Louise
I've only met a few individuals who have actually said that thought they couldn't get into Columbia so they applied to Barnard. The rest of the stereotypes are no more true here than any other school.
Katie
Almost all of these stereotypes are false. Barnard girls are a incredibly diverse group of girls. At Barnard anyone can find a huge diverse group of friends. The number of international students at Barnard (and Columbia University in general) I think is incredible, which makes for an interesting campus dynamic. Everyone at Barnard is very accepting and it is incredible how hard working and determined some of the girls here are. Many do incredible internship, service work, or are just really fun people. Even though most girls are inevitable bookworms because they are taking very challenging courses, they are usually pretty in tuned in to the world especially cause they are living in New York. Because New York is so exciting most girls make time to get off campus. On the other hand there are lots of girls who are just in the city to play hard and party hard, but there are actually less of those types than I thought there would be (and I believe every school needs some party people anyways). The only issue that I have experienced affiliated with the bitchy girl stereotype is that in a class with 200 Pre-Med girls things can get awfully tense and competitive. I personally do not like the all girls atmosphere, but have decided to stick it out because everything else at Barnard for me is perfect. You have to be able to handle a lot of estrogen tho because for a lot of girls its really hard to make guy friends.
Pauline
Yes, partially. Boys across the street.
Charlie
There is a large gay/bi community here at Barnard. However, it is probably no bigger than anywhere else. It is just more acceptable here.
Molly
The first three are, the last one is not. Most Barnard students I know did not even apply to Columbia because the schools are so different.
Alex
No. The reason most girls attend Barnard is because they chose to. I did not even consider Columbia University when I was looking at colleges. Also we are an all girls school but that does not mean we are all lesbians. There are lesbians as there are in every school around the country and we are proud they are a part of our community and support them. We are proud to be smart, strong intellectual woman who will make a difference in the world and someones socioeconomic class, ethnicity, or sexual orientation does not matter, rather it adds some flavor to our school.
Kendall
No, alas. Try the stereotype of the spoiled, rich, fashion-obsessed girl instead.
Laura
Barnard students are highly motivated, and it would take a long time to find a barnard girl without leggings, skinny jeans or ballet flats. But while feminist lesbians feel at home and are welcomed here at Barnard, there are no more of them than you would find at any other school. And as for not getting into Columbia, a lot of us never even applied! And I actually know a couple of girls across the street at Columbia who didn't get into Barnard.
Parker
Nope. Of course you'll find girls at Barnard who know all the latest fashion trends and have the money to keep up with them, but there are girls like that everywhere. And just because these girls are obsessed with handbags and heels doesn't mean that they aren't smart. Ninety percent of the students I've met at Barnard are driven and passionate about what they're doing. They may be passionate about something I'm not into (being the next CEO of Goldman Sachs, for instance) but I love that students here care about what they're learning and where they'll be in the next ten years.
carly
there are lesbians everywhere