Could I Transfer? Will I be Happy Here?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Barnard College
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<p>I apologize for how long this post is going to be- please, if you have time any advice would be greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>I am thinking of applying to Barnard as a transfer for fall 2008 (I will be a sophmore). I have two questions: one, are my chances at Barnard realistic? Two, is this the right school for me?</p>

<p>First, my HS record is not stellar. My GPA was a 3.6, SAT 1980/2400. I took almost all AP classes and graduated high school with 60 community college credits, 37 of which transfered to my current private liberal arts school. However, my first two years in high school were a bit rocky (1 F, maybe 5 C’s, the rest A’s and B’s). Now, I am at a small, top 60 LAC and I really do not like it. I am shooting for a 4.0 and so far the lowest grade I have gotten on an assignment has been an 86.</p>

<p>If I manage to get a GPA of 3.7- 4.0, do I even have a shot at transfering to Barnard? I have already started to think about my essays and will make sure tehy are top notch. I am also already developing relationships with my professors so recommendations will not be a problem. I am in four clubs (Newspaper, Africa Club, Yoga, and Gold Key Ambassador club). I also plan on volunteering weekly at a local organization called the Austic House where I would spend time with austistic children. </p>

<p>Now to my second question, would I be happy at Barnard? The reason I want to transfer from my current college:
a. it is in a town of 30,000 people in the middle of no where. The closest city is Chicago but it is 1.5-3 hrs away. I love NYC, and have wanted to go to school there forever.
b. I do not feel that I am being pushed academically. My classes are largely dicussion based and that would be nice if my peers were more articulate so we didn’t have to waste an hour listening to people bable on.
c. doesn’t offer enough classes in areas I am intersted in (Journalism, History, Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Spanish)
d. Socially, the people here are “not normal and proud of it”. not my words. I do not fit in here for the most part. No offense to these people, but this is not something I want in my college experience. College is partially about becoming even more socialized and learning how to act in certain situations and I feel like the social interactions here are immature. :-/</p>

<p>any advice on how to improve my application or views about whether I would be happy at Barnard or not would be fantastic! thank you for your time if you read all of this :-)</p>

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<p>I did read your post and I am sorry you are not having a positive experience at your college so far. It sounds like you are already doing much of what I would suggest; that is, striving to do very well academically, making relationships with your profs, and getting involved. Keep that up!</p>

<p>I cannot begin to tell you if Barnard is "right" for you or not; you would need to visit and talk to other students and also read about it on these boards to get all the info possible. How did you end up at your present school? What attracted you there to begin with and what happened to dispel or overcome those positive things for you? I think you should "noodle" out those questions so you can arrive at a conclusion for yourself about whether Barnard would be your "dream" school.
As for whether you "qualify": Please know I am a MOM of a present Barnard student and am in no way able to really assess your "chances". I understand that Barnard tends to consider applications more wholistically than other schools seem to do and your job is to convice them that Barnard is a fit for you and you are what they need to add to their student body.
My sense is that Barnard will consider your academic performance at your present college much more than your highschool record. That being said, you might consider addressing the change you have undergone in your application essays. Not sure about that, but something to consider. </p>

<p>Sorry I have no set answers to your questions, but I do wish you all the best in your present college and in making this decision. </p>

<p>Take care!</p>

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<p>thank you very much for your reply! i am actually going to NYC over my fall break (in a couple weeks) and am going to tour Barnard. </p>

<p>the reason i am at this school is because i didnt get into my first choice and i was waitlisted at my second (Bryn Mawr). Of the schools I had to choose to attend, this was the one that seemed like it would be the BEST fit. Basically, I never wanted to come to this school and applied to it as a safety. </p>

<p>The reasons I did not want to come to this school are the same reasons I do not like it: its too small, the student body is not very diverse in the kinds of "types" of people there are if that makes sense, and the amount of classes offered are too limited for my liking. Also, it is very "community" centered (we have to call our professors by their first name) which is nice and all, but learning how to be a community is a) something I already know how to do and b) is unrealistic in terms of the kinds of skills I am going to need when I am in the job market networking with people. </p>

<p>Thanks for your input! I will just keep on keeping on. :-)</p>

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<p>any thoughts on whether or not i have a fair shot at getting into Barnard?</p>

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<p>I think Barnard, perhaps more than most upper-level colleges, consders applicants beyond just the level of looking at numbers. So, if your early HS grades are not what they should be, you might want to address that in your application. If you get the grades you hope for in your present situation that will, of course, help. I am reasonably sure that will be the most important factor in your application to Barnard as a transfer. You can look at Barnard's common set data as well as I can to see how you fit into statistical distributions, but that won't really assess your "chances".</p>

<p>As to whether or not you have a "fair shot": of course you do, as do all reasonably qualified applicants. Again I want to remind you that nobody on this site can really assess your chances. I can advise you to be sure you consider carefully why you are "right" for Barnard and make that clear on your application. Also, as you are doing, concentrate on doing your very, very best at your present school.</p>

<p>And, hopefully, you will get some feedback here from some students who did transfer in to Barnard.</p>

<p>Best to you!</p>

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<p>thanks for you input!!</p>

<p>im know it is much more about the numbers for schools like Barnard which is one reason why I want to go there. Not because my numbers are really bad, but because I want to go somewhere that views a whole person, not the numerical representation of them. thanks for your advice and encouragement! :-)</p>

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<p>I taught at Barnard part-time for ten years and over those ten years, admissions (like most LACs) became increasingly competitive. I don't know how many transfer students Barnard admits. Your academic interests seem to be a good match for Barnard. I don't think you should stress that one of your biggest motivations to transfer is to be in New York city. You should focus more on how you think Barnard has the attributes that are compatible with your interests. You an mention New York, but please don't make it sound like that;s a primary reason.</p>

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<p>thank you very much for your advice. im completely aware that making it sound like the location is not wise, and it is also not the main reason i want to go there. i recently read an article that the current president wrote about college education today regarding racism, sexism, and classism. in the article she touched on the point that although students can define these terms, she feels that they lack C. Wright Mill's idea of a "sociological imagination" to truly understand how these ideas interconnect with the world around us and how we form our view of the world. thus, the requirements at barnard are aimed at helping young women develop a sociological imagination.</p>

<p>the reasons i mention wanting to go to new york city is because of the real life opportunities there. i love learning, but i do not want to be stuck in an ivory tower where i can learn but not act out what i have learned. i want to get involved in life, not just learn about it in books and discussions. thank you very much for your words. i know it is really competitive to get into Barnard (transfer rate is about 25%) but if the adcom thinks i really do belong there then it will work out. </p>

<p>thanks again!</p>

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<p>The one thing that will matter most to the admissions committee is your college GPA. Don't fret about bad grades early in high school. I think with a GPA of 3.7+ you will be competitive. Your reasons for transferring sound compelling. Good luck!</p>

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<p>thank you very much!</p>

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<p>i am a new barnard transfer student, so hopefully i can help answer a couple of your questions...</p>

<p>first of all, your high school grades DO matter as a sophomore transfer student. the less time that you have been in college, the more your high school transcript matters; as a sophomore transfer student, you will only be able to offer your first semester college grades to the admissions department, and therefore they are going to have to consider your HS grades with more weight.</p>

<p>don't let this discourage you, however; if your grades demonstrate growth (for example, my HS GPA was about a 3.3 and my 1st semester college GPA was a 4.0), this is obviously to your benefit. you need to demonstrate in your application that you are improving as a student and growing as an individual, and that you understand what you are looking for in a college better than you did the first time around.</p>

<p>from your post, it sounds like you would like barnard. the classes are VERY rigorous, and of course its location is unbeatable. i am not a good candidate to talk about social life as a barnard transfer, because i am living off-campus...but it seems like the transfers who live on campus are relatively happy. transfering schools is not going to be easy social-wise, no matter where you go...thats something important to keep in mind!</p>

<p>wow, long post. hope this helps!</p>

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<p>I am a junior transfer student this year (and LOVE IT so far - best decision I ever made). I agree with everyone above who said that Barnard evaluates more than numbers: I'm proof enough of that, with my 3.4 from a state university. (I went to a top private school for high school, but my grades weren't great except in my senior year.)</p>

<p>Here's the thing: you have to be passionate about something (even if it's just academia generally, or something else), and you have to really want to go to Barnard (if your stats aren't the best, I mean; I'm not enough of an idealist to claim that they don't place a great deal of importance on GPA and SATs).</p>

<p>I think the reason I got in was a demonstrated passion for English literature, and test scores that belied my GPA. And, as it turns out, I'm stimulated enough here that I'm earning way higher marks here than at my big easy state school. </p>

<p>Of all the schools to which I applied to transfer, Barnard was the only one I had a good reason for: the fantastic English program. Reasons matter. Writing a good essay matters. There aren't many schools for which you can say that the essay matters as much as the GPA, but I honestly think that for Barnard, it does. Which is so typical, as it's such an incredible, unique place.</p>

<p>(I admit that some of my enthusiasm comes of my being relieved to have left my other university, but I really do love it here, so far. It's hard work, but I've already learned more here than in two years back where I was.)</p>

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<p>I have no idea how transfer applications work (being a first-year), but I'd like to address your questions about being happy here. </p>

<p>a. Obviously, NYC is the greatest city in the world and a huge part of life at Barnard. That being said, I agree with other posters that you shouldn't include that as part of the reason you want to come here.</p>

<p>b. Barnard is definitely an academic-focused school. People here (on the whole) are very serious about school and make sure they do well. That being said, Barnard/Columbia still have their share of stupid, incompetent people. On the whole though, I've found most people to be very intelligent and eager to learn more.</p>

<p>c. You mentioned several subjects you're interested in studying. Journalism isn't offered as a major here, but you can take classes at the Graduate Journalism School. I'm only in my first semester, but from what I hear, the history, economics and political science departments are very strong. I'm not sure about sociology or Spanish though.</p>

<p>d. I wouldn't say people here are "normal". I think everyone here is different, but in a good way.</p>

<p>Hope that helps. I hope you enjoyed Barnard on your visit!</p>

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<p>Thank you all for your advice. I really appreciate it. </p>

<p>I've been wondering a few things about picking courses for next semester. Would it be better to take courses in various areas I am interested in, or since I have taken some intro courses (socio and psych) go on to upper level ones? I have a realllllly wide range of what I am interested in and am trying to dabble in everything to figure out what I really love and have a passion for. So far, i was thinking of taking an African history course, Principles of Economics, International Politics, US History (I love history [its the background for EVERYTHING!], and could honestly use a indepth refresher of US hist), and Journalism. </p>

<p>Would it make me look wishy-washy if I am not concentrating in one area? The thing is, I love learning about so many things that I don't want to limit myself to one area. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Also, I have a bit of a sticky situation with my advisor. He is really great, one of the most well respected profs on campus. Not to mention he is very interested in helping students out. However, the thing is that he is a alum of the college I am at and LOVES it. He litterally raves about it in class sometimes. Which is great, but kind of weird when I have to talk to him about why I want to leave. </p>

<p>My question is, how much should I tell him about why I want to transfer? The location is one thing, but the main reason is the academic and life expriences that this college offers are great, but not entirely for me. I want him to be able to understand my reasons for wanting to transfer, because I think they are completely reasonable, so he can write me a good rec. He knows I am a good student, but I want him to understand WHY I am transfering without... umm... offending him and what he loves. Any advice on how I should approach this?</p>

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<p>bumpity bump... sorry!</p>

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<p>You have the brain power to do the work at Barnard. Now as to the other questions:
a. You will continue to love NYC. Both Ds love it there, but for different reasons. One is social, the other a recluse.
b. "I do not feel that I am being pushed academically." This will be taken care of, more than adequately.<br>
c. ditto
d. "Socially, the people here are "not normal and proud of it"." Many different groups at Barnard that interact in different ways. SSocial and nonsocial. Party and nonparty. Left and right wing. All interacting in a mature fashion as near as I can tell.</p>

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<p>thank you for your input! that is great to hear that there are many DIFFERENT groups of ppl at barnard bc although i like the people here for who they are, generally it is a very homogenized bunch. a diverse, passionate, motivated student body is what i really want to be apart of and from what i hear, barnard fits that. </p>

<p>any advice on the advisor situation?</p>