<p>Hello everyone,
This is my first post and I’m not sure if I’m going about this correctly, so bear with me 
I’m very interested in applying to Barnard for the Fall 2013 semester. I am a very hard working student, and have no problem handling a heavy workload. That being said, I am concerned about social life at Barnard. While my high school career has been a lot time spent working, it has also included a lot of time partying. Although this is not my #1 focus in college, I was wondering what the party scene at Barnard is like? Also, how easy is it to meet Columbia boys, and how do co-ed dorms work?</p>
<p>Coed dorms: there aren’t any at Barnard especially in the first year. You might live with some Columbia women in some apartments in your later years. Usually groups of 5 or 6 friends live together. There may be some who live in coed housing. I have never met any of my daughters’ friends who did so.
Social life: Both of my daughters, the introvert as well as the extrovert, socialized with Columbia students. I gather you can have as much or as little social life as you choose.
Boys: plenty. You meet a lot in class, clubs and outings. Once each semester there are free tickets to games and performances such as operas and musicals for Columbia University students.</p>
<p>Just to add to what Mardad said: Indeed, since you will be living on the Quad your first year (I assume that is still the rule), there will not be co-ed dorms. HOWEVER, guys DO live in other Barnard halls, such as Plimpton, which is a suite-style dorm. So this “works” pretty much like any apartment building would work…</p>
<p>As for the “party scene” at Barnard: I don’t really know how to answer that. My D (who graduated in 09) was not a huge partier. There are frats on campus that host parties, but she was never one to go to stuff like that. Hosting smaller get-togethers for playing games, watching movies, dancing, etc, was more her thing. She was a member of Orchesis, the student dance group, and they always had cast parties at local establishments after performances. So there are opportunities to get together with friends OR to go to large group affairs with lots of people you might not know, if that is your thing.</p>
<p>AND, as Mardad said, there will be plenty of chances to meet boys. Barnard is NOT a typical women’s college in that regard.</p>
<p>I’m a current student so hopefully I can provide a useful perspective!</p>
<p>The Barnard dorms are, for the most part, Barnard only. The first-year dorms are 100% Barnard students, meaning everyone living in the Quad was born female. However, Columbia students can opt to live in Barnard housing and vice versa (although it’s much more difficult for a Barnard student to live in Columbia housing than the other way around), so as an upperclassman you might have a couple of men living in your dorm. But, for the most part, the dorms are separated between Barnard and Columbia.</p>
<p>But that’s really where the separation ends. I’d compare Barnard to living in an all-female dorm at a co-ed school. The party scene is quite prominent if you seek it out - I know I was never a huge partier in high school but when I got to college I started partying a lot more. I will say that most of the parties I go to are smaller and are held in upperclassman suites or apartments, but I’m not into huge parties anyway. You could find a big fratty party if you sought it out but that doesn’t seem to be Columbia’s fort</p>