<p>I’m a junior in high school, and I’m planning to visit Barnard in a couple weeks. I’m really excited about my trip, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice/ideas for getting the most out of my visit. It’s part of my visit to a lot of other East Coast colleges, so I don’t have a lot of time, but is there anything in particular I should try to see? Should I sit in on a class? Should I go off campus, and if so, where? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>Are you going to do an overnight? It really does show you a ton of what there is to see at Barnard: you sleep in a dorm, eat Barnard food, and if your hostess doesn't ditch you completely, you get to visit other dorms and meet a ton of other Barnard girls, doing Barnard things. And then you have the whole next day to explore the neighborhood and visit the classes that are outlined on a handy little chart.</p>
<p>No, I'm not doing an overnight. I read that was mostly for seniors, so I might plan on doing one next year, they sound really helpful. This is more of a preliminary visit I guess. Next year I'll probably go for an overnight and an interview.</p>
<p>Definitely go off campus--explore the neighborhood as much as you can (I recommend Riverside Park), and visit other places in New York, so you can figure out if you actually would like to live in this city (or any city, instead of the suburbs or the country) for four years. When I first visited Barnard, I didn't visit a class, I just wanted to get a feel for the campus and I did this by walking around and by sitting in Mac, the student center, for a while. But you could try to visit a class.</p>
<p>If you are a dancer you should e-mail them and ask if you can take a class.</p>
<p>I definitely second scarfmadness' suggestions. Come to campus and "be a student" as much as you are allowed. Buy a cup of coffee and sit in Mac for a few minutes. Visit some classroom buildings and get a feel for the place. If you can sit in on a class, great! It will help you get a feel for what the place is like. I don't know if you'd want to do it, but if I'm ever just standing around outside or in a hallway, I sometimes get questions from prospective students or their parents about campus life, dorms, etc. I imagine that can be very helpful also.</p>
<p>However, I also suggest, like scarfmadness, that you get off campus and explore. The city really is your campus, as you'll be spending a significant amount of time off campus as well as on. Eat lunch at Ollie's or Koronet Pizza. Walk to Hungarian Pastry Shop and buy an eclair, note what things you see as you walk by. Buy a 24-hour unlimited ride pass for the subway and off at a few different stops (and not just the tourist-y ones like Penn Station or Times Square) just to see what's there. I definitely suggest the Not-For-Tourist's Guide to NYC if you can get your hands on one. It definitely helped me when I got here, and you can plan things out so you can fit maximum fun into a limited time!</p>
<p>If you like reading visit strand. There's no better bookstore imo. </p>
<p>I was wondering if I should come in with a friend to sit in on classes and such. None of my friends are really into the same fields as I am so they wouldn't enjoy the classes. But that leaves me alone with my parents to sit in on the classes. That creates its own problem since I want to major in something they would never approve of. So do you think I should just come up and sit in on some classes on my own?</p>