Barnard College Top Questions

Although Barnard is fairly diverse in all sorts of ways, it is predominantly left-wing and predominantly Jewish. The great thing is that, though you may be in the minority as a Buddhist or a conservative (or lesbian or black or from a low-income family... etc...), there's very little chance that you'll feel discriminated against either by students or by the faculty or administration. On the contrary, I think Barnard students are exceptionally open to different kinds of backgrounds and are genuinely interested in learning from each other. The one thing I have noticed is that there are VERY few black professors at Barnard. Maybe one or two. It's outrageous and the school should be doing more to recruit faculty that is just as diverse as the student body.

Nice, a cool mix of people.

The campus is predominately liberal, although we do have a vocal Republican minority. Politically, everyone gets very involved in campaigns and local issues (such as the Manhattanville expansion controversy). Students here are usually Harvard level students who are too laid back, undecided, or lazy to go there, and who spend their weekends alternately cramming for their finals and papers and cheking out the museums they get into for free and shows they get for half price.

see above. although I'd say people tend to be on the wealthy side there is a sizable population of kids on workstudy. most students are from the tri-state area.

Partially because Barnard is so integrated with the Columbia community, there are student groups of every conceiveable type on campus. Most of the students are very politically aware, and the majority are quite liberal.

There are a mix of students, however, they are predominately wealthy and white with some variations.

There's a huge Orthodox Jewish population at Barnard. There's a lot of athiests. There's a lot of girls from poor families, but more from wealthy backgrounds. Some girls are into fashion and others just wear sweats to class. People tend to stick with their own cliques, but have all sorts of friends. A lot of people are from NY/NJ/CT and a lot are from CA.

Barnard is somewhat diverse, although the majority of the students seem to come from the middle- upper class in terms of financial backgrounds. There are many different religious groups, although the majority of students are Jewish or Christian. African American or hispanic student groups are huge minorities. Many communities remain insular although many students make an effort to befriend students who are different to them. Many students are politically aware, and most are left politically.

In terms of students and diversity, most people are friendly with oneanother, though there will always be groups or cliques: African Americans, multiethnic, Asian Americans, Eastern Europeans, Latin Americans, the athletes, the dancers, the trust-fund kids, the Orthodox Jews, the pre-med kids...there will always be groups people migrate in, but this is because they identify with oneanother, and thus spend time together. Its not exclusive, and people often have friends from all different groups. Thats what I love about Barnard; the diversity and the friendliness. You can be yourself and others will also embrace that, whatever you choose. There are Barnard women from all over the country and the world. I have friends from the city(Staten Island, Brooklyn, the Bronx), New Jersey, California, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Maine, Tokyo, India, Spain, Miami, etc. Most of them come from more liberal areas, because it is a very left wing school. Students are very politically aware and active, and take part in rally's/protests...speak their minds to make change. Last semester, there was a racial incident on campus where a noose was hung on an African American teacher's door. There was alot of protest and rally from the college/university, as well as the surrounding neighborhood to let everyone know that intolerance and hate is not tolerated...thats pretty much the only thing that is not tolerated. In terms of groups to join, there are so many. I am African American, so I attended a few BOSS(Black Organization of Soul Sisters)meetings. I was not an active member though, because my life primarily revolved around dance, both academically and extracurricularly. There is a student group for almost every racial, ethnic, religious, special interest group. There will be a niche for you, I promise. And if for some reason you feel that there is an area lacking, you can always start up your own group and get funding from the college. In terms of socio-economic status, there are people from all classes as well, because even though its expensive, there is alot of assistance given/financial aid. I want to say that no one would feel out of place at Barnard. I think there is a place for everyone. Obviously though, if you didn't like the city, didn't want a small school, didn't want all girls(though thats not as big a deal as you would think) and didn't want a liberal, opinated environment full of diversity, where everyone is different and special, then you might feel a little out of place. But only a little, because you would quickly find out that Barnard is like no other, and would be fun years of trying something new.

The student body at Barnard is incredible; the women here are smart, gorgeous, articulate, and interesting. Students here are usually political aware and conscious of what's going on in the world.