<p>well…I was looking through the college confidential website and in years past, the girls (and moms of the girls) have started a kind of “support group” to get each other through the horrible application process…i just figured it was about time that we start one so that we can help each other get through…so…if you are applying please post so that we can all calm down together (oh…and put if you are applying regular or early)…good luck to all of you!!!</p>
<p>Hi bamagal! I'm in the process of applying to Barnard... I need to finish the common app online and the supplement. I'll be applying regular decision. I love NYC, but have never visited Barnard. My expectations are high, though, based on all the wonderful things I've heard. :)</p>
<p>Out of curiousity, where else are you applying? It looks like my final list is going to be Barnard, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Fordham, and Hofstra. (That list has changed soooo many times in the past year... but I'm pretty sure that's final.) ;)</p>
<p>Hofstra??? (i have never heard of it)...well....Barnard is my main choice but i am also applying to NYU, BU, Bowdoin, University of Alabama at Birmingham (safety)...not that long of a list, but i really really really want to go to Barnard so i am hoping that it works out</p>
<p>if you dont mind me asking, what are your stats?...i just want to make sure that i am not completely out of league applying to barnard...</p>
<p>ACT: 32
GPA: 3.86 unweighted; 4.3 weighted
My School Does Not Rank
Lots of EC's, etc.</p>
<p>come on yall...someone should join the group...i know that i am not the only one that is worried...we all need someone to vent to sometime!</p>
<p>bamagal whats your name and which school do you go to?</p>
<p>Mathwizard, Bamagal should not give you her name and location on these boards. Maybe she will PM you with that info. But you should never give out that kind of info here, nor should you request it. But it is "cool" to make connections and you can feel free to do so using private messages!
All the best to you!</p>
<p>From another "Bamagal"~ :)</p>
<p>why...do you know me...maybe (cause that would be cool)...well...i know this group is dorky but you know...im trying here</p>
<p>I'm applying RD!</p>
<p>i'm applying RD also</p>
<p>HI
I am new to this site. My daughter wants to apply ED to Barnard and I am very nervous about it. I feel I am taking a risk and may be shortchanged on teh financial aid end. THis is her first choice school and the deadlines are approaching. It seems ED applicants have a slight advantage over RD applicants because of the smaller pool but then we are committed.... and we are wondering about other excellent womens' colleges in the Northeast as well?? Help! THis is not easy.</p>
<p>I cannot speak to other women's colleges. My d never even considered a women's college until she "found" Barnard and fell in love with it. It is certainly NOT a typical women's college in that the resources (both academic and social...ie men) of Columbia are immediately at hand. </p>
<p>Have you run all the fin aid calculators to determine your EFC? Does what you come up with seem workable? If so, I rather expect Barnard's aid to be a bit better than what you get. In our case, it was some better than expected. Not an easy thing, mind you, but a bit better. </p>
<p>Have you and/or your daughter visited Barnard as well as other schools? If not, I STRONGLY encourage you both to go there. If you feel as we did, I think your questions will be answered....</p>
<p>Best to you!</p>
<p>BTW, my daughter did not apply ED to Barnard. But you are correct, chances of admission would probably be improved in the ED pool of applicants.</p>
<p>bjacobsen, my D looked at Smith, Wellesley and Bryn Mawr as well as some coed schools. She did not apply to Smith or Bryn Mawr although my wife and thought they were wonderful schools. In my D's case it was New York as well as the semi-coed environment that attracted her. For HS she had gone to a girls' boarding school on the same campus as a boys' school, so she was used to that kind of environment. I realize that is a little late for a visit before the ED deadline, but if my opinion helps your daughter has picked a wonderful school.</p>
<p>My daughter applied RD; the financial aid package from Barnard was significantly better than that offered by other colleges - about $9K better than offers received from U. of Chicago & Fordham. The Barnard financial aid office has been wonderful -- in fact, we learned a few weeks ago that the grant had been increased. </p>
<p>That being said, all situations are different; and even with generous financial aid, we are paying well beyond the federal FAFSA EFC. </p>
<p>I would suggest that you contact the Barnard financial aid department and ask whether there is someone there who can talk to you about your financial situation and a likely award. </p>
<p>I would note that I am glad that my daughter had the opportunity to compare awards in the spring. Banard gives only need based aid, and my feeling is that Barnard will probably give you as good a need-only package as you will get anywhere, or close enough that it wouldn't make a difference in terms of college choice -- but of course financial aid might be better at a college where your daughter qualifies for merit aid. So I think the first step is to make sure you are comfortable with the numbers that you see with online financial aid calculators -- sometimes even the best-case scenario figures can be a shock for families who consider themselves to be middle class.</p>
<p>Yes we visited last spring and at the all day fall open house. She hasn't budged in this being her first choice. She has an interview soon but the overnight is after the deadline! Thanks for your insight. I will pass it on to my husband.</p>
<p>Thank-you. Actually we have visited twice and she is going for an overnight but that is Nov. 15 which is the deadline. I appreciate your insight.Thanks so much</p>
<p>My daughter never did an overnight at Barnard -- in fact, both her initial visit and her admitted student visits were quite brief. She didn't attend any classes while visiting either. She did spend time on her first year with a current student, who is also an older friend from home and happened to have similar interests, so was taking many of the same courses that my daughter would expect to take. </p>
<p>I think what sold my daughter on Barnard was the on-campus interview and seeing the Columbia campus. She is very happy with her dorm room, though she like the NYU "dorms" better -- NYU housing is all in regular apartment buildings, so they don't have any corrider-style dorms, so of course it seems nicer. And of course my daughter would much prefer a co-ed dorm, which is not an option for first year students. (Actually, she told me the summer before her senior year that she woud be very happy living on single-sex floor, provided that it was the boy's floor. :D ) </p>
<p>But my daughter was pleasantly suprised about the size of her room, and I think that living in a urban highrise corridor-style dorm is pretty much exactly what you would expect.</p>
<p>Continuing on with what Calmom said, my d's housing experience her first year was much the same. She was happy living on the quad at Barnard in the corridor-style dorms. Her housing this year, though, is WONDERFUL. She is in a "suite-style" dorm. Specifically, it's a five-person suite with a full kitchen. Each girl has her own room and they share a bath. This apartment-style dorm is just off-campus from Columbia. </p>
<p>She also stayed in an NYU "dorm" during a dance intensive one summer. It was roomier but did not have a kitchen and my recollection is that it was more run-down...</p>
<p>We tell our daughter that this is probably the nicest place she will ever be able to "afford" in NYC and to enjoy it while she can. And she does!</p>
<p>;)</p>