<p>I'm planning on double majoring in Philosophy & Poli Sci if I go to Barnard and Philosophy & Government if I go to Gtown. But, I've been recently very interested in English & Literature too, so I'm definitely going to consider that before formerly declaring my majors.</p>
<p>I know Georgetown has incredibly strong Politics and Government Depts, but also that Barnard offers one of the strongest writing programs in the US (not to mention Columbia next door).</p>
<p>Essentially, I'd really like to know what the fundamental difference between going to these two schools would be. What would I experience at only Barnard and not Gtown and vice versa?</p>
<p>I've visited Columbia but not Barnard or Gtown before. I've been to NYC (which I love) but not to Washington DC. And as an international student, I'm not able to visit before making my decision.</p>
<p>All words of wisdom/advice/thoughts are appreciated!</p>
I made the same decision and I chose Barnard!!! I am very happy I did. I know a lot of other Barnard women who have chosen Barnard over Georgetown, but I also know a few that went to Georgetown. I would say both schools are very comparable. Barnard is an undergraduate college of Columbia though, so it was the best of a small liberal arts college and best of an urban Ivy League. Both are great schools though!
In my view, most people regard Georgetown as a better school and a more desirable choice than Barnard. Perhaps that’s why approximately 72 percent of cross admits select Georgetown over Barnard.*
But the real question is what’s best for you. That, of course, is a subjective consideration, a question of fit. So, everything really boils down to what you want because Georgetown and Barnard are quite different.
Do you want a medium-sized university that is coed – one that offers a more traditional university experience in a beautiful suburb near a great city? If so, Georgetown should be your choice.
Would you prefer a small college for women only – one that features a less traditional university experience in the urban setting of an exciting city? If so, Barnard may be the better option for you.
I can only offer anecdotal evidence regarding the relationship between Columbia and Barnard. For what it’s worth, my understanding accords with the observations in the last sentence of post 2 above.
I hope you will have the opportunity to attend the admitted students programs at Georgetown and Barnard. If you do, follow your instincts.
FYI – Georgetown is not in a SUBURB of DC. It’s in the city, with all the traffic and other issues that brings along. It’s medical facility is a core hospital for DC residents, along with GW, Howard, etc. So don’t be looking for beautiful suburbs if you go to GT
I have been admitted to both Barnard and Georgetown, like you, but my pick between the two (I have not yet made my final decision with regards to Ivies/Stanford) is hands-down Georgetown. I’ve lived near NYC my whole life, and I personally found DC to be a quieter and more spacious, less hurried NYC. Georgetown is a gorgeous enclave in DC itself ; you actually get 3 layers: campus (it’s called the “Hilltop”), the town of georgetown (with fantastic shopping and restaurants) and then the entire greater DC area.
Georgetown is larger than Barnard, and leans more conservative/moderate than Barnard (Barnard, being an all-women’s college tends to lean very liberal according to my friend there, a current junior).
If you’re interested in politics, there is no better place than DC.
However, in the end, both are incredible academic institutions with a lot of focus on undergraduate education. You can’t really go wrong.
Far be it from me to quibble over the meaning of “suburb.”
But as Shakespeare might say, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” since Georgetown is a beautiful residential district that lies outside the main business and government centers of DC.
Having visited far too many colleges with my four children, I can say, without reservation, that Georgetown is the prettiest college town I have encountered with the exception of Oxford and Cambridge.
Morningside Heights where Barnard is located is no slouch either. And no city in America can match Manhattan for round-the-clock excitement.
Some will prefer the urban setting of Barnard. Others will say Georgetown offers the unbeatable combination of a beautiful surrounding community and access to the nearby power centers of Washington DC.
@espenser Could you provide the source for your comment that 72% of cross-admits chose Georgetown? I work with students applying to colleges and this figure is actually the inverse of what I’ve been told. Indeed, I called Georgetown and Barnard admissions and they have no idea where you got that figure from, Georgetown saying they don’t collect that information.
I’d only add that Barnard and Georgetown are very different places. Most cross-applicants are students interested in SFS and Columbia’s SIPA. Otherwise, the two universities are very different.
@klbmom18 Very true. I used to live on 30th Street NW. Georgetown as an area is very pretty but the university is very compact, surprisingly so. Georgetown also doesn’t have Gothic or medieval architecture, any cobbled roads, and no soaring chapels. So I am utterly baffled by the comparison with Oxford and Cambridge.
As for being a “college town”, perhaps @espenser was visiting another university? Georgetown is in Washington, DC, the furtherest thing from a “college town” I can imagine.
You would have saved yourself a lot of trouble if you had just read my post more attentively. The citation you seek follows the asterisk at the bottom of my post 2 above. Click on it, and you will see how approximately 72 percent of cross-admits chose Georgetown over Barnard, according to Parchment.com.
If you lived near Georgetown University as you say, you would know that neo-Gothic architecture dominates its front campus. Yet, you deny the existence of this architecture and respond to my favorable comments about Georgetown by asking whether I “was visiting another university”? I’ll let the unintended irony of your comment speak for itself.
By the way, I wasn’t comparing the building styles in the town of Georgetown to the architecture of Cambridge, and Oxford. I was simply saying that Georgetown is the prettiest town with a college I have seen other than Oxford and Cambridge. As someone who attended graduate school at Cambridge, saying nice things about Oxford is difficult for me.
Let’s keep thing friendly. We can disagree without being disagreeable.
Additionally, revealed preference data is sourced to voluntary responses to admitted student questionnaires, so it’s not a statistically reliable source as it is not a randomized source.
Also any conclusion that students as a whole prefer one school over another is flawed because it doesn’t account for the students who don’t choose not to apply to the other school in the first place. There are all sorts of factors that can account for the choice.
@calmom Thanks for your post. I mentioned it to one of the Barnard admissions counselors yesterday when we were discussing outreach and she pointed out that that data book is from 2011 and that revealed preference data is highly unreliable since few students respond and fewer respond in a “serious fashion”. When I asked what she means, she said that many students list fictitious universities.
@espenser Neo-Gothnic architecture is different from Gothic architecture. Georgetown also isn’t a town, it’s an area of Washington, DC and Georgetown is way down near Rosslyn. I also do know Cambridge having read Econ at St John’s.
As for cross-admit data, you no doubt are aware that the reliability of statistics depends on the sample size and the accuracy of responses. Relatively few students provide information on their intended destination, this information often changes, and it doesn’t say why students made this decision. We researched this when I worked at Princeton.
@espenser Apologies. I thought you were being serious when you suggested that Georgetown was the better school. I now realize you were being ironic. It isn’t the Ivy League but is a very fine university. And while Washington isn’t New York City, it is a very pleasant city if you ignore the summers.
