<p>Shay! I remember you! Oh my goodness; I’m so glad you got in. I hope you still have your heart set on Barnard because I would love to meet you next year! Congratulations. You deserve this.</p>
<p>mammamia2015- hi! wow, congrats. They must have really seen something in you. : )
smartundecided and trapeze- Hi again! I’d love to meet you two, too. Are you going to the open campus?
Barnard’s offered me the best FA so it looks like that’s where I’m headed. : )</p>
<p><strong><em>Important Question</em></strong>
At graduation, my high school announces your college plans. The headmaster approached me the other day and asked me how they should handle Barnard. I know it seems insignificant, but in a town where no one would think of leaving the south, it would be nice for people to recognize my school.
So is it…?
Option 1:
Firstname Middlename Lastname, Honor Roll, Barnard College
or
Option 2:
Firstname Middlename Lastname, Honor Roll, Barnard College of Columbia University</p>
<p>I may get a lot of harsh responses from this, but I think you should go with option two. I don’t say this because I am in any way embarrassed by Barnard on its own. However, getting in to Barnard is a wonderful accomplishment, and you want people to understand that. Plus, people will automatically realize that you are taking what seems to be a risk in your area, by going to NYC instead of staying near home.</p>
<p>figureskater- If I were you, I’d flip a coin because I honestly have no preference. “it would be nice for people to recognize my school.” The second option may be better, because the people in your town would probably recognize Columbia. On the folders the RD accepted students got, it says Barnard College in partnership with Columbia University… maybe that’s the best option?</p>
<p>Shay, I think your idea is a really good one! “Barnard College in partnership with Columbia University” manages to get you the recognition you want (and deserve!) while still making it clear that you are a Barnard woman.</p>
<p>See, here lies the problem. I L O V E the in partnership idea, but it gets to be a bit of a mouthfull, and I have the suspicion that they’re more likely not to say it at all (and not ask how I’d like to modify it) if I made that request. Also, this is terrible, but I judge people when they haven’t heard of Barnard. If someone recognizes it immediately and goes “ahhh, NYC, no?” then they earn so much credit from me. haha, anyone else have this issue? thanks for all the help guys!</p>
<p>I think it depends on your school – if there are other students who have been accepted to Columbia, it may seem that you are trying to be pretentious to add the “of Columbia University” part. If you are at the kind of high school where hardly anybody goes off to a private 4 year college – where most of the kids are off the state university or a cc – then the “Columbia U.” part also seems pretentious – whereas “Barnard College” sounds nice enough. (Those who want to know more will ask). </p>
<p>There is a part in the middle where it simply is informative – for example, the kind of schools where a lot of kids are off to private colleges of varying stages of selectivity, but is not so competitive that anyone is obsessed with Ivy admissions… and then “Barnard College of Columbia University” does sound nice.</p>
<p>My personal experience has been that people who don’t know what “Barnard” is usually don’t have a clue as to what “Columbia University” is either – they certainly are not aware that it’s Ivy League. </p>
<p>My bigger problem was with the people who do know something about colleges, but somehow always heard “Bard” when I said “Barnard”. (“Oh, is that the liberal arts college in upstate NY? I hear it’s very pretty there”) So for that small contingent, it does help to add the Columbia reference.</p>
<p>Calmom- My school is generally the middle type. We’re a mix of those who have no desire to leave the state, kids who want nothing more than to go to UVa, kids who want to try something new (we always have a few random ones at UCBerkley), and the occasional ivy leaguer. No one is going to Columbia as far as I can tell. Unfortunately, word has gotten around amongst the class of 2012 that Barnard is a “back door school” (and I have told my college counselor to take note of that in her recs) which is really infuriating, but until this year, I’ve never heard of anyone so desperate at my school. I’ve heard the Bard thing too, and I’ve even heard Harvard (probably because the letters are pretty close if your jacket covers the “B” on a Barnard shirt). I just want to be real and honest. I don’t have anything to prove to the kids I’ve grown up with, but I’d like them to appreciate Barnard for what it is.</p>
<p>In your situation, I think simply Barnard would be best. If word has gotten around that it’s a “back door school”, it’s not like you can go and change the minds of your whole class.
I’d just proudly say I’m going to Barnard and that’s it. It’s one little title in your graduation ceremony, would it really matter years from now? : )
tell them to google it.
I don’t like the negative connotations that Barnard can get with its relationship with Columbia, but I think just as I know what I’m doing, it shouldn’t matter to everyone else.
side note, I’d argue that Wellesley is more well known than Barnard, but when I told people i got in, a lot of responses were “Oh, where’s that?” and “Wesleyan?”
I don’t know where I heard this story, maybe it’s made up, but apparently two Barnard girls were applying for the same job/internship, and one said she went to Barnard and the other said Columbia U. The person deciding between them favored the Barnard only girl. P : /interesting tangent</p>
<p>You girls probably don’t remember me, I had a post on page 36 in “Girls 100% Sure They’re Applying Early Decision to Barnard College” about my rejection to Barnard College 
So, following your advise, I applied for RD; I even changed my entire application, including essay. As a result, I got accepted to BU and Wellesley… but I my love to Barnard hasn’t gone So I think that maybe I should try to apply again …</p>
<p>Go to Wellesley!!!</p>
<p>Barnard said no. I can’t think of anything that you could get at Barnard that you can’t get at Wellesley, other than living in NY – but you don’t have to attend school in order to live in NY. BU is a fine school as well, but if you are looking for a supportive, rigorous, empowering, women’s college – well, BU doesn’t work for that. </p>
<p>And you don’t “love” Barnard - you simply are enamored of your <em>idea</em> of Barnard – which is based mostly on marketing material and possibly a visit. The real Barnard is far from perfect. </p>
<p>My daughter received a tremendous education at Barnard, but the only time she was truly happy was the one semester she was studying abroad. (I think she really needed a full co-ed environment to be happy). I don’t think my d. would have been happy at Wellesley either, given her clear need for male companionship – but I can’t imagine that the academic experience would have been any less stellar at Wellesley. </p>
<p>So if you want everything that Barnard has to offer academically, say yes to Wellesley - and if the problem is that you really (like my d.) prefer a co-ed environment, then go to BU.</p>