<p>I will be applying to Barnard - as well as to Wellesley, Smith, Bryn Mawr, Vassar and maybe Wesleyan - next year. I am trying to get a handle on what current students (and parents) think is really special about their college.</p>
<p>I will be doing the ‘Grand Tour’ of the aforementioned schools during my spring break in March, but thought asking this question would add a dimension to my decision making. If one school jumps out as really special, I may apply ED.</p>
<p>Thanks y’all.</p>
<p>Florus, you have picked some of my favorite schools from my daughter's college tour. Part of the difference is physical setting. Barnard is in NYC, and the city is part of the campus in a way. There is a subway station just outside the quad where the first year students live. Lincoln center is a short ride. Many museums are free to the students.
Another difference is the proximity of Columbia. Bryn Mawr is about one half mile or so from Haverford its associated coed school. Wellesley is 45 min from MIT.
The student bodies are diverse on each campus, but my daughter thought that each had its own character. Smith seemed left wing although there is a college republican web site. Wellesley seemed to have students who were very well spoken even to a fault. Barnard students struck her as more down to earth.</p>
<p>Down to earth sounds good, Mardad. Does the fact that all of NYC is part of Barnard's 'extended campus' mean there is less student cohesiveness than there might be at say Bryn Mawr, where the 'real world' is not constantly beckoning?</p>
<p>Also, do you think students would need a lot more spending money at Barnard than at the other schools I noted? That concerns me a little. What might be a suitable weekly 'allowance' for non-school stuff?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Florus:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=291298%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=291298</a>
Looks like it's about $500 a semester.</p>
<p>My daughter does not seem to feel that there is any lack of student cohesiveness at Barnard AT ALL! I think you will find it remarkable when you visit in March, that when you walk through those gates into Barnard's little "world", you are quite....enclosed (best word I can think of right now). Columbia across the street has the same remarkable feel, only on a larger scale. And as a first year at Barnard, you live on the quad so you are very much surrounded by your peers.</p>
<p>As for $$, we deposit $60/week into our daughter's account. She also has a work-study job...</p>
<p>You can live quite well as long as you don't spend all of your money eating out a lot or going to (full price) shows and such. Oh, and you get the chance to do things like see "A Chorus Line" on Broadway FREE (which my d is doing next week!). She has also had the experience of auditioning for that particular show twice and doing well each time. Not something you could do as a dancer while attending any other school (and studying neuroscience).....That is priceless!</p>
<p>And a pretty good "snapshot" of the kind of varied and amazing experiences Barnard has to offer.</p>
<p>I have so much reading to do for tomorrow that I started reading this post thinking only negative things about Barnard. But really, I can't imagine being any place else, and so this will be quite a cheesy post.
What's best about Barnard is not just New York--though there's an unending amount of things to do, lots of ways to earn money so you can actually do those things, incredible people to see, that awesome feeling when you see a movie or read a New Yorker magazine that you are intimately familiar with these places. It's not being able to take public transportation wherever you go, or feeling overwhelmed because you set yourself a goal to try every authentic New York cheesecake within a 20 block radius and you don't know how you'll ever manage to eat it all.
The best thing about Barnard is the professors. I had amazing teachers in high school, and I came in with high standards. I don't know that I really expected my college education to match that of high school - I guess I imagined large, disconnected lectures and whatnot, even though I knew that wasn't what Barnard was about. I have connected with so many professors here that I'm always inspired to do my work (yes, even the 100 pages of reading I have for tomorrow.. oy) because I want to be able to converse on their level and do well for them. All those schools you listed will have phenomenal professors, but I think Barnard in particular has excellent faculty because they are drawn to the city.<br>
Good luck with your choice - I hope you come and visit our beautiful campus and think about becoming a strong Barnard woman!</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your carefully thought out responses. I am getting so pumped about my visit to Barnard in March! I am truly impressed with what I hear! </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>