Wesleyan or Barnard?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wesleyan University
1

<p>Hi, I’m having a hard time deciding between Wesleyan and Barnard. I’m a potential English major (or something in that vein) from LA nourishing dreams of being a comedic writer. I’m interested in a bunch of different things, though, so I’m excited to get the experience of taking a lot of different classes in college. I’d want to get involved with writing for campus publications probably. I’m a good student—very interested in learning and getting a great intellectual experience—but I also love to party and don’t want to be sitting in a dorm room playing checkers for four years. That being said, here are my issues:</p>

<p>I love both schools for different reasons. Wes is a real college campus with interesting people, fascinating classes and professors, and a co-ed experience. I love that there’s a great on-campus social scene that’s varied; I’m really drawn by all the different social opportunities there. I love the housing (WestCo, woodframes, etc) and I love the open, relaxed vibe of the people and school in general. Kick ass school.</p>

<p>With Barnard, I love the location in New York City near places I would love to intern at (Daily Show, Colbert Report, etc) and the fact that it has an amazing writing program, a small community dedicated to the success of its women where you can have close relationships with professors, and the resources of Columbia. And I want to be a Barnard Bartender! So cool. It feels like a perfect combo: small liberal arts school, resources of large university, and all set in NYC—but just far enough away (in a super cute town—I love Morningside Heights!) that you’re not thrown into the midst of the city, like in NYU or Eugene Lang.</p>

<p>Negatives for Wesleyan: I’m afraid about it being in the middle of nowhere—not for the lack of something to do (not worried about that), but for the fact that I’ll be insulated from the real-world opportunities I would be able to have living in New York. You can’t beat New York, and I would love to get experiences interning while living in the city as a student—I’d hate to move there after graduation to try and get a job; it would be so much easier to get that experience as a student. This is the big one for me; how can I turn down an opportunity to live in New York with the support and guidance of a school behind me?</p>

<p>For Barnard, I’m afraid of the lack of a social scene, as people empty out into the city and so not much happens on campus, and I don’t know how I feel about being at an all-girl’s school after having done so for high school—I know it’s not fully co-ed because of the partnership with Columbia, but I like the idea of having guys actually part of MY community, with my school’s name on their sweater and actually having guys at my own graduation. I’m sick of girls! I’m also apprehensive about the monetary demands of living in New York City. Money is tight, and I got generous financial aid packets from both schools—a little more generous from Wes. I’m afraid a city-based social scene would tear my wallet up. And the relationship with Columbia seems complicated and has the potential to be fraught with tension and inferiority/superiority complexes, something I don’t particularly want to deal with.</p>

<p>I’m extremely torn, and the more I write it down, the less clear it gets! Any thoughts?</p>

2

<p>I mean, it seems like you have the pro-cons pretty well figures out, both generally and in terms of your own feelings. They’re both good school, but very different experiences, and it’s hard for us to tell you which to pick. </p>

<p>If you go to Wes, keep in mind, you still have the option of interning in NYC during the summers (many Wes students do), and hell, if you got a semester long internship in the city, you could always take the semester off to do that. I personally think the idea of having an internship during the school year that is more than two days a week sounds really (though less so if you could get a credit for it and therefore take less classes – I’m not sure if Barnard does that).</p>

<p>Also, a bit of food for thought: I thought I wanted to go to college in NYC, but then I realized I was really attracted to the campus experience. I realized that NYC will always be there, the college experience is once in a lifetime (and from Wes, you’re bound to have friends who are also moving there/have moved there, to help with the transition). </p>

<p>While going to school in NYC would obviously help you make even more connections in the city, Wes is pretty connected there too, and either way, you’re not garenteed a job straight away, no matter how much interning you do. There are lots of things that recommend Barnard, but I wouldn’t chose it JUST for the city. You spend a LOT of time in college studying, not making connections :D</p>

3

<p>First of all, congratulations! As you said, you have your pick of two incredible (but very different) choices. My sister went to Barnard (after she was rejected by Wesleyan) and you’re right, she was always bragging to me about the interesting job opportunities she found at the Barnard career center. Of course, not everyone is going to land an internship on the Letterman show, but, I can definitely identify with that desire.</p>

<p>That being said, have you actually visited Morningside Heights? If not, (or, even if you have) there are some things you should know: it is every bit as urban as the area around NYU, in some ways even more so; Columbia and Barnard are sort of like two islands of academia surrounded by a lot of people and institutions that have nothing at all to do with them. The Upper West Side of Manhattan is a lot of things (urbane, diverse, caffenated) but, “cute” would not be the first adjective I’d reach for. :)</p>

<p>Which is not to say that Middletown is anything to write home about either; it’s prudish, and quotidien in all the ways that Manhattan can be ravishing and electric. But, somehow the combination of the townies, the restaurants, the bump and grind of the student ghetto – seems to work. If you are looking for an atypical college town, one where you actually come across real people (who don’t all work for the university) yet doesn’t overwhelm the overall sense of college community, Middletown (and, maybe Providence) is your place.</p>

<p>One more thing: the Barnard campus is tiny and unless you are uncommonly monastic, you really won’t have much choice but to use it pretty much as a crash pad and nothing else. Some people thrive on the kind of constant motion you describe, of working at a demanding job and going to class at the same time, and you may be one of them. Just don’t kid yourself that you can “have it all” by going there.</p>

4

<p>Thank you guys. Super helpful stuff.</p>

<p>I have actually visited Morningside Heights and stand by my assertion of its cuteness; maybe my own perception is skewed from growing up in LA as I find urbanness charming.</p>

<p>So much to think about. I love being inherently indecisive… One thing I HAVEN’T done is visited Wesleyan, but I’m going to pretty soon. I’m hoping it will help things fall into place, one way or another.</p>

5

<p>I graduated from Wesleyan last year, and now I’m living in Morningside Heights (and working at Teachers College :slight_smile: ). I share your love for Morningside Heights, and I can definitely see the appeal of living here - it’s great! Easy to get to the rest of the city, but there’s a great, honestly diverse community (my neighbors are a mix of students & young professionals, and families who have been here for 30 years) with decent restaurants and all you need right here.</p>

<p>Wesleyan does not offer you a city experience. Like Weskid said, I think you have the pros and cons pretty well figured out.</p>

<p>From my perspective, while I’m having a great time living in NYC now and all the opportunities that affords me, I’m really glad I had a true “campus experience” while I was an undergrad. It allowed me to extremely close to other students at Wes, and immerse myself entirely in Wesleyan life. I never wanted for things to do on the weekends or restaurants to hit up when I wanted to splurge. Middletown is charming in its own (more subtle) way, too. I think going to a campus-y college for undergrad and then moving to a city straight out of college was the perfect combination. And now that I’m in the city, I have a strong network of fellow Wes alums to socialize with - I’m even living in an apartment with 4 of them!</p>

<p>The one really great point you make is internships. If you want to get your feet wet during the school year with internships, that’s almost impossible to do from Middletown, and obviously NYC is the place to be. On the other hand, I think you can still be successful in comedic writing without school-year internships. Many (most?) Wesleyan students get summer internships, often in New York. And there have been numerous successful comedic writers to graduate from Wes - for example, Craig Thomas and Carter Bays created the TV show “How I Met Your Mother.” They started out together as editors of The Ampersand, the weekly comedy/satire section of the Wesleyan newspaper, the Argus. The quality of the Ampersand has varied from year to year, but it’s a great opportunity to get involved and hone your skills. I’m not exactly sure what type of comedic writing you’re talking about… another successful pair of recent alums is the Stone twins, who mostly do standup.</p>

<p>I hope that helps a little bit… but it sounds like you know what your decision will come down to. Good luck!!</p>

6

<p>Thank you so much madjoy…that definitely helps address and qualm some of the exact fears I’ve been having. The Ampersand sounds like the exact thing I’d be into, and I love How I Met Your Mother (actually just watched a marathon of it today with my sister and kept thinking of the Wesleyan connection). I guess I’m just terrified of the idea of leaving college to go to New York City and throw myself into something I don’t know, as opposed to having the experience living there as a student…but again, that’s what life is supposed to be, isn’t it?</p>

7

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<p>Yep! If the only big thing holding you back from Wes is this fear, I’d definitely go with Wes – challenge yourself! And again, assuming you can afford it, summer internships will help with this, because it will give you a chance to experience living in NYC without having just uprooted your whole life to there. Or, if you have any interest in teaching, you could teach there for a semester “abroad” (I have a friend who did this and loved it, but she wants to be a teacher).</p>

<p>Besides, I’ve heard from some friends who went to school in NYC that the transition from student to worker in NYC can still be very hard. Obviously, it’s a different kind of challenge. But if you’re used to living in nice dorms, having a community of friends all around you, etc, it can be very disorienting to suddenly be in the same city, but instead be living in a small apartment, your friends are spread out across the city or somewhere else, etc.</p>

8

<p>Also (Sorry for double post–too late to edit the other):</p>

<p>It is unclear to me exactly why kind of career you want, but you should also think about whether majoring in film at Wes appeals to you. Although it is a theoretical major, alumni go on to work in the industry all the time, so if you want to write for TV/Movies, a film/English double major (or a film/writing certificate major/certificate) from Wes could do you very well. Our film major is very strong and has very active alumni.</p>

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<p>Weskid, that’s an interesting idea I hadn’t really looked into. I would love to write for TV, but my only worry is that a film major might be too intense for someone like me who’s really a writer at heart and doesn’t know much about the filmmaking aspect of the whole deal. Would that be a big obstacle? But it is a really good department and looks interesting, so I will definitely look into that–thank for the suggestion.</p>

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<p>Jerriblank- In that case it might be a problem because a film major at Wes has to apply (similar to the colleges). So if you don’t have the aptitute for that discipline to begin with, i’d stear clear XD</p>

11

<p>Ju_liaa, That’s not actually right. The major is NOT about filmmaking, even though many majors make films. It’s about film analysis and history and genre, which is super-useful for any wannabe screenwriter (for TV or film). </p>

<p>To get into the major, you just have to take two intro classes (History and Analysis), and get a B+ or better (and also have a B overall average). If you do that, you’re auto-in, no application. </p>

<p>If you don’t do that, you can try to arbitrate in, in which case saying you have an interest in the academic side or even writing is going to serve you much better than saying you want to make films/you’ve made so many films already, etc. </p>

<p>Jerri: I’m a film major who’s a writer at heart! You don’t have to know ANYTHING about filmmaking to get into the major or do well in it. You also don’t have to know anything about film analysis going in, you just have to work hard during the intro classes to get a handle on that (both profs of the intro classes will be useful if you go talk to them). </p>

<p>For the major, you do have to take a production class, but only one, which is honestly REALLY useful if you want to write for the screen, because you get a real sense of how the medium works, visually and in terms of editing (and you can take digital for that requirement, which isn’t nearly as hard as shooting on actual film). </p>

<p>Also, the major has a screenwriting class, which was great (and only open to majors), and you can write a screenplay thesis if you want (and even if you want to write for TV, writing a movie screenplay is a useful thing to try to get a handle on the format and writing for the screen). </p>

<p>So yeah, if you come to Wes, I really encourage you to at least take the intro classes to see how you feel about the major. The head of the department offers a class on comedy films, which is supposed to be great if you can get into it.</p>

<p>Also, if you’re into comedy performance at all, Wes has a bunch of comedy troupes (stand-up, short and long form improve, sketch comedy…). Most of them are pretty good. Even if you don’t like performing, I imagine getting to see what other young comedians are doing would be really cool for you – I have no idea what kind of comedy groups Barnard or Columbia has.</p>

12

<p>Haha ok sorry for the wrong info. The last wes alumni i spoke to gave the wrong information :/</p>

<p>Thanks for clearing that up!</p>

13

<p>Actually Morningside Heights is a “college town.” There are 35,000 students between these institutions: Columbia College, Columbia grad programs, Columbia Law School, Barnard, Jewish Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary and Manhattan School of Music.</p>

<p>The most likely person you’ll run into is a student.</p>

<p>I think both colleges produce creative, artistic people. DD chose Barnard; others would choose Wes. </p>

<p>I don’t think you can really make a mistake here.</p>

14

<p>Ju_liaa: No problem! A lot of people who are non-majors don’t really get what the major is about, in terms of analysis vs. creation, but it’s an important distinction (there’s a reason we’re a film STUDIES, not a film production major). And I could definitely see how a non-major might think there’s an application, especially if they had a friend who had to arbitrate in, since at that point it is like an application.</p>

15

<p>Also, rereading these posts, people do not just use Barnard as a crash pad. My D and her friends spent significant time at Barnard over the weekends and did not go into town clubbing. They did work and to unwind watched movies and old TV shows together, and maybe around 11 went out for a snack.</p>

<p>The is even more true now that the new Diana Center has opened. It’s a magnificent space that will really transform the Barnard experience and will bring other Upper Westsiders onto the campus.</p>

<p>Does that mean it’s a better place for you than Wes? Not at all. Wes is wonderful and can win many contests without having to mischaracterize the Barnard experience.</p>

<p>Good luck in your choice.</p>

<p>Barnard was my D’s dream school, and she is a straight, attractive, guy friendly girl. In fact, she had so many guy friends when of the reasons she wanted to attend Barnard was to make some close women friends, which she certainly did.</p>

<p>She is starting law school in Sept, living in Manhattan with another young law student she met at Barnard (different schools) and living her BF behind in Atlanta where she’s been living this year.</p>

<p>NYC provides an incomparable undergrad experience. That doesn’t mean it’s the best place for you. My S is in Williamstown, the complete opposite, through choice.</p>

<p>The ball is in your court.</p>

16

<p>I say go with Barnard. Their STRONG alumni network can land you a job anywhere. Good luck!</p>