Diversity?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Barnard College
1

<p>So, as an ED admit, I’m still thrilled to be going to Barnard, but the security in knowing that I’m going has allowed by reservations about Barnard to surface. Foremost is diversity, both racially and socioeconomically.</p>

<p>I’ve always gone to public school, and diverse ones (often the advanced classes are far less diverse, but that’s a whole 'nother topic) at that. I’ve been to two very diverse high schools where I’d definitely fall on the wealthy end. I’ll be graduating from a school that is 35% white and 46% are on free or reduced price lunch (that means making under $40k for a 4-person family). Barnard will be by far the whitest, richest schools I’ve ever attended, and, um, the urban dictionary definition of Barnard (hey, it’s a good way to gauge stereotypes) isn’t giving me a lot of comfort.</p>

<p>I’m going from being insanely privileged compared to classmates to not so much at all. Honestly, I’m the kind of person who always compares myself to others and it’s going to be difficult to be surrounded by far more wealth and homogeneousness than I’m used to. I’ve never gotten an allowance, and have worked for the money to purchase all my own clothes and food outside the house since middle school. </p>

<p>I guess what I’m asking is how much and how does the privileged nature of Barnard students (extrapolating from race and scholarship percentages) manifest itself in the culture? </p>

<p>I guess it’s kind of a hard question to ask because people (myself included!) can often be blind to such phenomena when we fall in the privileged group (witness every discussion on AA on CC).</p>

2

<p>Again, I can only talk from my own experiences. I don’t have dozens and dozens of friends, but I do have friends and they do represent some aspect of Barnard life. Yes, there are many girls who have a strong family basis of wealth. They might often go out to eat, go out to clubs, go shopping frequently, go to expensive concerts. If you are friends with these girls and can’t do those things, you might feel left out. HOWEVER, among my friends, wealth varies immensely. I have one friend who is the daughter of poor illiterate Latin American immigrants. She has worked, like her parents, for as long as she has been able. She has no basis of wealth. I have other friends who work constantly because there parents are financially troubled/do not give them money/etc. I also have friends from upper middle-class America. I have extremely wealthy international friends from Asia. I fall in the middle. There is no tension between us. We live harmoniously, respect each other. Barnard is a varied place. You might experience animosity, arrogance, snootiness, privilege. But there are people who are mindful, respectful, understanding to the point where it’s not an issue in the least.</p>

3

<p>It kind of depends on the lifestyle you adopt. Keep in mind that there are many students at Barnard from far less privileged backgrounds/status than your own – it’s just that the percentages are shifted. But the point is that if you are more comfortable hanging out with and socializing with a more diverse, less privileged group, you will be able to find them. You also are located in NYC, geographically abutting areas like Harlem, which means that if you are out and about, taking the subway from one place to another, or walking around beyond the immediate campus area, you definitely will NOT have the sense of being surrounded by privilege.</p>

<p>Actually, you don’t have to walk far at all, just keep your eyes open. The weekend my daughter was graduating, she said hello to a homeless guy on 116th St. Then she commented to me, “that guy has been here all 4 years while I’ve been here.” I said, “he’s probably been there more than 4 years, and he’s still going to be there after you’re gone.”</p>

<p>My daughter’s the type of person who has conversations with the homeless people living on the streets, and particularly makes a point of getting to know the ones who are regularly at her front doorstep. She also has conversations with the employed, but far less privileged, people who are managing the desks at the entrances to all the buildings – she finds out people’s names, she knows a little about their lives. </p>

<p>That is not something that is particularly common. My d. was upset at the way she saw many of her classmates treat the “help”, as well as their attitudes expressed toward people in the city from less fortunate circumstances. But this post isn’t about them – I have no idea about percentages anyway. </p>

<p>But my point is that it’s really up to you. You will be living in one of the most diverse cities in the world, if you aren’t rich yourself then it’s highly likely that you will have a job that takes you off campus as well as work-study-- so your life there is really going to be what you make of it. If you get there and feel put off by attitudes of privilege among some, I’d recommend getting involved with doing community service work off campus, either through a student group or via other local avenues for volunteering. If you do that with a student group, you will likely meet other like-minded people. </p>

<p>(My d. did not chose to do that, so I don’t have anything in particular to recommend – but I know that you won’t have far to look for opportunities in that regard. Again, it’s Manhattan --the place is full of service agencies in need of volunteers.)</p>

4

<p>I agree with calmom. While the majority of students at Barnard and Columbia do in my experience seem to come from money, there are certainly exceptions to that, and if you are drawn to be friends with those people naturally, you will find them. I was unlucky in that all of the close friends I have had over my past four years here have been extremely wealthy, and inevitably our friendships failed because their behavior and ideas about life differed so much from mine. But I have met many people in positions similar to my own, who have to take work study jobs and pay for their expenses and watch their wallet. And if I had pursued these relationships further they probably could have become better friendships.</p>

<p>If you do work study, you will probably meet plenty of people just like you. Honestly I would actually shy away from community service groups because many of those people are wealthy and just a little bit condescending.</p>

<p>To sum up: people of all stripes come to Barnard, and if seeking out those in a similar financial position as you is important you can certainly accomplish this. Diversity in this sense is certainly much lower than at a state school, but we have moved a bit past our finishing school days.</p>

5

<p>I think I was in the same exact position as you are. In practically every aspect. Acclimating to Barnard’s demographic was not difficult. I think it’s more diverse than people give it credit for.</p>

<p>I think I had two major points of notice when I came here: first, that the cultural diversity shifted. I came from a high school that was half Colombian and African-American. You don’t get so much of that here, but instead there are noticeable Muslim and Asian populations. Second, people really aren’t as well-off as they appear to be. I’m one of the only people I know who is not on some sort of financial aid. I still work for all of my spending money, as I have in the past, and that’s something many students here can relate to. Almost everyone holds some sort of work-study job or is employed to make her own food, clothing, and transportation money.</p>

<p>Also, and this is small, but please don’t give mind to Barnard’s “stereotypes”. They’re there, yes, but don’t take them seriously. They don’t define Barnard’s community whatsoever (in fact, they say more about Columbia’s, which is where the stereotypes were born). Learn to laugh at them rather than live by them or avoid them.</p>

6

<p>General thought:
Once you have committed to attend a college, any college, consider not spending too much further time looking at stuff about it on all these forums. There is always something about, for any college, that can disturb your karma, to no good end since you are going there anyway. “Buyer’s remorse” is a well-recognized phenomenon, why help it along?</p>

7

<p>Among my daughters’ friends there were some on financial aid and a very few who were incredibly wealthy. They both worked for their spending money. The baby sitting jobs are very well paid compared to those in our area. As for diversity Barnard could use a few people from the mid-west.</p>

8

<p>Among my daughters’ friends there were some on financial aid and a very few who were incredibly wealthy. They both worked for their spending money. The baby sitting jobs are very well paid compared to those in our area. As for diversity Barnard could use a few people from the mid-west.</p>

9

<p>Raspberri, there is a quotation by Margaret Thatcher that I think you’ll find describes the girl who wrote that urban dictionary definition “Being powerful [or wealthy] is like being a lady, if you have to tell people you are, then you aren’t”</p>

<p>In my experience, the most well off people you will meet will probably also be some of the most gracious. Girls who buy clothes for the designer label are often trying to point out that they’re “wealthy” when in fact, they aren’t. It’s not about the money, it’s about insecurity and poor manners. Those girls would find another way to try to make people feel badly about themselves if they couldn’t do it with clothing.</p>

<p>Trust me. </p>

<p>I’m coming from a school quite the opposite of yours and I really hope that financial standing will never be a topic of discussion at Barnard. I’ve never been allowed to have a job, but I hope to get one at Barnard to try and gain some independence. </p>

<p>If you don’t want to be judged based on finance, allow others the same opportunity. ;P</p>

<p>See you next year =D!</p>

10

<p>Thanks for all you guys said, a lot of it was stuff I needed to hear. Good point about buyer’s remorse, I’m probably better off staying away from all of that kinda stuff.</p>

<p>Plus, I was trying to think about the kind of people that write/read ivy blogs and such. Like, it seems like all of that only attracts those who think they’re superior for attending an ivy or whatever anyways. The cool people are probably busy actually living a real life offline.</p>

<p>Jaden, I would never judge based on income, or at least try very hard not to. I’m more worried about how people act than what they come from: I know I never chose my background of privilege and neither did anyone else. I know one friend of astronomical means but you’d <em>never</em> know it from meeting her, and I don’t have a problem with the fact that her family has a ballroom, or owns a good chunk of a major-league sports team. I look forward to getting to meet you too :).</p>