<p>I have heard from many people that Barnard is the best place to go for students who are academically inclined but want to continue with ballet at an advanced level. I checked Vassar just now, and there is no dance major. Barnard has a dance major. Whether or not your daughter ends up a dance major, I think that the fact that a school has a dance major implies a better level of training and more courses available for dance in general.</p>
<p>NYC is of course the best place to find dance classes of all kinds.</p>
<p>We thought Barnard was beautiful. And both Columbia and Manhattan School of Music are within steps. </p>
<p>We know a young woman, now in her late 20’s, who went to Barnard and studied literature, then went on to dance professionally for years. She loved it.</p>
<p>Personally, I can’t imagine a better choice than Barnard for your daughter’s situation, but if having a large campus green is her priority, perhaps she will feel differently. The Barnard campus is beautiful, and Columbia has that traditional campus, but she won’t walk out the dorm door into a large grassy space.</p>
<p>One of DD’s best friends is a dancer. Auditioned at many schools, including NYU and is going to SUNY Purchase.
According to her, excellent program and proximity to NYC closed the deal for her.</p>
<p>Thanks all for your helpful comments/input. My daughter did attend a summer program at SUNY Purchase and enjoyed it but does not want to pursue dance as a career - just as a hobby. She has visited Barnard/Columbia twice - liked it much better on her 2nd visit (probably because she was able to meet some actual students, though no dancers, that time). The closer she gets to college, the more she thinks she wants to maintain her ballet commitment, though of course that may/probably will change once she starts and finds other interests as well. Appreciate everyone’s experience/perspectives!</p>
<p>You mentioned environmental science as an interest of your daughters in the original post. At Barnard shed be able to take advantage of Columbias Earth Institute, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and the Department of Earth and Environmental Science. The summer REUs at Lamont and various research trip/cruise opportunities are open to Barnard as well as Columbia students. </p>
<p>In addition to the range of dance classes at Barnard, theres the Columbia Dance Collaborative group that your daughter might want to audition for. </p>
<p>One does forego the romanticized college-quad-hangout experience at Barnard/Columbia. The campus is small, the dorm rooms are small, and the people are intense. There is a bit of undergraduate balkanization between Barnard, GS, CC and SEAS you can find endless silly discussion about it on the Columbia and Barnard threads. </p>
<p>IMO, the dance and the environmental/earth science resources make a strong case for Barnard. Your daughter can always visit her friends at Bucolic U. on the weekends.</p>
<p>Barnard, for all the reasons stated. Great academic program, plenty of opportunities to enjoy dance, both as a participant and as an audience member. New York is considered the dance capitol of the world. Embrace it and enjoy. Congratulations to your daughter for her exceptional achievements.</p>
<p>My D, a dancer, had a wonderful experience at Barnard. Met Ethan Stiefel in a class. Continued to dance. Took dance history and made great connections with the academic part of the department, too.</p>
<p>Twyla Tharp went to Barnard.</p>
<p>With the new Diana Center I would think the opportunities for dance performance will increase. The Diana Center connects Barnard with Broadway getting away from the cloistered feeling of the campus.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your daughter on her wonderful acceptances. She has so many excellent choices, I can see why it would be so tough.</p>
<p>Many young women have chosen Barnard for its dance programs, even though they then sail off to study many other things.</p>
<p>Good luck in making this decision. I don’t think you can go wrong.</p>
<p>It’s been a while since I researched it, but I actually think that Barnard is the only college on your d’s list with advanced level ballet offerings. Most colleges focus more on modern, so its difficult to find strong ballet. At least back when I was researching, around 5-6 years ago - that was the situation. Barnard accepts a LOT of dancers so that keeps its offerings fairly strong – although, as I said before, my d. felt that only the top-most levels were appropriate for her needs.</p>
<p>I just checked online and it looked like Pomona is the only other college on the list that offers advanced level ballet – the others have beginner through intermediate at best. But I noticed right away on the course list that they didn’t have an advanced variations class – that was the first class my d. took at Barnard, and it is something I would expect to see for classical ballet. So my guess is that their focus is more on contemporary ballet. (Variations was always a favorite for my d., and I think it provides a nice grounding for the adult non-dancer but ballet aficionado - even as a dance mom I feel I have a deeper understanding of familiar pieces in classical ballet from watching my d. practice.)</p>
<p>Your daughter is clearly bright. She may want to consider the misplaced inferiority complex at Barnard. Barnard is obviously a wonderful institution but the Columbia students (according to my sister, a junior at Columbia) seem to resent and somewhat look down on Barnard students. I don’t know if I could handle that.</p>
<p>D did not find that a problem at all. And Barnard students are not inferior to Columbia students. As many Columbia students take classes at Barnard as the opposite. I think “your daughter is clearly bright” and the implication that she is too bright for Barnard is silly. No one can tell which school you’re from in the classes.</p>
<p>One of my D’s majors was at C and one at B. She says no distinctions were made. She got to go on a field trip to the Supreme Court with a constitutional law class from C. No one asked which school she was from. Now in law school she has a judicial internship.</p>
<p>This is really a hackneyed perspective. </p>
<p>As a matter of fact, the Barnard classes are often more difficult. D’s GPA in Columbia classes was higher than in Barnard classes.</p>
<p>My D also attended Barnard and had very good friends at both Barnard and Columbia. I asked her about this very issue after her first year and she said it was a non-issue. She was never bothered by it at all.</p>
<p>I second Mythmom’s comment on the classes and the level of difficulty of B and C classes; I’ve heard the exact same.</p>
<p>My d. never experienced any sort of conflict with Columbia, and it occurred to me reading this thread that Barnard dancers, in particular, have little reason to be concerned or impacted by that issue. After all, the dance department is at Barnard and the best dancers are likely to be Barnard students. I also think that dance is part of the reason my daughter has such a high degree of self-confidence – after all, she has spent a huge part of her life (starting at age 4), either performing on stage in front of large groups of people, or preparing to perform on stage in front of large group of people. My d. also knew from an early age that (a) she was very, very good at something, and (b) life isn’t all about test scores. Ballet requires an incredible amount of discipline and dedication – certainly ballet required much more effort from my d. as a youngster than school ever did. (And my d. also met Ethan Steifel, many years before she started college, I even have a picture of her with him – the dance world is very small and insular, so meeting and/or taking class with someone famous is exciting but not extraordinary). </p>
<p>My d. also auditioned for roles where the degree if selectivity was far more than Columbia’s admissions. Starting at age 3. Whether she got a role or not she understood that getting chosen or not is not a reflection of the person’s worth as a person. </p>
<p>My d. personally did not encounter a negative attitude from Columbia students – or if she did, she never thought it was worthy of mention – but my d. also is smart enough to know that a person who “seems to resent and look down on” another group is an envious person with very low self esteem. If there are students who harbor those attitudes, it is unfortunate for them.</p>
<p>As a ballet dancer, you are practically naked (wearing a leortard), while taking corrections from someone about your body position. It doesn’t get more personal than that.</p>
<p>I’m not really sure if you actually read my post. I specifically said it was a misplaced inferiority complex. It is my opinion that Barnard should either become a college under the same admissions/financial aid team as Columbia or break off completely. As a stand alone institution, I believe the reputation would increase. There is a reputation that Barnard is a back door into Columbia. The degree says Barnard College - Columbia University not Barnard College. On two occasions with separate Barnard students I asked them where they went to college and they said Columbia, as though they are not proud of their own outstanding colleges. </p>
<p>My sister claims that Barnard gets priority in signing up for Columbia classes which makes her angry and that they can live in Columbia housing. Again, I don’t go to Columbia or Barnard so I can’t make a first person claim – I’m only going on stories I’ve heard from time to time. </p>
<p>Part of the reason I didn’t choose Bryn Mawr was because of the inferiority complex in the tri-co. I don’t want to feel the need to prove myself. At the Bryn Mawr accepted students day, a mother who was a Swarthmore alum and whose daughter was accepted to Swarthmore but chose Bryn Mawr told me a story about how her daughter took a class at Swarthmore and the students said “Wow! I thought all Bryn Mawr girls are dumb and you’re not at all.” Had Bryn Mawr not had an inferiority complex in the tri-co, I would have been more likely to choose it. </p>
<p>Again, I completely agree that Barnard is a fabulous school and is the most competitive of the seven sisters. When I stated that she was “clearly bright” I was meaning to further state how misplaced the inferiority complex I’ve heard about is because anyone who goes to Barnard is most probably extremely intelligent.</p>
<p>Raiderade, the degree does NOT say “Barnard College - Columbia University”.</p>
<p>It says “Columbia University”</p>
<p>Barnard is an always has been part of Columbia. Columbia UNIVERSITY issues degrees, based on the recommendation of the “faculties” of its subordinate and affiliated schools and colleges </p>
<p>I think people who don’t understand or appreciate the relationship should stop offering opinions on what it “should” be.</p>
<p>I’m sorry that there are apparently some petty & resentful students at Columbia who apparently did not do adequate research into the school before applying and/or attending. Again, my d. never met any as far as I know, but if you say that they exist, I’ll take your word for it.</p>
<p>I’m sorry my opinion so deeply offends you. If the degree is the same, why are there separate admissions and financial aid practices? Why are the endowments different? I’m trying to think of another school with similar practices but I can’t.</p>
<p>Wow, I guess I never realized college students who are fortunate enough to attend Columbia or Swarthmore could be so insecure. </p>
<p>Maybe that’s where the “strong, beautiful Barnard woman” phrase came from – because their graduates have the courage and self-confidence to blaze their own trail without worrying about what other people think.</p>
<p>My daughter was also accepted to Gallatin School of Individual Study. She had friends who were applying to Tisch. Why Gallatin admissions handled separately from Tisch?</p>
<p>There’s someone on the Barnard thread trying to decide between Barnard and Cornell ILR. If a New York resident attends ILR, they pay far less tuition than students who attend most of Cornell’s other college. Why do you suppose that is?</p>
<p>When I was an undergraduate at a university I wanted to major in something that was not offered at my college (called “Letter and Science”). Before I could change my major, I first had to fill out paperwork to transfer to a different college, but I still stayed at the same university and I didn’t have to move out of my housing. I wonder why that was?</p>
<p>Oh, I know! It’s because a UNIVERSITY is not a COLLEGE. A UNIVERSITY is a great big umbrella organization that encompasses many different schools and colleges, offering both graduate and undergraduate degrees. </p>
<p>The reason, historically, that Barnard was set up as a separate COLLEGE with its own administration was the Columbia was run by a bunch of misogynist males who didn’t like the idea of undergraduate men attending school with undergraduate women. But they also harbored expansionistic ideas, so they were o.k. with the idea of separate-but-equal education as long as the kept control of faculty qualifications and hiring. That worked o.k. for them for about 90 years, but then their school was facing all sorts of financial problems and admitting about 50% of its applicants, and they realized they needed to accept women in order to survive.</p>
<p>Barnard had the option of merging with Columbia 30 years ago, but they opted not to. It turns out to have been a very good decision for them. Barnard retained its unique character and program, and Barnard College is doing very well.</p>
<p>From what you say, it sounds like there are some women at Columbia who wish they were at Barnard instead. That they are dissatisfied with their own school isn’t really Barnard’s problem, however – I guess it just speaks to the importance of doing research and applying to the best fit school in the first place, rather than trying to pick on the basis of a system of rankings created to sell magazines.</p>
<p>If you want to venture to West coast, Mills college has excellentdance program. Ballet through intermediate at at least and access to classes at UCB.</p>
– the dance world is very small and insular, so meeting and/or taking class with someone famous is exciting but not extraordinary). </p>