<p>I’m really depressed and kind of bitter about being accepted into Barnard but not given any financial aid. Like really, none. Zero. Because I’m not getting any aid, I can’t afford to go to Barnard, which is really sad. Is there anyone else who got accepted but can’t afford to go? Can we gripe together?</p>
<p>What was your parents’ FAFSA EFC?</p>
<p>i am not the OP, but i was accepted to barnard yesterday, but i guess i didnt send in all my tax forms yet so i haven’t received my financial aid yet. if my FAFSA EFC was 4500, do you think barnard will honor that?</p>
<p>anon, yeah, they probably will.
My family’s EFC was around 66,000. I honestly think that we must have filled something out wrong or something. There is NO WAY that my parent’s could afford that. We’re in that awkward upper-middle class income bracket that ruins everything. I suppose I could take out student loans but I’m worried about doing that because I want to go to grad school or maybe law school.</p>
<p>My daughter also was accepted to Barnard with NO financial aid.Our EFC was $30,000 so I was surprised we got nothing either. We are quite upset also.</p>
<p>If you think there is a mistake in what Barnard has calculated, talk to the Financial Aid people. Make an appointment and they will go over things with you. We did that during accepted students weekend…Or you can call them. Don’t just give it up with out at least having the discussion!</p>
<p>Many people will tell you not to go into a lot of debt for an undergrad liberal arts college, as you may also need loans for further education. And that is probably very good advice. I will point out, though, in our daughter’s case, her Barnard undergrad degree (we are sure) resulted in her acceptance into the fully funded PhD program of her choice. </p>
<p>Paying our part of her Barnard education was rough…but her dad figures we were actually paying for her undergrad as well as her PhD!</p>
<p>That was certainly great in your case, but it was probably the exception rather then the rule. Do you think Barnard is viewed with the reputation of an Ivy as far as post graduate programs? It is ranked 30th on the LAC list. I know ranking is not all that matters but as far as reputation I am curious to hear what is the experience of women that went to Barnard. Would you say that Barnard reputation is mostly withing the Tri-state area? For example more people would know about Boston college ranked 34th in the USNWR national universities list than Barnard, I think. Not trying to imply anything, just would like to hear opinions because it may turn out to be a decision that my D will need to make (Barnard vs BC)</p>
<p>D moved down to Atlanta and immediately had Barnard friends – women she had never met. And yes, she has an internship at the Georgia Capital Defense Fund and the lawyer who chose her had definitely heard of Barnard.</p>
<p>The factors that put Barnard where it is are silly and arbitrary and have to do with several things: 1) Recalcitrance in sending in current data, 2) Size of endowment. 3) Grad rate. The grad rate is a bit lower because women leave to be in Broadway plays. model, work for galleries, etc. So, at Williams, for instance, where my son is, no one gets enticing offers that lure them away from school. That is not always the case at Barnard.</p>
<p>And for an average Barnard student 40% of her classes are at Columbia (my D’s were), and although she found the Barnard classes more rigorous, look at where Columbia is in the rankings.</p>
<p>The number of accomplished women who have attended Barnard is staggering. And yes, most knowledgeable people know that Barnard is part of Columbia. And if your D has doubts, her resume can reasonably say, Barnard College of Columbia University, though my D has not felt that necessary.</p>
<p>FYI: WSJ ranks Barnard at 42 as a feeder school and BC as 79, so B is almost twice as high.</p>
<p>thanks for the info. can you link to the WSJ report you mention?</p>
<p>It comes from a recent Amherst thread.</p>
<p><a href=“Redirect Notice”>Redirect Notice;
<p>For further info, our daughter is a neuroscience major, and Barnard was well known and well-received at all the schools to which she applied. Barnard graduates are indeed well-regarded.</p>
<p>Accepted, but they calculated the family contribution much higher than any other school. Even with a grant, is Barnard worth 120K in debt for our family? Also accepted to Fordham, Pitt, NYU, American U…</p>
<p>I would question the FA office. When my D entered, Barnard’s package was much better than NYU’s or Fordham’s.</p>
<p>It’s hard to compare Barnard’s award with schools like Fordham, NYU, American, etc, because those colleges will often supplement need-based aid with merit awards – and any student who has the credentials to get admitted to Barnard probably also is likely to attract merit aid from the other schools. (After all, they offer that aid precisely to entice needy students from schools like Barnard).</p>
<p>You have to keep in mind that Barnard uses institutional methodology, meaning that it factors in things like home equity. However, Barnard’s financial staff is very willing to talk to you and go over the numbers – so if you have questions it is best to talk to someone there. I have found it helpful to write out my questions in advance, and then send an email and asking them to either call me or set up a specific appointment time for me to call them. That way, when I had the person on the phone they had looked at the file and were prepared to answer my questions. </p>
<p>If you have anything at all unusual about your situation – it is definitely worth a call. For example, when my d. was entering Barnard, I was unsure whether her then 23 year old brother would be returning to college. He was applying as a junior transfer the same time my d. was applying as a freshman. I had listed him as being in college on the FAFSA, but I didn’t have a name of a college to write down. The financial aid award I received from Barnard was calculated as if I had only 1 in college --but when I called the explained exactly what the procedure would be if my son started school, and made it clear that the Barnard grant would be increased when they received proof of enrollment and COA info from my son’s college. </p>
<p>The point is, if I hadn’t made that call – I wouldn’t have known. It was not clear from the paperwork whether they had counted my son as being in college or not.</p>
<p>I can think of other examples where things either changed or were clarified after a discussion. I don’t think there’s any way around a FAFSA EFC of $66K – but if there is a disparity between FAFSA EFC and what Barnard is offering, its worth a call to find out what went into the calculation. </p>
<p>Barnard will not “negotiate” aid but they will look at the numbers and make adjustments in your favor where it is appropriate.</p>
<p>imgdoc, I found your comment in post #7 to be quite ignorant – but in deference to you I did check your other posts and I see that you are still a high school senior, so perhaps you aren’t really aware of the history and the reputation of Barnard and other 7-sister colleges, as well as their historic association with the Ivies. In terms of graduate school admissions, a school like Barnard or Wellesley would be viewed by grad schools and by potential employers as functionally equivalent to the Ivies. Keep in mind that there is still an older generation of women alive and kicking who were precluded from attending most Ivies because of their gender – it is no accident that so many prominent women attended Barnard or other 7 sister schools. </p>
<p>Also, outside the CC bubble, no one really bothers to draw any distinction between Barnard & Columbia – they all see Barnard as simply being one of Columbia’s undergraduate colleges. Apparently Columbia sees it that way, too – judging by the [url=<a href=“http://www.cuarts.com/calendar/view/event_id/1797]paraphernalia[/url”>http://www.cuarts.com/calendar/view/event_id/1797]paraphernalia[/url</a>] they are trying to get me to buy for my daughter. </p>
<p>In any case – of course Churchmusicmom’s d. was benefited by the Barnard degree, though she would have done equally well with a similar GPA from any number of other highly respected colleges. On the other hand, its not so clear that she would have been able to major in neuroscience or have had the Columbia-based research lab experience at other schools. LAC’s are a little bit better for students who discover and shift interests along the way; that’s a combination of a lot of factors.</p>
<p>I also sense that there is probably some sour grapes involved, since you were waitlisted at Barnard. It’s tempting under the circumstances to rationalize that Barnard isn’t that great anyway, while you wait to hear from other colleges or make plans to attend one of the other fine colleges that undoubtedly has accepted you. </p>
<p>I know its hard to believe – but no one other than high school kids applying to college even looks at US News rankings. A graduate admissions department is far more sophisticated, and they are much more likely to be influenced by the reputation of the specific department within the undergraduate institution, and those can be all over the map as compared to whole-school rankings. </p>
<p>Barnard does give its students a LOT of support in terms of advising, applications to graduate school, and career planning. I’m sure that many other colleges and universities do as well – but my point is simply that such support is also integral to the likelihood of admission to grad programs.</p>
<p>In my case, they stayed true to my FAFSA EFC, within $500. It’s certainly not comfortable to pay for (I’ll be paying my parents back for much of it), but very very few quality, American colleges have the resources to make paying comfortable for everyone…I guess I’m sympathetic with them. They’re a small school.</p>
<p>Oh no. I’m applying for transfer and I really need the aid (my parents are separated and we are lower-middle class). </p>
<p>Do you think I’ll get a decent package? Will they stay true to my parent’s EFC? How much will be loans?</p>