<p>Hi everyone. I visited Barnard this past weekend and I LOVED it! However, i live in a very small town in rural PA and i am afraid of going through culture shock if I move to such a large city. With the transition from high school to college and moving away from home, I’m not sure I could handle another huge change in my life. I’m only a junior so I have a lot of time to think about this stuff, but I was wondering if anyone had some experience with moving to the city and how the adjustment went.</p>
<p>I can tell you about my daughter's experience.</p>
<p>We live in a pretty good sized town in the suburbs of Atlanta and it's NOTHING like NYC. My daughter had been to NYC several times during high school for various things and once for a three week long damce intensive at NYU over the summer. That particular time was pretty tough on her because she was pretty much on her own and did not know anyone when she got there. She did fine, though, and that experience actually set her up to feel pretty comfortable when she came to NY as a first year.</p>
<p>The thing about starting at Barnard as a first year is that, as part of Columbia University, you will experience a week-long orientation that includes various tours and excursions into the City and you will get a chance to not only get to know people, but to experience some of the wonderful things the City has to offer with some people there to help you out. If you are anything like my d, you will soon find yourself a savy New Yorker and proud of it!</p>
<p>My advice would be to learn as much as you can about the City and to visit several times before you apply or start school there...</p>
<p>Best to you!</p>
<p>Elsaphant, I think that is a very good concern and I commend you for thinking seriously about this. If you are still interested in Barnard when you start applying for colleges next year, I would encourage you to apply regular decision to a good array of schools, to keep your options open so that you can make the ultimate decision (big city vs. suburb or small town) in spring of your senior year when it is a lot closer to the time you will be enrolling, and you will better know what you feel ready for.</p>
<p>My daughter always wanted an urban environment and was very unhappy visiting suburban colleges -- she had a miserable week visiting several campuses on her own, and then landed in NY (at NYU, which until then had not even been on her list) and called me giddy with excitement -- she had found her place! She interviewed at Barnard the next day and was very happy -- but the point is she had realized that she really needed the stimulation of an urban environment.</p>
<p>That being said: NY is intense, and it has been something of an adjustment even for my city-loving daughter. I know when I visited my daughter and stayed with her in one of the Barnard dorms on the quad that it seemed like living in a NY apartment building, not at all like my dorm experience had been. People in the city seemed rushed, pushy, often rude. It was fun visiting my d. and I can't wait to visit her again next spring -- but I personally wouldn't last a week in that environment. I need quiet, open spaces and plenty of trees in my life. </p>
<p>So I don't want to scare you away -- but at the same time, you will be making a decision as to where you will hopefully spend the next 4 years of your life. Barnard is an excellent college.... but what is more important is that you choose a college that it is a good fit for you.</p>
<p>I've never been to NYC but I've spent weeks in mid-city London, Athens (Greece), Paris, and Beirut, so I think I understand what "urban" is.</p>
<p>I"m a high school senior and am applying to both Barnard and Columbia and I feel that I, too, will be stimulated by an ultra-urban environment. For me, not needing to drive is turn-on! I love walkign everywhere and those weeks that I spent in the cities mentioned above were really enjoyable because I loved crowded streets, jay-walking, and rubbing shoulders with what seemed like everyone from the city. And everyone walked! (most of the time) :)</p>
<p>I am living and have always lived in a suburb of Dallas; it's a well-developed city but nothing extremely large/metropolis size. And certainly nothing like London or Paris. FOr the most part, I don't like where I live because there isn't either one of the extremes that I prefer: barren nature or ultra-urban.</p>
<p>That's interesting what you said about the dorms seeming like an NY apartment building. Sounds great to me!</p>
<p>Beirut, I really think you should visit NY first -- you don't have to visit before applying to Barnard, but if you are accepted, then you should try to visit before deciding on whether to accept. I don't think NYC is at all like Paris -- I can't imagine 2 big cities that are farther apart in general ambiance. </p>
<p>Nor it it very much like the London I remember, though I haven't been to London in almost 30 years. I can't comment on the other cities.</p>
<p>NYC is in a league of its own. It's nothing like London or Paris, both of which I recently visited. It's definitely an adjustment for anyone, even if you are comfortable in big cities and love them in general. I spent a good part of my childhood in Taipei, which is a pretty bustling and crowded city with a unique culture, but it is nothing compared to NYC. The culture here is just very different from any other city I've personally ever been to. The people and their attitudes are very different. It takes time to adapt and to feel completely comfortable living here. It took me probably two years to finally "settle in" and begin to really love the city for what it was --- both the good and the bad. It's a process that everyone goes through, but that's part of the fun!</p>
<p>thanks so much everyone for your insight! it has been a great help!</p>
<p>All that said, Barnard is in Morningside Heights which is like a town within the city, a sort of Ann Arbor made up of students. It is actually quite far from down town. It still has a very urban feel, not an outlying district by any means, but it feels very manageable. Barnard has its housing for frosh in a quad on campus so you won't have to venture far at first. However, before long you will want to I wager if you are accepted and decide to attend.</p>
<p>D was not raised in NYC, but we live in an exurb about 2 hours away. She had visited and taken classes there many times and become a kind of guide for her group of friends. Another girl from Brooklyn did the same.</p>
<p>Once you are comfortable with the subway, the 1 runs down Broadway giving you access to the west side.</p>
<p>If you like the environment you will be fine. If you can't visit right away there are so many movies set in NYC that it's easy to get a taste of the cab blaring streets and the ball of people who walk those streets.</p>
<p>to tell the truth, its so hard to live in the city. i moved from LA, and even i'm dying here!!! it is beyond difficult, you have to be really strong, to tell the truth.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on who you are. For my D it's the only place she's really comfortable, particularly because the public transportation is so good.</p>
<p>collegekid, I am sorry you are finding it "hard" to live there. For the benefit of those who are considering Barnard, can you elaborate on what you are finding difficult about it? </p>
<p>I hope things get better for you!!</p>
<p>yeah, it's just a huge adjusment for me for a number of reasons- while public transportation is great, i always found driving therapeutic and really miss it (i know thats kinda silly). also, i miss having my own space. new york makes me feel really clausterphobic. i miss having beautiful nature in my immediate surroundings. the weather is also a huge factor. right now its about 37 degrees and i'm already miserable!!! basically, i never realized how far 2500 miles really is. i thought i would be okay, that i'm independent and all that, but its a huge distance. i see my friends and hallmates going home on the weekends, and it's really difficult for me not to be able to do the same. so i guess part of my difficulty in new york stems from the fact that i come from so very far away, but that's definetely not the only thing. one more thing- while i'm making my way through the city, etc..., i'm surrounded by so very many people that i don't know. something about it makes me feel incredibly lonely. </p>
<p>and i just want to say that i'm not some social outcast who is miserable because of a lack of friends and/or social life and is trying to find something else to blame her unhappiness on. i am just a normal kid, pretty socially adept, but having a hard time with the city.</p>
<p>on the other hand, i love barnard. it's been great. they really care about their students there, and it provides me a whole lot of opportunities.</p>
<p>Collegekid, I understand. My d, as much as she absolutely loves Barnard and the City, sometimes has those times when she is a bit homesick because most of her friends are going to their homes. More and more, though, I think she is feeling like NY is her "home", even though she loves coming here on breaks.</p>
<p>Hang in there...I bet it will get better! Go and take a walk on College Walk when it snows and enjoy the beautiful lights!!!</p>
<p>It all comes down to personal preference. If you want to go home every weekend, then you should choose a school that's nearby. I knew that I wanted my college experience to be away from home. College is a chance to become independent. While I might miss my family occasionally, I never envied my roommate's ability to go home every weekend. Instead I more feel bad for her that she is not taking this opportunity to live away from home and get out on her own. Basically, decide what is best for you.</p>
<p>As for NYC, I agree with others that it is unlike any other city. Coming from Washington, DC, I can vouch that NYC is a completely different experience. However, the great thing about Barnard is that it is in Morningside Heights, which, as other people have pointed out, is more like a college town. I have found people in this area to be extremely friendly and have rarely encountered the "typical" rude New Yorker. I love that this area isn't overly commercialized and still has a Mom-and-Pop feel. I have easily befriended Pete, the cashier at Tom's (aka the Seinfeld restaurant), who always tells me and my friends stories about his life, and I love that Kim's, the video rental place, has almost every movie you can think of, even if the workers there are straight out of "High Fidelity". When you want to escape to a little European cafe, there's always the Hungarian Pastry Shop. Then of course, there's the dorms where your hall becomes your community and you stay up till all hours of the night discussing everything you can think of. Then occasionally (more if you want to) you can head downtown into the craziness of midtown Manhattan.</p>
<p>My point is, when most people think of NYC, what they picture is midtown. However, Morningside Heights is a completely different feel. Whether you want to be in the hustle and bustle of midtown all the time, or you're nervous about living in the city at all, definitely visit and do an overnight once you get in. Barnard's not for everyone. That being said, I love it here and couldn't imagine myself anywhere else.</p>