<p>To all current and former Barnard students, what do you NOT like about your school. I am seriously considering applying ED and would like to know as much as possible before I make the commitment.</p>
<p>I am NOT a student, but I am the mom of a current Barnard Junior. </p>
<p>I imagine she will say she does not like:</p>
<p>--the fact that during her four years at Barnard she gets to experience the construction of the new student center (currently known as the Nexus), but will not get to experience the benefits of the completed thing...
--the fact that it's over in four years...</p>
<p>I will ask her about this when she wakes up. She is home for all of one week before going back to NYC for the summer.</p>
<p>churchmusicmom: My girl feels exactly the same way. Nexus a sore point. She claims that a lot of the faculty took/are taking sabbaticals to avoid the noise so even the courses have been affected a bit.</p>
<p>But as soon as they leave all will be back to normal with this brilliant facility. It does seem a shame that they lost their student center and the campus is now so hard to negotiate.</p>
<p>Progress must happen, though.</p>
<p>i'm a rising sophomore who applied ED.</p>
<p>i agree with the moms: the construction sucks. but, it's ending at the end of the 2008-2009 year (i can be wrong though, i don't know...i just know that the class of 2011 gets two years with the "Vag"). (i never heard about any faculty taking sabbatical because of the construction, but i basically spend all of my time in the anthro department, so i wouldn't know otherwise. that's definitely a bummer though.)</p>
<p>this has been discussed to death, but i sometimes feel uncomfortable about the BC/CU relationship that remains so painfully ambiguous. this never manifests into my actual life on campus, but just when i think about it, or hear it discussed. </p>
<p>the Quad that first years must live in, with the full, required meal plan. if you have indoor allergies, invest in an air purifier (my first semester was miserable because of my allergies). and prepare to have your feeding schedule uncomfortably altered because of this. a lot of people claim that the meal plan is so convenient, but i have the argue the exact opposite: you feel guilty eating elsewhere, or even getting snacks to keep in your room because you're forced to pay for an amount of food you'd never really need (i think the plan is 18 meals a week?). plus, the structure of not being in control of your food is bad for someone who likes eating, say, five small meals a day instead of three larger ones. i blame this living structure on all of the illnesses i suffered freshman year and the frequent migraines i developed.</p>
<p>the weird feeling of being in "morningside heights" while being surrounded by harlem. i wish that the university did more the embrace the neighborhood rather than isolate itself from it. i'm so excited to being living at cathedral gardens next year (110th and Manhattan) and being primarily out of that neighborhood. (I guess this is a univeristy thing rather than a barnard thing).</p>
<p>Oh, yeah. The MEAL PLAN thing required for first years would definitely be a minus. But my d enjoyed her first year living in the quad otherwise. As for not being a part of the surrounding neighborhood, I know she has loved living in Plimpton....more of a neighborhood feel I think.</p>
<p>Also, I truly hope they come up with some other way to recognize the Vagelos family for their donation in support of the new student center. It's just very unfortunate (though kinda funny) that their name so easily shortens to the "Vag" just as the Millicent MacIntosh Center became "the Mac". Oh dear.</p>
<p>Ya gotta laugh, though.</p>
<p>I am also seriously considering applying early to Barnard next year, and I want to know something from some Barnard students...</p>
<p>Well, after doing some research and reading the discussions (that have been beaten to death) on this website, it really has been stressed that Barnard is an affiliate of CU...but of course, they are really very close. My question is this: do people really take time out of their schedules to argue this point when you are on campus? It seems to me that kids wouldn't really have that much time with classes and a social life. </p>
<p>I feel that if I was a Barnard student, I would have pride to be a Barnard student. But I wouldn't want to be isolated because of that status...I would want to socialize and be accepted by CU students, too. Is this really possible?</p>
<p>Thanks so much everyone! I'm now even more convinced I want to go to Barnard...those really don't seem like such negative things at all (especially since construction should be done by the time we (hopefully) get to Barnard), at least not negative enough to deter me from applying ED.</p>
<p>According to my D only a few ever say anything -- that it's a total non-issue. In the classes it's impossible to tell who is who anyway. You can be as involved or not involved with the Columbia community as you wish. All the Barnard women I know are very proud of their affiliation with Barnard College and would not want to be taken for a Columbia student. They truly love their school.</p>
<p>My D definitely does.</p>
<p>Baehrr09,</p>
<p>I've never really heard anyone talk about "the relationship" outside of the fireside chats with President Shapiro and Dean Denburg (and, of course, the heated discussions here at College Confidential). Those who do discuss it usually do so in an appropriate context (at a forum on related issues, for example). Those who choose to discuss it elsewhere or let it negatively affect their daily interactions...well, you probably don't want to be friends with them anyway. If they don't have enough other stuff (i.e. classes and activities) going on in their lives...</p>
<p>I second mythmom...every Barnard student I know is proud to be a Barnard student. Looked down upon or not, it doesn't matter to me. Barnard students are not isolated, singled out, or made to feel like the "other". If anything, those Columbia kids need us for access to better housing, better food, and, in some cases, more interesting and challenging courses.</p>
<p>Thanks so much. I really thought that it wasn't an issue at all, but sometimes these discussions on the internet can make real life seem like something it's not. I agree with fhg - I am really leaning towards applying early. Thanks again.</p>
<p>What I don't like about Barnard:</p>
<p>-Occasionally, I wish I didn't go to school in the city because 1) I tend to spend more money than my friends who DONT go to school in the city and 2) it changes the social scene, i.e., more people go out to bars where you spend money and hang out with close friends and random New Yorkers, instead of meeting more people on campus. That said, there are a lot of great opportunities to make money (Barnard BAbysitting is GOLDEN!! Easy to make $15/hour and you can completely choose your own hours). Also, there are still lots of things going on on campus - just not as many as at , say, Williams, where students can't really leave! That said, ultimately I wouldn't give up being in the city for these reasons. There are pros and cons and I feel like the pros outweigh the cons.</p>
<p>-The housing isn't great. But I don't really know anyone who loves the housing at their school, so I guess it's relative!!!</p>
<p>I agree with previous posters - the Barnard/Columbia relationship is really not an issue in real life, even though it seems like it is on this forum!! Most people dont know or dont care that you go to Barnard. Sure, you will hear the occasional "Barnard joke," but just take it in stride. Most columbia students are indifferent towards BC and have friends there; some are jealous we have better advising and no core; and yes, there's a few obnoxious people who think we don't "deserve" a Columbia degree and are bitter towards the Barnard girls who "pretend to go to Columbia." I've only really met one of these people, though, and, well, no one really likes him!</p>
<p>Baehrr09-
You will definitely not be singled out as a Barnard student with pride for your school; in fact, you will find yourself in very good company. Barnard pride is notorious on campus, especially with the popularization in recent years of the phrase "Strong, beautiful Barnard woman" on campus. ("Strong, Beautiful" was a much-praised and much-discussed song in the Columbia Varsity Show this year, and the Barnard store sells popular t-shirts with the same phrase printed on the front.) From my experience, with the exception of a few transfer students, most Barnard students have nothing but good things to say about their college. Barnard pride is palpable. For example, I graduated this week, and during the Columbia University Commencement, Barnard grads were visibly proud of our school and our out-going president, Judith Shapiro, who we have lovingly dubbed "J-Shap." We cheered and clapped whenever a Barnard alum received an honorary degree or medal from Columbia U, whenever a Barnard alum or student was mentioned, and whenever anything Barnard-related was praised. We were loud and proud of the college and its legacy. </p>
<p>Barnard spirit is alive and well, and there is nothing to be afraid of. In my experience, anti-Barnard comments made by Columbia students usually stem from misinformation or envy. They have misconceptions about the Barnard/Columbia relationship, and seem to forget that Barnard students are integrated into the CU community just as much as CC or SEAS students. Usually, these students are in the minority, and are usually ignored by people who know better. It is evident that, in general, we are happier with our educational experience. We get more attention from our administration and our community is smaller and more close-knit. In fact, having taken both Columbia and Barnard courses, I found that Barnard courses were generally more challenging and interesting because they were smaller and professors were more nurturing. I am not alone in thinking this. Many Columbia and Barnard students feel the same way. Anti-Barnard comments and Barnard jokes will always exist and are part of the Barnard/Columbia history, but once you leave Morningside Heights, none of this will ever matter. </p>
<p>And in case you were wondering, I received my Barnard diploma this week, on which "Columbia University" and "Barnard College" are printed in Latin, and is awarded by the Trustees of Columbia University. So, in the end, the Barnard diploma is also a Columbia diploma.</p>
<p>I am definitely feeling so much better about Barnard now. Thank you! And congratulations!</p>
<p>Congratulations, stillbits!</p>
<p>baehrr, hope to see you at Barnard in 2009!</p>
<p>Same to you :)</p>
<p>Thanks, Baehrr and fhg.</p>
<p>If either or both of you go to Barnard, I hope you will continue the tradition of celebrating Barnard and defending her against those who are misinformed about the Barnard/Columbia relationship. :) You have much to be proud of as a Barnard woman.</p>
<p>Baehrr and fhg,
Thanks so much for asking those questions. I, too, am seriously considering applying ED to Barnard in the fall, and the answers to those questions were precisely what I needed to hear.
Hopefully I'll see you there!</p>