campus theater – and so the university was the center of attraction for the rest of the community. Many students lived off campus, and their presence also dominated the community — so there also was a very strong, but much broader, sense of community. Then, rather than isolation, there was a sense of dominance, of being at the center of everything.</p>
<p>Barnard does have a strong sense of community, but it is not isolated (or secluded), and certainly not dominant. </p>
<p>I don’t know what Kenzie is looking for, so I only tried to be honest - she would not have the same experience at Barnard as she might have if she chose Smith or Mt. Holyoke – or a co-ed LAC such as Bard. </p>
<p>Again – my daughter would not have wanted that sort of LAC experience --she wanted to be in a big city where she felt like she was in the middle of everything – so I am not trying in any way to be negative. Just trying to be honest. When my daughter visited another LAC before Barnard, she told me she hated the place because it had “too many trees.” Every single school my son ever looked at was in a heavily wooded area or forest, and he has settled in the Pacific Northwest… I think both he and I prefer schools with lots of trees. (Even when I was at Berkeley, my favorite hangout was a heavily wooded area of the campus). As a parent, I am delighted with the quality of my daughter’s education and the strong academic at Barnard - after all, I was paying for an education, not a vacation – but I think as a student I would have been very unhappy in an urban setting. Too much steel and concrete makes me feel overwhelmed and depressed. </p>
<p>So I think that is something that needs to be dealt with honestly when it comes to choosing a college. Barnard is an easy choice for the city kids like my daughter, whose other top choice was NYU… for others, it might not be the college experience they have in mind.</p>
<p>Hi gbrasg. Well, Barnard calls itself a “Women’s College,” not a girls school. Sounds like a snooty distinction, but I think it’s relevant.</p>
<p>I would say that yes, yes it does for the following reasons: 1) Frosh are in same sex dorms. Later on women can dorm at Columbia, but in my experience, not many do. 2) Female friendly pedagogy. At Barnard a woman is not as likely to encounter blatantly sexist studies, for example, and there is more literature written by women taught as part of the canon than at most schools. 3) Perhaps most important are the women professors and deans that will surround your D if she attends. There are many men in those positions as well, but the faculty at Barnard is 2/3 female, and I think that is empowering and inspiring.</p>
<p>I was mightily inspired by DD’s graduation at which Sec’y of State Clinton spoke and shook every woman’s hand. The Dean who spoke was a woman, and of course the prez, and all the student leaders, and of course all the students themselves receiving degrees. It was like my feminist dream of the 70’s coming true. I didn’t feel like men were excluded. I felt like I was visiting a wonder island on which all the authority figures were female. I enjoyed it.</p>
<p>In the interests of full disclosure, I have an S at Williams if you think comparisons would be helpful, ask away. I adore my S as well.</p>
<p>My D applied to all the remaining five sisters but much preferred Barnard. She is an urban woman, and lives in NYC now. </p>
<p>I think each one of the schools is fabulous in its own way, but one unique thing about Barnard is that it was never a finishing school since it didn’t start as a boarding school. It began with no dorms – the brain child of the Columbia prez, Dr. Barnard.</p>
<p>Thus, it has always seen itself as a place where women get educated for the professions. The other sister schools have since followed suit.</p>
<p>I would not “push” Barnard for a young woman more interested in Wellesley and Bryn Mawr. As the French say, “Chaque a son gout.” (Don’t know how to make pesky accents. Don’t mean to sound like a pretentious twit.) However, if she is seriously interested in Urban Studies, I would suggest she give Barnard serious consideration. The internship opportunities are really wonderful. (Point of interest – Barnard is the home of Columbia’s Urban Studies Major. Don’t know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing for your D.)</p>
<p>To gbrasg – Barnard has a great urban studies department. It definitely has a female-dominated feel to it, but I don’t know if it is quite like schools like Wellesley. Again… it’s female-dominated, but not secluded or isolated. But if your d. really wants urban studies, then the best place to be is in the city.</p>
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I’d just point out that Kenzie also said she would need substantial financial aid and was worried about the cost of things. I agree with you that Barnard merits consideration for her… but given her finances, she could also find it very frustrating to live in close proximity with so much that she can’t afford. My daughter solved that problem with work … literally my daughter would buy expensive concert or theater tickets, and then sign up for a a Bartending gig to pay for them. (Fortunately, d. had a credit card, so she could do things in a buy-and-pay-later sequence). </p>
<p>But maybe Kenzie doesn’t want to work so hard. So she really is right to try to get a picture of what her lifestyle would be, and who she would go about financing it. While my d. was at Barnard, she had friends who attended colleges in other cities and states come to visit her --often their school breaks were on a slightly different schedule, so they would have a few days off when my d. was still in school. Those kids had a great deal – they had free lodging in NY, assuming they were comfy on an air mattress on a dorm floor – and they could sample what NY had to offer – but they weren’t dealing with big city expenses on a day-to-day basis. So as much as the city does offer… it is important to keep in mind that a person doesn’t have to attend college there to visit.</p>
<p>Thank you for the candid replies. I will pass it on to my D. Barnard has promised to fly her in if she is accepted, so she will definitely be able to see what atmosphere she likes better. </p>
<p>Now if I can just get through this stressful college-applying month!</p>
<p>My d’s experience is more like that of calmom’s d. I am guessing that one’s Barnard experience has at least something to do with the personality and priorities of the individual. There are young women who travel home each weekend. There are those who are more community oriented. And there are those who are at Barnard as much for its location as what it has to offer as a campus. When I’ve visited my d at school, I see all sorts of posters and cards for clubs, events, gatherings, etc. As far as I know, my d doesn’t take part in any of it. My younger d, by contrast, would be an enthusiastic participant in everything. I’m thinking there are more options than there might be in a different setting. </p>
<p>My d treats Barnard as more of a home base than a community. Sure, she has her group of friends, both at Columbia and at Barnard, but her dorm doesn’t seem to have any connection with itself–very different at my younger d’s school–and feels more like an apartment than a dorm. She has been semi-involved in school clubs but is much more involved in her outside internship. She takes advantage of NYC and travels to shows in Brooklyn, attends free talks and performances, loves trying all sorts of cheap eats (food trucks, holes in the wall). And she too works for extra spending money.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your honest replies! I am going to apply to Barnard after all, but this will be good information to keep in mind when it comes down to decision time.</p>
<p>I now know Barnard might not offer me the storybook College Experience, but I think the benefits of a kick-a** liberal arts education and the internship and job opportunities of NYC outweigh that to an extent. That’s really the purpose of college anyways.</p>
<p>And recently a four star restaurant owner and distant relative in the city actually told me he could get me a decently paying part time job in one of his restaurants, so that certainly helps on the financial front. I wouldn’t have that sort of a job opportunity in, say, Northampton.</p>
<p>Anyways, thanks everyone :)</p>