Hello! I am a sophomore in high school. I recently visited New York City for college tours, and I got the chance to tour Columbia and NYU. I didn’t really understand what Barnard was at the time, but after hearing a bit more about it on the tour, I am a bit interested. I have a few questions:
What is Barnard's relationship with Columbia like? Do they take any classes there?
I hear Barnard is all female. How important is that in the school's atmosphere. The thing is, I go to an all girls high school, and by the time I graduate, I'm not sure I'll want to go to another one.
Do Barnard students associate with Columbia student much? (not just in classes, but outside friendships and such)
How does Barnard compare to NYU CAS in terms of rankings and academics? I know they are different (full-fledged university vs. liberal arts), but how do the undergraduate English, Journalism, and Economics programs compare?
Barnard is closely affiliated with Columbia and has a shared course registration system. Some classes are offered on the Barnard campus by Barnard faculty, some on the Columbia campus by the Columbia faculty, and a large number of courses are considered “interfaculty” which means that the same course might be taught by a Columbia prof or Barnard prof in different semesters. Almost all classes with the exception of required freshman courses (Barnard), Columbia Core courses, are open to all students. The academic calendars and grading system are identical, so students just sign up for the courses they want.
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I hear Barnard is all female. How important is that in the school's atmosphere. The thing is, I go to an all girls high school, and by the time I graduate, I'm not sure I'll want to go to another one.
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Barnard is a woman’s college but because of the shared facilities with Columbia and the NYC location it is more of a co-ed environment overall. The Barnard environment is more focused on women’s issues and certainly women are the dominant group in terms of numbers, but student clubs and associations are shared with Columbia and there generally are a mix of men & women in dining halls & cafes.
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Do Barnard students associate with Columbia student much? (not just in classes, but outside friendships and such)
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Yes. Constantly. Because the Barnard campus is so small physically, most socializing takes place off campus.
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How does Barnard compare to NYU CAS in terms of rankings and academics? I know they are different (full-fledged university vs. liberal arts), but how do the undergraduate English, Journalism, and Economics programs compare?
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Most people in academics would probably consider Barnard to be superior academically, because Barnard is seen as academically being on par with Columbia-- and of course the Barnard students are ultimately awarded a Columbia University degree. Many students apply to both NYU and Barnard, but if accepted to both, they generally will choose Barnard. Financial aid may be a factor, given that NYU is terrible with aid – but Barnard students would probably get a better overall experience in terms of closer relations with their faculty and more rigorous course standards than NYU. Part of that is the LAC v. large university dynamic —Barnard provides an LAC-like atmosphere with access to the resources of a large university. My daughter was accepted to both, and is now a graduate student at NYU. She likes her graduate program but hates, hates, hates the red tape and bureaucracy at NYU and is extremely happy that she chose Barnard. But as you are a sophomore, there’s no reason why you can’t apply to both. Barnard’s admissions are significantly tighter than NYU – in other words, whatever your grades, your chances of admission at NYU would be higher – so Barnard should be considered a reach for most students, whereas NYU is a match for many (but a big reach for anyone who hopes to get a large scholarship at NYU)
Smartspencer, Calmom did a great job of answering your questions. But there is a LOT of discussion on this board on exactly these topics. Look back at older posts.