I'm going to Barnard, backdoor?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Barnard College
1

<p>Okay, so I finally sent in my deposit to Barnard. To be honest, I wasn’t all impressed by the campus facilities though/ admitted students day.That’s not why I chose it. I chose it for small classes, relationship with professors etc.</p>

<p>I’ve stated before Columbia was my first choice…
Why do people freak out when Barnard students take advantage of Columbia’s resources? (use it as a back door. as many people on these boards have referred to it)
The Barnard students I spoke with says you can be as integrated with Columbia as you like, and no one would be able to tell the difference between a Barnard or Columbia student.</p>

2

<p>People may be concerned that you might not like Barnard when you get there if you’re thinking of it merely as a “back door.” On the other hand everyone who goes to Barnard is attracted by the attachment to Columbia. The wider array of classes, E.g. Zulu, and the partially graduate-level classes, I.e. 4000 and 6000 classes, would simply not be available at an LAC unattached to a large university.</p>

3

<p>the campus facilities are old fashioned and small. I wish I didn’t have to live in barnard. The rooms are the size of my bathroom.</p>

4

<p>I’m sorry you women feel that way. My D loved everything about Barnard, dorms and all. Hope you feel better about it when you get there.</p>

5

<p>Yeah the quad dorm rooms are small compared to other dorms in which you will be eligible to live after your first year. Still, my daughter loved her first year living in her two little rooms with her two roomies. They are still good friends and she enjoyed the “old fashioned” bay window in the room in which they slept and the (non functioning, but still very cool) fireplace in room where their desks were. </p>

<p>You guys will have the new Nexus to enjoy on campus! My d’s class has had to deal with the construction of that during most of their time at Barnard. I really appreciate, though, that President Spar has been very concerned about that and has done several things for the graduating Seniors to make up for it, like inviting them to process in to her inauguration ceremony in cap and gown. She also invited them to her personal residence for desert during these last weeks of school. They received personal invitations and she had them over for a drop-in reception in groups according to their majors. My daughter really enjoyed it! </p>

<p>I do hope your outlook improves about this and you can get excited and enjoy the time you have at Barnard. In four years, I hope you feel just as my daughter does: that she wishes it could somehow keep on going! Even though she is very excited about going to grad school, it will be very, very difficult to say goodbye to her time at Barnard.</p>

6

<p>There’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking advantage of Columbia’s resources. That’s part of the Barnard experience and my daughter says she doesn’t know anyone who stays within Barnard proper. I think my daughter sees it as a seamless kind of community but she is also very clear that she is a Barnard woman and is very happy to be one. Going in trying to be a Columbia student isn’t the way to go–I think that’s what people respond to. You miss out on all that Barnard has to offer for one thing, and for another, it demeans the school. </p>

<p>The dorms really vary. I expect that’s true of Columbia’s dorms as well. My daughter’s room is actually really great for New York. She has a single in a suite and ithe room is small but very light. The suite has a kitchen, small common area, and bathroom for 4 girls. She’d be lucky to have such a living space as a young adult!</p>

7

<p>

Yeah, one thing my daughter didn’t like about Barnard was the attitude of some of the spoiled, rich kids who attended. Fortunately she found many friends who weren’t so jaded by their over-privileged backgrounds.</p>

<p>Sorry for the snide remark-- but I was quite surprised at how large & spacious my d’s room was her first year – & I spent 4 days living in the room with her, so I ought to know. It certainly is a lot larger than the room she has at our house… which I really do use as a closet now that she is no longer living at home.</p>

<p>My daughter will have a really teensy, tiny room next year and she is absolutely delighted to have it. We’re so overjoyed that I also sent her proxy a box of candy to thank her for going through the room selection process to get that room for her.</p>

8

<p>If I were you, I would now turn all attention to maximizing the good things that led you to attend the school, and developing strategies to minimize the aspects that you were less thrilled about. Otherwise you are predisposing yourself to be dissatisfied.</p>

9

<p>As part of the Barnard class of 2013, this kind of attitude (complaining about Barnard) before even getting there is worrying me. I don’t want to go to a school where the women are there to pick apart the facilities, the dorms, etc. I applied ED, and now I’m so worried I will not get along with my fellow classmates. We get it - the dorms are smaller than your bathroom, well, they are smaller than mine too, but its NYC, and you should know what your’e getting yourselves into. I’m already considering other options, like transferring, although I sincerely hope I don’t have to, if I have to put up with those backdoor columbia types. It makes me feel that CC/SEAS students have a right to be angry with some Barnard students.</p>

10

<p>mishka1, be reassured. The backdoor types are very few in number. Most of the students are excited to be there.</p>

11

<p>Absolutely, Mishka1. I have never once heard my daughter say anything about running into that type of individual. You will LOVE Barnard…I am certain of it!</p>

12

<p>Mishka – to be honest, my daughter did run into a few of the overprivileged type – the ones who would make remarks like the “smaller than my bathroom” comment – but as Mardad noted, they are few in number, and you are going to meet those kids at any private college. But they weren’t the “backdoor into Columbia” type either – rather, they just seemed to be kids with a lot of money but not much in the way of smarts or academic focus. They are probably the ones who are least likely to have wanted to attend Columbia, with its strict core – they were in NYC to party and to shop. </p>

<p>One of the advantages – and disadvantages - of the Barnard quad housing is that it HUGE apartment-style living. You don’t “feel” like you are in a cozy residential setting with your best friends – you “feel” like you are living in a high-rise apartment building filled with all sorts of different people. </p>

<p>So in terms of a “homey” feel, its a disadvantage. But the advantage is that there are a lot of different “types” of students living there, and you really don’t have to associate with the ones who aren’t your “type”. You will find your own type through the activities you engage with, or via study groups you form for classes. If you are lucky you will get along well with the kids who happen to be on your floor. My daughter was not so lucky her first year- she lived on the 6th floor and it turned out that the kids she wanted to hang out with were living on the 3rd floor. But it wasn’t rich, spoiled kids or Columbia wannabes that were my d’s problem – her problem was that she was living amid a cluster of very studious pre-med students who wanted to study, study, study all the time. (Of course, what my daughter failed to appreciate until I arrived for my visit and remarked upon it is that she had a very QUIET place to live and study and sleep – my own college freshman dorm experience was depicted quite accurately in the movie “Animal House” – but my d. is more active and outgoing, and probably would have been happier on a different wing or floor.) But that’s all the luck of the draw, and is true of any college. My daughter ended up with a great group of amazing and very compatible young women in her suite her 2nd year. </p>

<p>Don’t make the mistake of pre-judging your college experience. Keep an open mind and also understand that there are a wide variety of students at Barnard, with a wide variety of interests. The whole “Columbia” thing is a non-issue, because once you get to Barnard, you will be part of the Columbia community and you will end up spending a significant amount of time on the Columbia campus, doing Columbia things. There is just no real way to avoid it. You will be issued a Columbia ID and you are going to end up using Columbia facilities because they are there. I mean, no one can get into Butler library without a CUID, even as a guest – and if you need to do serious research, you are going to want to sue that library. </p>

<p>Of course, for my daughter the Nexus construction didn’t help matters – it essentially destroyed the best hanging-out place on the Barnard campus for 2 years. Perhaps once the Nexus opens then things will become more Barnard-centric. </p>

<p>Both Columbia and Barnard are very demanding places academically – so once students are taking classes the whole issue of “stats” and admission rates gets discarded rather quickly. My daughter ran into a few insufferable types her first weeks on campus who bragged incessantly about their SAT scores – on both sides of the street – but they shut up after midterms. (SAT scores don’t correlate all that well with actual grades).</p>

13

<p>um…excuse me CALMOM, who are you referring the “smaller than my bathroom” quote to? </p>

<p>woah I think you guys all need to calm down. My intention wasn’t to degrade barnard’s dorms when I said the one I saw was smaller than my bathroom. I live in NYC. I am glad to be dorming in Manhatan. I’m happy to attend Barnard. I was just worried about living with someone in a room “smaller than my bathroom”, for I have NEVER even been allowed to even sleep over at my bestfriend’s house. It’s just a big change for me. </p>

<p>It’s not nice to make an example of an overprivileged person with what I said about barnard’s dorms. I mean, it’s not like I’m even close to middle class either. So you guys can chill. I’m surprised to read these responses from a bunch of mothers and fathers. I think it’s perfectly normal for a teenager to worry about living in such a small room with someone. </p>

<p>wow I am so offended that I actually bothered to explain myself.</p>

14

<p>and as for mishka1, you’ve really got me wrong. I’m really gratified for being accepted to Barnard. </p>

<p>This is a college forum where everyone can express their opinions about colleges. It’s not a place for people to target opinionated teenagers who aren’t afraid to be honest about their feelings.</p>

15

<p>Cantochickk… if you are worried about the space, then that’s fine - that’s normal. But one thing you have to be aware of is the way such comments come off. Barnard (and Columbia) is a very diverse environment with kids from all walks of life – many who are on financial aid. My daughter qualifies for a Pell grant some of the time – and I consider us to be middle class. But middle class means that we live in a modest home in a suburban tract. (With small bedrooms and even smaller bathrooms). </p>

<p>When you make a comment like that it strikes people as boastful and contemptuous. Most people do not live in houses with huge bathrooms, and most probably don’t have their own bathroom either. (Maybe you meant to say “our” bathroom, but when you wrote “my” it sounded like you have your own private huge bathroom in your house). </p>

<p>So one of the first rules of etiquette to observe is to avoid making comments that come off sounding like dorm life is some sort of incredible hardship that you have to bear, compared to your privileged life at home. It will strike other students as being stuck-up and spoiled – if you don’t want to fit that stereotype… then be careful what you say. You might think its an offhand remark, but to others is sounds like you are bragging about your wealth.</p>

16

<p>Cantochikk,</p>

<p>So we parents, I think, have a couple of concerns that we have been trying to address here for the benefit of any prospective students who might be reading this in the future as well as for you. They are:</p>

<ol>
<li>You said: </li>
</ol>

<p>

which, you must surely understand, came across as sounding, in fact, pretty degrading and contemptuous of the facilities at Barnard. Obviously, we Barnard parents are pretty excited about the school and I think we do tend to react to statements that come across as being very negative. Particularly when someone says they wish they “didn’t have to live at Barnard” and there have very recently been so many here who got rejected or wait-listed and would love the opportunity to live there.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>In view of your sounding like you really thought negatively about the facilities there, we parents probably all wondered if you would really be happy there and wanted you to try to re-think your point of view either by looking at the “bright side” of things at Barnard or by reconsidering your options for schools…</p></li>
<li><p>You say that you

. Wow. That is surprising to me and, I do agree, of some concern no matter what the size of your dorm room would be. This will indeed be a big change for you but that does not necessarily mean it has to be a bad experience. The point I think we all are trying to make is that your attitude going in will most likely either “make” or “break” it for you. I a pretty confident in saying that if you start at Barnard thinking that the facilities are sub-par and that you wish you didn’t “have to live” there, you won’t like it very much.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I am very glad you were accepted to Barnard and I hope you have a fantastic experience there. It’s true that other colleges may have larger dorm rooms, but I honestly do not think that any other environment can offer anything like what Barnard can in so many, many ways!</p>

17

<p>calmom, I understand you want to caution cantochickk against coming off as pompous, but your initial reaction was completely uncalled for. It was as if you took personal offense at her comment, which is ridiculous. By saying that overprivileged people say things like what cantochickk said, you implied she was overprivileged. That, too, was completely unnecessary and unfair to cantochickk. I realize and appreciate that you wished her well and do not want to extend this more than it needs to, but I felt compelled to acknowledge as a third party that you were out of line.</p>

<p>On the other hand, cantochickk, I am going to be a Barnard first-year like yourself and what I am most looking forward to is enthusiastic classmates. That means people who are excited about being at Barnard in all ways, not just academically. I advise you to look for the joys of being at Barnard while still taking advantage of Columbia. You yourself will be happier, and those around you will too.</p>

18

<p>Phedre, thank you. When I said Barnard is small and old-fashioned, I actually didn’t mean it in a bad way. I actually love the the traditional interior designs of Barnard. As an art major in high school, I have great admiration for Barnard’s architecture!!! Perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier.</p>

<p>and believe me, I love Barnard. One does not necessarily have to love something 100% to say he/she loves it. </p>

<p>But folks, I get YOUR POINT!</p>

19

<p>I don’t think you have to be a snob to think that rooms are small.</p>

20

<p>To earlier posts, I didn’t mean I would try to be a Columbia student. After researching the college, I’m proud to be a Barnard woman, however, I do plan on taking alot of classes at Columbia becuase I do like a larger university setting.</p>

<p>Also, as for the whole privelege debate. yes, the Barnard dorms are small. I saw them. It’s true and there’s no debating it. That’s a statement of fact, not a personal attack on anyone. And, why do people always make negative comments towards over-priveledged kids? They just sound childish and envious, not an attractive quality.</p>

<p>The reason for my original post was simply to get the feeling as to what the okays and not okays are as far as Barnard v Columbia</p>