"Early Decision applications to Barnard for the Class of 2023 increased by 24 percent this year.
The Barnard College Office of Admissions received a total of 1,235 early decision applications, up from 993 last year.
So far, the Class of 2023 includes 7 recruited athletes who will compete on Columbia University teams, as well as students from 35 states and 31 countries." …
Thanks Dave. This is terrifying.
What’s the explanation for the “explosion” of interest in Barnard, and does this extend to other all-women’s colleges? i.e. have Wellesley, Smith, and Bryn Mawr also seen a disproportionate increase (as compared to coed colleges at the same “level”) in ED applicants?
I’ve heard this is true but this is anecdotal and I’d love to know if it’s truly true, and why. 
Early Decision is just wrong. I just saw one school filled over 50% of the class of 2022 ED - talk about favoring the wealthy!
IMHO it’s part of an overall vicious cycle, with the highest ranked schools getting an increasing number of applications, which by necessity decreases acceptance rates, leading to applicants putting in an increased number of applications to peer schools. That in turn makes yield management less predictable, encouraging colleges to rely more on ED and waitlists to avoid a catastrophic over-enrollment. More ED acceptances and more RD applications widen the gulf between ED and RD rates, and more students conclude that ED is their only chance.
Barnard is particularly impacted because of the affiliation with Columbia. As Columbia’s admission rates continue to decline, it leads more women to strategically shift their ED app to Barnard, as their perception of their chances at Columbia diminishes. And as Barnard’s own admission rate declines, Barnard is viewed more as a desirable peer institution and less as some sort of academically lesser back-door admission route — so women who might have once considered Barnard to be some sort of less desirable safety are now uncertain of admission chances in the RD round, so that much more likely to apply ED.
I respectfully disagree calmom. The young women I know who were interested in Barnard, my daughter being one of them, applied to Barnard and had no interest in applying to Columbia. For dd and her friends they applied because for them there is no better time to apply to an all woman college. With the #metoo movement going strong, a misogynistic president in office and the record number of women who will serve in Congress, Barnard is the perfect choice for progressive, smart, strong, women who want to be future leaders. I am delighted that my intelligen, hardworking, daughter is among the accepted incoming 2023 class!
Welcome to the farm, @breatheinout !
@breatheinout - My daughter wanted to go to school in NY. She liked Barnard the best but she also liked Columbia College a whole lot. I don’t think even she knows the extent to which the Columbia vs. Barnard acceptance rates impacted her decision to apply ED to Barnard. But it was definitely part of the consideration, as was the fact that the ED acceptance rate is higher than the RD rate (although Barnard says it is not easier to get in ED). She didn’t view her choice of college as primarily a socio-political statement.
@breatheinout The “back door” debate has largely been relegated to the past. Working with high schools now, Barnard is no longer seen as a back door into Columbia given its very holistic approach to admissions which makes it exceedingly difficult to predict admissability. For many students, Barnard’s more flexible curriculum, its focus on women, and what is seen as a more nurturing and personal community than Columbia College are the major differentiators.
Of course, this might then affect RD numbers (in that a higher % would have gone EA so the actual pool would not be larger) but this will be interesting to track.
FWIW, when my daughter applied to both CC and Barnard, she did NOT view Barnard as a back-door to Columbia. In the process of researching both colleges as part of preparing her essays, she eventually concluded that Barnard would be the better match for her of those two.
So the tide may indeed be turning?