Hello everyone, I am a high school sophomore getting ready to start making a list of schools to apply to. One of the schools that seems very intriguing is Barnard College! I would like to know what type of student is Barnard looking for in terms of stats, accomplishments etc. Thanks!
Hello! In my experience, the student scholars at Barnard College have a certain fit for the school. The acceptance rate for the Class of 2023 was 11.3% and is decreasing significantly each year. It’s becoming very competitive to get into, especially through RD.
First, Barnard students are PASSIONATE about what they want to do or study. They’re self-driven, intelligent, hardworking, and inquisitive. Stress culture definitely has a presence at this school, but students are rather competitive with themselves, than each other. Additionally, Barnard girls tend to be fashionable and dress very well. 
Second, the community at Barnard is very welcoming and supportive. You’re constantly surrounded by female professors who are not only experts in their field, but are truly dedicated to teaching and want to see their students succeed. The class sizes, including some
introductory science lectures, are fairly small and allow for students to get to know their professors personally. Third, Barnard’s education is devoted to empowering women and creating the next generation of female leaders, whether that’s in politics, medicine, acting, design, law, or dance. Many of the classes, including the First-Year Writing Course, Women and Culture, Bell introduce you to the way that women have been defined in literature and in society. For me, personally, these classes have helped form my own sense of identity and pride as a woman.
Barnard College is an amazing institution, and in my opinion, is a better deal than being a student at Columbia College (CC) (barnard’s co-Ed counterpart.) You receive the intense support and care of being a Barnard student, get to be in smaller classes with dedicated teachers, and learn the pride of being a Barnard woman and leader. Additionally, you don’t have to fulfill the cumbersome Core requirements of Columbia College, but explore many nontraditional and interesting courses through Barnard’s flexible Foundations requirements. (It’s a matter of personal preference.) You get to experience the best of ALL worlds: the privilege of a small, all-women’s liberal arts college, the resources of Columbia University and you’re entitlement to be a student of “Barnard College of Columbia University”, and the endless fun, diverse culture, and world-class institutions of New York City.
Keep up good grades and develop strong extracurriculars in the activities that you are truly passionate about. Barnard has a very holistic admissions process, and has admitted students with lower stats but passion and a lot of promise in their extracurricular or academic career, and has also rejected many students with 34-36 ACT scores, 1400-1600 SAT scores, and high GPAs.
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