Barnard College Top Questions

Freshmen start with first-year seminars and first-year english. These are VERY hit or miss. From my experience, mostly miss. But don't let these classes deter you. There are some really great classes/professors at barnard and also some really great classes/professor at columbia. There are a lot of resources to determine whether or not you are going to like a class before you sign up. Studying increases around midterms and finals time. Students run the gamut, from obsessive studiers to seldom studiers and everything in between. Most students talk about intellectual pursuits outside of class, but not as much as they might talk about other things. I would say students are generally uncompetitive (with each other at least) but I don't have a lot of experience with pre-med students. If you want to get to know your professors, you will be able to (in most cases). If you don't, it is definitely not a requirement. I'm in Political Science, and there are a ton of amazing professors at Barnard as well as at Columbia. The education requirements (9 ways of knowing) are annoying, but there is only one math and one year of science, so its probably more annoying for math and science students. There is a definite emphasis on learning for its own sake.

i loved all my classes. actually the only class i hated was the columbia class i took for my general education requirement. i avoid columbia classes. they are too big and too full of themselves. barnard has all the qualities of an ivy league minus the snootiness. i am very excited to take all the wonderful classes barnard has to offer to neuroscience majors. there all some top profs with excellent research work that will be teaching these classes and i am eager to learn from and with them. i am working with one of my profs now, over the summer, and it is such a nice experience. i am truly fortunate to go to such a good school.

Probably like most other colleges: freshman-year English professors (usually a class of 14-16) definitely knew our names/strengths/weaknesses...freshman-year Bio professors (usually a class of 200) definitely didn't know anyone's names. We definitely have intellectual discussions outside of class--especially regarding the Presidential primaries, going "Green" on campus, and quality of life/gentrification of Manhattan and Brooklyn (not just Morningside Heights).

I'm an English Major. Barnard's English Academic Department is comprised of an eccelectic group of Professors who range from film makers to creative authors. Each professor develops different types of relationships with their students, but in my experience, students are always encouraged to meet with professors to discuss their courses, experiences and goals. Although the coursework is difficult and professors expect a great deal from their students, it never seems impossible because the professors are so engaged in helping students achieve success.

Most classes are pretty small (max is 18), unless you're in a a big lecture class which can have up to 200 students. Studying is really important here, its not rare to find the library packed on a Saturday night. Professors usually will get your name, sometimes they're just bad with names and will slip up. Students are competitive, but I don't really feel that its competition with each other, but really with themselves. Honestly, you do have to shop for classes. In the first two years you want to balance the general requirement classes and classes that just interest you. Look up classes and really do research on your professors ( culpa.info). I've made the mistake of having a pretty miserable first semester because I just followed the "guide to your first year" and I didn't do much exploring of what I would like. I was focusing on getting my boring general requirements out of the way, didn't work out to well. Also, don't be afraid of your professors, they really are here to help you. The professors here have office hours and you can always email them; they're really accessible. Academics here are great, you just have to do research and don't just settle on a class because it fulfills a requirement, make sure it's also something you'll be interested in.

In big lecture classes, sometimes it is hard to get the professor to remember your name, however, if you talk to them after class and attend office hours they will certainly remember you. My least favorite class was Organic Chemistry because I studies a lot for it and it was still very hard. My favorite class was Molecular Biology, the professor was very clear, fun, and straight to the point. Class participation is pretty common and intellectual conversations definitely happen outside of class, students are often invited to Faculty House or to Professor's houses to get to know each other better and deepen their class discussions. Students are very competitive, and that might be overwhelming at times, but you just have to try to do your best and be yourself. I think that Barnard's academic requirements help students to become very well rounded individuals and open new opportunities. Education at Barnard is everything you would ask for-getting ready toward finding a jop as well as intellectual development.

nothing a girl who got in couldn't handle. great professors, but also great resources available if you're intimidated. nine ways of knowing kinda sucks, but it also gives us a chance to figure out what the hell we want to do with the rest of our lives.

some classes are more rewarding and stimulating than others

No matter how big your class is, the majority of professors want to know you - especially by name. Obviously if the class is larger it will take more effort on your part, but professors are interested and eager to know you. Class participation is common. Barnard students have a lot to say. It is not a place where people skip a ton of class. My favorite class...either Literature of the Harlem Renaissance or Reacting to the Past. Harlem Lit was SO interesting. My professor made the reading so accessible. It was much more than just a lit class. It was an experience in learning all about the time period: the history, the people, the role of New York City, the music etc. We even got to take a tour of Harlem. In Reacting to the Past, we learned history by doing. Class participation is a huge portion of the class, since we are creating our own version of history while learning about it. Students study a lot. Definitely daily. I work probably five hours a day outside of class. Of course, there are days I will do less and make up for it on other days. Your workload can be as large or small as you want it to be. Try to balance your semesters. Don't take five hard classes at once. I did that one semester and ended up working nonstop. College is about more than the academics - although they are important. College is about learning about yourself and growing. I think Barnard is the most nurturing and interesting environment to do that. The Psychology department is very large. There are a ton of Psychology majors. My advisor is fantastic. She really knows what she is talking about and gives great advice in all of my academic choices, not just the ones pertaining to my major. She also has taken a very quick and genuine interest in my life as a whole. The Psych department offers a wide variety of courses and labs and there is plenty of opportunity for research. While the classes are interesting and I have actually enjoyed all of the professors I've had, the classes are large, about 50-70 people, many of these being required courses. I often meet with professors outside of class, although this is a personal choice. Depending on the professor, they may be available anywhere from 2 hours to 10 hours a week. Barnards gen ed requirements, the nine ways of knowing, are great. They ensure that you get a little taste of everything, but that you have choice in these disciplines. Barnard definitely encourages learning for the sake of learning. You will not find course offerings like those of Barnard at any other school. The courses are unique and often interdisciplinary. I loved my class: Applied Anatomy of Human Movement. It merged the study of anatomy and dance. You couldn't find a class like this anywhere else. Barnard also works hard to take advantage of the city. We use the city as a classroom, visiting the Museum of Natural History for Biology and the Spanish Repertory Theater for Spanish Theatre.

Most classes (especially after your first year or so) are small enough that the Professor will know your name. I have found (with few exceptions) that the professors are open and willing to meet with you during office hours and other times to help you understand the material if needed. I am a neuroscience major and really enjoy my science courses. Most of the students are pre-med (not me), and so the classes can be competitive, but I have found that more often I bond with my classmates, especially in the difficult classes, and we all try to help each other out. I have never found it difficult to get notes on a day I miss or get some help on a problem set if I can't make it to office hours. In fact, I have had a fellow-student simply notice I did not make it to a lecture and then email me her notes without me even asking. As you go through your major at Barnard, being a small college, you are more likely to see similar people in your classes semester after semester, which can make group projects and even just studying for an exam much ore enjoyable.

Most of my classes at Barnard have been really good. I haven't liked all of them, but not necessarily because they haven't been good classes. The majority of my professors have encouraged a lot of student participation and questions, especially when there are break out discussion sections in addition to lecture. I have found the most competitive students to be pretty concentrated in the science courses, primarily because most of them are on the pre-med track. At least in the science classes is where the competition has been the most noticeable. My department, the religion department, is very small. I have gotten to know almost all of the professors, as well as the other majors. I feel like the department is very caring and nurturing, but not in an over brearing way. If you do not approach them for help or make an effort to get to know them the professors are not going to seek you out. I feel that there is a very nice atmosphere, and that it will be most visible during our two semester senior thesis writing seminar. Among my friends, our conversations range from what was just on America's Next Top Model to a theory that was recently proposed in a class to local event and articles in the Columbia daily newspaper.

Of course professors know my name, it's a small school. Where else can you hear the echoes of your name 10 miles away in another class? Barnard studnet do have intellectual conversations outside of class. And, at times, I find it funny because I do the same thing. Barnard classes and subjects surrounds our life and thought.

at barnard you will probably end up taking half your classes at barnard and half at columbia, although you can lean any way you choose to. classes at barnard are a great experience. professors are very passionate and communicative. professors usually know your name, except in some large lectures. classes are hard and grades will not be given away, but they are also not impossible. i have enjoyed my classes at barnard mostly more than my classes at columbia.

I have had class of about 100 students about twice, and both times, the actual Professor made a very concerted and success effort to learn all of our names. Favorite class: too many. Least favorite: Islamic Civ. I have had Professors meet me on the weekend. Class participation is practically a mandate of going to Barnard. Too often, you come to class with tons to say. Students are competitive, hard working, and very into their work. Professors are very available to meet outside of class for the most part, and most of the time are willing to be flexible in when to meet with you. I like the requirements, you can find more out about the 9 ways of knowing on the website. We do have a gym requirement though, which is good, but some people wonder why we still have it. I would say that Math classes aren't available in a Barnard environment, but anything we don't have is definitely available at Columbia (we have full access, we are an independent part of the Columbia University system, so we all take each others classes). Education at Barnard is about learning, learning how to think and apply knowledge. It isn't really job oriented. However, Barnard students often get internships or other relevent field work experiences and/or research awards in order to develop their resume and supplement their classroom experience. I sound like i could be a Barnard spokes woman, but this is really how I feel, and I really love Barnard. Learning is definitely very much for its own sake, although there is a bit of hype about grades, and many students are pre-professional.

Barnard classes will range from being very large to very small. In larger classes, whether or not a professor knows your name will depend on how much you talk to the professor and how thoroughly you go out of your way to make yourself known. Barnard is the type of school where help and attention will be given to you if you want it, but it wont just be offered spontaneously. Professors here expect that you'll ask if you want something and have no intention of babying you. If you dont come to class, no one will care (unless its a smaller class, in which case the professor might get annoyed), its your own decision and its up to you to decide how good of a student you want to be. I think this is true of college in general really. Your grade is determined in large part by how hard you're willing to work. As this is an intellectual campus, you can expect to talk about more than just the weather with your fellow classmates. Columbia and Barnard students really like protesting, so there is plenty of opportunity to discuss current events or things you learned in class in an ouside-of-class setting. On a similar note, class participation is fine for smaller classes, and is encouraged in seminars, but in a big lecture, not quite as much. If you have something intelligent to say, then fine, but if you are going to regale the class with a story about how intuitive your 3 year old cousin is, and how this relates to Freud, I assure you wholeheartedly that no one cares, and you will be generally hated for telling irrelevant anecdotal stories in class (again, this applies to all colleges. shut up in lecture unless you have something intelligent to say or unless you are going to ask a question. those of the not-obvious variety are preferred, but not required). General education requirements: known as "the 9 ways of knowing" (knowing you're educated? knowing you're a barnard graduate? i dont know, but they're 9 ways that you know). Instead of saying "you must take class XXXX", barnard gives you categories and asks you to take a class that fits into that category. no worries, its not a narrow pool to choose from. Example: for those of you that hate math, a class in logic satisfies the quantitative reasoning requirement. there are ways of getting around the stuff you dont like to do. Specific to me: I can really only speak for the science side of Barnard, being premed and a neuroscience major, but I generally find that students are competitive in a more subtle way. Science majors tend to be a bit more... aggressive in terms of work ethic. The neuroscience department isnt a real department, by which I mean it doesnt have its own faculty. As far as I can tell, the Bio and Psych departments had a play-date and the Neuro department was thus created. This creates a bit of difficulty when you're signing up for required classes for your major, because labs have to accommodate more students, but there arent enough lab sections made to do this efficiently. That said, I'm really glad there is a neuroscience department. Psychology wasnt rigorous enough for me, and I got really quickly bored in the upper level classes I took (this is just my craziness, dont think that this should reflect badly on the Psych department), and neuroscience is a really nice balance between the psychology and biology that interests me. Barnard has also recently made a big push to get women as involved in science as possible (largely due to the lack of women in the science community). Needless to say, a lot has been invested in the science labs and classes, so you can expect that the labs and equipment will be of good quality. Work load: A guess a lot by some people's standards, but considering the type of student that goes here, its certainly manageable and by no means unreasonable. There is a lot more work that goes into sciences, but I suppose I'm a bit biased in that regard. I dont considering being asked to read a novel a week or to write a few papers a semester to be exceptionally rigorous. One thing that surprised me a little is that the majority of classes will not have lots of little assignments. I took a class my first semester here in which the grade was based on a midterm and a final, each of which was 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the final grade. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but it isnt that bad.

Academics at Barnard are no joke. Students come here serious to learn, are not afraid of showing their intelligence and are ready to take the workload head on. But while Barnard students tend to be overachievers, the sense of competition is surprisingly low; students' good nature travels into the class room and most everyone is willing to help a fellow student out when it comes to studying and classes. An upside to the school's small size is how easy it is to meet with professors for help and guidance. Barnard professors are known for their willingness to work with students, keeping office hours and encouraging email. Most professors are on your side- and those who aren't can be avoided with the help of www.CULPA.info (Columbia Underground Listing of Professor Ability), a student-run site that profiles numerous University professors' habits and competence honestly. Another "best of both worlds" perks of Barnard is the opportunity to take Columbia classes without the burden of Columbia's infamous Core Curriculum. More flexible that Columbia and never requiring any one specific class, Barnard's Nine Ways of Knowing are nine categories, including Quantitative Reasoning, Historical Studies and Visual and Performing Arts, and students are required to take one class in each over their time at Barnard. The categories can be fulfilled with a broad range of classes, and fulfilling the requirements is often more rewarding and mind-expanding than burdensome.

every professor, except one, i am on first name basis with. i think that in order to get close to profs, especially first year, is to go to office hours. i learned that going to office hours of profs with 150 student lecture classes helps. they remember you, and like that you came to them, because a lot of students are too afraid. i've had some fabulous classes, and one that was absolutely horrible (and i expected better, from the english department). i think that some students study a lot, and some little. it depends on who they are. everyone, that i know, studies enough, and is concerned about classes and assignments. i think that some students are competitive, however, i haven't been in any small class where that is obvious. i have a unique relationship with the profs in my department, because i work there. i know them all, and they know me, even though i haven't taken a class with all of them. as a rising soph, i think this puts me in a good place. i think the 9 ways of knowing is great; it's better than core requirements, like at columbia. you can fulfill requirements in a variety of ways, instead of being forced to take specific classes (except first year english, unfortunately). as a humanities students, the math requirement was tough, but it's only one class. i think the 2 semester lab requirement is a little much. one should do. i think that education here is geated towards learning just for learning. many people have majors that are obscure, or would make it difficult to get a job after school.

very rigirous, but really worth is- the professsors are so caring, and if you want close relationships you can find it.

The classes are great, hands down. You have both small intimate seminars for, let's say English, where participation is not a chore but comes naturally because of the interesting topics. The lecture classes are usually not larger than 200, simply because the lecture halls are Barnard are small. If you want a big lecture, or simply a different class that isn't offered at Barnard, you can take anything except Core Classes at Columbia. Half my classes are there. Barnard classes are harder/easier than Columbia classes, just different. Perhaps Barnard inspires more creativity and Columbia is more strictly prescribed. But either way, the small intimate classes want more out of you in terms of a personal level, and the large lectures want to see you absorb information as efficiently as possible.

I found the professors at Barnard to be very accessible, supportive, and always willing to talk outside of class. Academics at Barnard are quite competitive, especially within the sciences, and there is a tendency among students to make the workload seem harder than it really is. After freshman year, and adjusting to the academic standards of college, the workload for most of my classes was rigorous but definitely manageable. I would recommend taking a combination of Barnard and Columbia courses. I absolutely loved my major, American Studies, but some of the key courses I took for it were offered at Columbia, and I don't think my experience would have been as fulfilling if I had stayed solely within the American Studies department at Barnard.