Thoughts on Barnard College

Hi everyone! I am currently narrowing down my college list and wanted to decide whether or not to apply to Barnard. I am pre-law so an affordable option would be great (My family is middle class so we won’t get a lot of financial aid). I am also planning on studying political science. If anyone could help me decide/give me their opinion/experiences that would be great! Here’s a pro/cons list:

Barnard College:

Pros
-Diverse
-Good study abroad program
-In NYC
-Nice poli sci curriculum
-ties to Columbia

Cons:
-Hard to get in
-women’s college (I’ve never been to an all-girls institution/don’t have a ton of women friends")
-expensive (don’t know if I’ll get much aid)

Run the FA calculators to be certain, but keep in mind that they are estimates, not guarantees of aid. If you can afford the application fee and have stats/ECs within range, it’s worth a shot to apply and see what happens.

How “pre-law” are you? What you don’t want going in to law school is pre-existing debt!

As for Barnard itself, I am not sold on your “pros” list: except for the ties to Columbia, I don’t see anything that is particularly characteristic of Barnard. There are other NYC schools, some of which are even more diverse than Barnard. Their PoliSci program is good- but there are dozens of other schools that are just as strong. More colleges have good study abroad programs than don’t. And it’s most distinctive characteristic- that the college itself is all women- you see as a “con”.

So, I’m left wondering ‘why Barnard’ really?

Barnard has a strong culture of its own- you might spend a little more time figuring out what they are looking for to see how good a match it is with what you are looking for.

People have been leaving New York City recently, particularly from Upper West Side addresses (see link). You may want to consider whether actively choosing an urban location for your collegiate studies makes sense at this time.

https://nypost.com/2020/11/14/new-stats-reveal-massive-nyc-exodus-amid-coronavirus-crime/