<p>Barnard is one of the toughest schools I’m applying to, and one of my favorite. I know these chance threads are a bit annoying, but if you chance me I’ll chance you back. I really appreciate it. I was wondering how much going to Barnard’s pre-college program helps…</p>
<p>I’m a female from a strong public school in Northern VA
GPA (weighted): 4.02
GPA (unweighted): 3.85
SATs: 2240 (CR:800 Math: 710 Writing: 730)
SAT IIs: Literature and Bio (ecology), 680 in each</p>
<p>I took a total of 8 AP classes
AP Lang: 5
AP Bio: 5
AP World: 5
AP Calc AB: 3
Taking AP psych, AP Calc BC, AP Lit, AP Gov this year, getting mostly As</p>
<p>I think both my recommendations are strong, and my essays were all strong</p>
<p>ECs:
Journalism/on newspaper for 4 years: Entertainment Editor junior year, Editor-in-Chief senior year
Gay-Straight Alliance: co-founder and president for all 4 years of high school
Amnesty International: 4 years
internship at Alzheimer’s Family Day Center summer before 11th grade
Barnard College’s pre-college program summer before 12th grade
various creative writing camps and programs
Worship Associate at my church 12th grade</p>
<p>Awards/Honors:
French Honor Society
English Honor Society
Randolph-Macon Book Award
Civic Seal Diploma candidate</p>
<p>My main concern is a bit of a flounder in my math grades; I got a C+ in my AP Calc class last year.</p>
<p>Hi! I’m a high school junior so I don’t know if I’d be the right person to chance you for Barnard, but your ECs seem good, and your SAT scores are great! I wouldn’t worry too much… and make your essays really strong!</p>
<p>I was wondering if you could answer a question for me… I noticed that you wrote that you attended the Barnard pre-college program in the summer before 12th grade. Which program did you attend? If you attended the 4-week liberal arts program, i’d really like to hear about your experience since I’m thinking about applying for this summer. </p>
<p>Hey jh,
I just wrote a really long reply to your question but cc logged me off when I tried to post it, so here’s the gist of what I was saying:</p>
<p>GO! I did the 4-week program, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I met people from all over the world, and living in nyc for a month was just amazing. Barnard plans tons of great excursions (school planned excursions that are fun–what!?) and the Life After College excursions were awesome-- we got to talk to alum at different organizations, tour their workplace, learn about their careers, etc. Some places included Nylon Magazine, Lambda Legal, the UN, and the Met.</p>
<p>The classes were really interesting and educational, but they actually have work. I took a creative writing class and Sounding Off: Music and Counterculture. Both were great. some people were a little peeved about their final projects; one psychology class had to write a 10 page paper. But in general its totally manageable, and you can have tons of fun every day and get your work done (especially if you’re willing to stay up til 2 am)</p>
<p>My only complaint is that being in nyc is EXPENSIVE. But living in nyc was one of the greatest parts of the program. In the summer, there are so many free concerts and festivals; I was really surprised.</p>
<p>The people I met at the program were some of the greatest people I’ve ever known, and we even had a reunion before school started up again. </p>
<p>Because its (essentially, though not officially) a girls program, there was a lot more drama than I’m used to. But it was definitely worth it, and not that stressful since you know you dont have to see anyone you dont want to after a month.</p>
<p>wisher810,
thank you so much i really appreciate it!! </p>
<p>just wondering about your last comment though, were there a LOT more girls at the program than guys? i know barnard is a girls school but i thought the summer program was co-ed. i was hoping for a program that had close to the same number of guys and girls… based on your summer program what was the approximate ratio?
thanks</p>
<p>jh,
There were maybe 6 guys in the whole program. Columbia had a more balanced 3-week program at the same time, and if you really wanted, it probably wouldn’t be that hard to meet some guys. When I was there, the Columbia kids tried to have parties and they invited the barnard kids. That said, its pretty much all girls. At first, I really didnt like the idea (who doesnt want to meet new boys over the summer?) but I think the community was a lot stronger as a result. My girl friends and I became much closer.</p>