<p>I’m not really sure what I want in a college right now, but I really like NYC. Also, the only thing holding me back is my SAT score (2070 one sitting or 2080 superscored) but my ECs are good and my GPA is great. I like how Barnard is smaller than Columbia as well. I’m also into research; how are the research opportunities at Barnard? Also, please answer the title question… just in case my rambling threw you off course.</p>
<p>Please ignore the username; I made it a while ago.</p>
<p>Here’s a summary of differences, from a parent’s perspective:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Barnard admissions is more holistic & flexible. (This does not mean that Barnard is “easier” to get into than Columbia – it depends on individual strengths and weaknesses. But it does mean that someone like you with strong EC’s and a great GPA but less-than-amazing SAT scores is probably more likely to get into Barnard).</p></li>
<li><p>Columbia students must take a strict core, while Barnard students have more flexibility in filling a set of requirements called “9 ways of knowing”. I actually think Barnard’s requirements can end up resulting in more required courses than less, but it is more flexible. So I think that Columbia students share a more focused, narrow core - whereas Barnard students get a broader but more variable foundation. </p></li>
<li><p>Barnard has a stronger advising system, which assigns each student a professor as an advisor. Because of this, Barnard students have greater opportunity to get to know and work directly with professors from the time they arrive on campus. My d’s assigned advisor was the head of a department where my d. had a strong background and interest; d. ended up choosing a different major but does maintain a connection with her initial advisor. </p></li>
<li><p>It is my impression only, but Barnard profs seem to be very open and accessible to students – my d. seems to have formed strong relationships with many of her Barnard profs. Although my daughter took about 40% or more of her classes at Columbia, I can’t really think of an equivalent relationship with full profs there - though she did have some classes at Columbia taught by grad students and had a good relationship with them. </p></li>
<li><p>I feel that because Barnard students are not required to take the core, they have a greater opportunity to take more advanced courses at Columbia (as well as Barnard) early on. One really nice thing about Columbia/Barnard is that any student can sign up for any course if they have met prerequisites, regardless of course level – so you can go in as a freshman and sign up for some course that interests you that is geared for upper level students, or even opt for a graduate level course. Since a Barnard first year student has only one absolutely required course each semester (the first year writing seminar) - their schedule is wide open to explore whatever else they want. </p></li>
<li><p>Housing is separate, and Barnard first year housing is all female. Barnard housing after the first year tends to be in buildings that are mostly female. Although most Barnard classes are open to Columbia students, enrollment in those courses is still predominantly female. You will see men in classes and in all areas of the Barnard campus, including in common areas of the dorms – but it is definitely a female-dominated environment. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>As to research opportunities - if Churchmusicmom doesn’t weigh in, I’d suggest you send her a PM – she can tell you about her daughter’s experience.</p>
<p>As far as other aspects of student life – I don’t think there’s much of a difference. Your social life will extend beyond the campuses – in a sense, your “campus” is New York City and the upper west side, Morningside Heights neighborhood. EC’s such as student organizations for the most part are heterogeneous - Barnard students participate along with Columbia students, and your choices are simply influenced by your interests and preferences.</p>
<p>@calmom - I actually found a page called the “Columbia Connection” on the Barnard website and found the 9 Ways of Knowing but it’s nice to get your perspective too.</p>
<p>I really think Barnard would be the closest to perfect school I will find, but I’m concerned that when I looked on the “ED Acceptances 2014” thread most of the acceptees seemed to be into Humanities (literally 4/5 were editor-in-chief of their school’s newspaper while most of the remaining 1/5 were dancers). I know Barnard does a lot based on “fit.” Does that mean I won’t “fit” at the school? Someone who seemed similar to me except with a really low GPA and high SAT score but similar accomplishments was rejected. Is this a bad sign for me?</p>
<p>By the way, I know the atmosphere of the campus very well because I’m in Columbia SHP so I get to see Columbia (and pass by Barnard) every Saturday. I want to know more of the inside scoop!</p>
<p>Hopefullybrown - Barnard is a liberal arts college, so yeah, there’s going to be a strong humanities emphasis - why don’t you look into Cooper Union instead?</p>
<p>@Kiwi_Nights, I want a well-rounded, Liberal Arts education. It’s just that I want to be a doctor so my major will be in the sciences, but I was thinking of minoring in some sort of history or philosophy. I like how at least you’re required to take an English class freshman year.</p>
<p>Liberal Arts College does not imply a strong Humanities emphasis; it suggests a non-vocational well rounded education, but one focused on sciences is just as much “liberal arts” as humanities.</p>
<p>Barnard used to train 1/2 the female doctors in the US. </p>
<p>The sciences are strong at Barnard as well, and there are many pre med majors.</p>
<p>Architecture and urban planning are departments that Barnard offers to Columbia as well, as well as the more humanities oriented departments of theater and dance.</p>
<p>Social sciences (Margaret Mead was a Barnard grad) are also strong.</p>
<p>@mythmom, I’m not sure if that was directed toward me or Kiwi_Nights, but I know LAC doesn’t imply humanities focus, it just seems like Barnard accepts people with more humanities-related ECs</p>
<p>Hopefullybrown15, my daughter was first attracted to Barnard because she is a dancer and wanted to continue dancing with strong instruction but also with challenging academics. Her first inclination was to major in English, but then she took an intro to Psych course and fell in love with neuroscience. She dove in enthusiastically and began seriously pursuing research opportunities during her second year (she was in a professional show the summer after her first year).</p>
<p>All that background is to say that she had NO problem finding research opportunities…nor did her friends. She was actually a Columbia Amgen scholar (these students are chosen from among applications from all over the nation) the summer after her second year and then she began working in the lab of one of her profs who was actually setting up a brand new lab. So my d had the experience of actually helping her prof set things up from the very beginning. She ended up doing her Senior these project out of that lab and she is currently working on her PhD at Emory.</p>
<p>I know you are concerned that Barnard tends to be known for their writers and more humanities-focused majors. But you also need to know that Barnard is really focusing on ramping up their sciences. So I think that you might just be an excellent “fit” in that environment. </p>
<p>Please let me know if I can fill in any other info for you.
Best to you!</p>
<p>My D’s EC’s were very varied – humanities, social sciences, and sciences. I think her most impressive was WISE – Women in Science and Engineering, part of a federal grant administered by Stony Brook University.</p>
<p>Her major was social sciences based – emphasis on the law.</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to offend anyone or direct my comments in an unpleasant way. Sorry if I did.</p>
<p>@mythmom, it wasn’t offensive, just misleading
I do research at SBU too! I applied for the Simons program :). Even if I don’t get in, I still have a mentor.</p>
<p>Hopefullybrown15, if you are interested in doing scientific research, you will have to learn something about statistics and data. CC posters are not a representative cross-section of all Barnard admitted students, and there is no reason to suppose they would be. So you can’t tell anything whatsoever about admission criteria from looking at results here. </p>
<p>I mean… I can assure you that the vast majority of admitted students have no interest whatsoever in detailing all their EC’s, academic statistics, and interests on a public internet board. So the first question a researcher might ask, is "what type of personality posts on CC? " – and from there you might discern trends among the subset of students who apply early. You might also consider the fact that the ED pool is very different than the RD pool, and students interested in humanities may be more prone to apply ED to Barnard than students interested in sciences, who might be more likely to apply ED to schools that are particularly strong in sciences. I mean: ED means potentially giving up on all other options – how many students who are pre-med or interested in other sciences want to make that commitment early on?</p>
<p>"Does that mean I won’t “fit” at the school? "</p>
<p>To see how well you fit with the preponderance of the student body, in terms of academic interests:</p>
<p>Some schools post the # graduates that major in each field, you could look into that; see if Institutional research has it. Or ask admissions.</p>
<p>You can tell something, perhaps, by the distribution of SAT medians.
For example, I think you’ll find that Barnard and Cornell CALS have aggregate scores in roughly the same range, but Barnard verbal is higher and CALS math is higher. This probably is not completely unrelated to the proportions of science vs. non-science majors at each college.</p>
<p>Which does not mean that opportunities are not present at Barnard, just goes more to who your classmates are, proportionately, in that one regard.</p>
<p>D1, a math geek with astronomically high scores, was rejected in RD, years ago. Which reinforces your thesis but is just one isolated data point, and who really knows why. But I did subsequently suspect that maybe they thought D2, a dancer and English type with lower scores, fit better, after she was accepted there, later on. But D2 applied ED (partly because of what happened to D1), which arguably throws everything off. There are certainly premeds there, I met one or two of them myself.</p>
<p>Columbia offers excellent financial aid. If your family’s income is less than 60k, you get full support (eg. free tuition, free room, free meals etc.) I think if your family’s combined income is over 100k, you pay only 30-40% of the total cost.</p>
<p>Barnard’s aid packages are impressive as well.</p>
<p>I did not want to start a brand new thread, but thought all you potential Barnard students would be interested:</p>
<p>In the most recent Columbia Spectator, there is an article about how Barnard’s health services offers the HPV vaccine for free to Barnard students, while Columbia College and SEAS students pay around $400 for the same vaccine at their health services. </p>
<p>Just another example of how Barnard’s focus on women’s health and issues is of great benefit to their students!</p>
<p>The article can be found here:</p>
<p>[Disparities</a> in HPV vaccine prices at Columbia, Barnard](<a href=“http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2010/03/08/disparities-hpv-vaccine-prices-columbia-barnard]Disparities”>Disparities in HPV vaccine prices at Columbia, Barnard)</p>
<p>It’s probably a plus to be interested in the sciences, given the high amount of humanities majors. I remember hearing that admissions tries to assemble a diverse class and I am sure they take diverse academic interests into account.</p>
<p>I am majoring in a social science, but I do have some premed friends. I have heard great things about the Neuroscience program and my friend (a senior) has been accepted to every med school she had applied to (she hasn’t gotten some of the results yet). I also know a chemistry major. It’s definitely a tough major, but I think you’ll find that premed at any good college will be challenging. </p>
<p>Almost every science major I know has worked for Barnard and/or Columbia professors and helped them with research. It’s also pretty common to work at the medical school or in private doctor’s offices and at NYU.</p>
<p>On an interesting side note, tons of people major in Psychology. They start out as minors (it’s an easy minor to get) and end up majoring. Irrelevant, but it’s interesting that a lot of those humanities majors do tend to have a science as a minor.</p>