Barnard College Top Questions

Barnard students, especially the freshmans, party alot.

People in sororities are few. There are a good amount of campus activities like plays and student organization parties and events, but mostly the social life at Barnard is Manhattan. Barnard is very academic as is Columbia, so I find that the social life is lacking. If you want a social life, you have to find it outside the college or work hard to establish one on campus.

Most popular groups: (from my perspective): The student councils, the Asian American Alliance and all the groups under that umbrella, the South Asian social, political and dance groups, Political groups in general, religious groups, esp, Hillel and MSA (which I'm involved in), the Student Councils are very active. In the MSA and the SGA we work very hard to serve student interests by plannign unique events (Big Sub-a day where we have one sub go all the way across campus) Midnight breakfast-night before the first day of finals in fall and spring semester the admnistration, including the President and deans serve the student body breakfast form 11pm-1am in the gym. MSA- we have Ramadan meals every week-night, and many students get together for suhoor. If I am awake at 2AM on Tuesday night I am either answering/writing e-mails for things I'm involved with or doing work and maybe chatting depending on whether it's a stressful time period. Many students go to the library and many don't. I've gone down to the lower east side to study on a monday night. ON the week-end, we eat out, sleep, go out in the city, stay on campus on go to the many on-campus events/dinners/parties/observe religious holidays. I met my closest friends through our commonality in religion and MSA and student involvement. In case you haven't noticecd, students are very involved. IN the first year dorms, people are very friendly, and upper classmen dorms tend to be a little more independent, and often people live with/near their friends after first year.

Because Barnard and Columbia share most things (this really is not as confusing as everyone makes it out to be) there are a lot of clubs to choose from. There is everything from culture clubs to an S&M club (I'm so not even kidding). There are also a lot of different community service groups. The two that I'm most involved in are Peer Health Exchange and CU Medical Brigades. PHE is an organization that teaches health education to urban high schools without a health edcuation program, and CU medical brigades organizes a trip to Honduras to help run a local clinic for a week (different colleges across the country rotate in and out of the make shift clinic, so its not as though it just falls apart when we leave). There are guest speakers all the time, you'll get enough fliers to make you crazy. As I mentioned previously, its not as though there's a surplus of boys on campus, but thats not to say they're impossible to find. Just dont expect them to show up at your dorm, you have to make a bit of an effort if you want to meet anyone. Making friends is relatively easy. Most of your friends will be people on your hall. I met almost all of my closest friends simply because I lived near them, but I also met a lot of the people I'm friends with now sort of randomly. There are generally a few parties going on every weekend. I personally find going out and drinking for the sake of drinking to be impossibly boring, so I'm always on the lookout for something more dance-oriented (like any college, alcohol is easy to find, but you'll need a fake if you want anything thats a grade above cat urine). Frats and sororities are kind of prevalent, but unless you're in one, you dont really hear about them at all. They arent a super big deal on campus (you're better off at a place like UVM if thats what you're after). There are about a million movie theaters, as well as museums and broadway shows (Which barnard gives you discounted tickets for, and the seats are sometimes actually really really good). Campus traditions: - midnight breakfast: see previous explanation - orgo night: also the night before exams start, the columbia marching band comes to the quad at 12am and plays music for an hour, and then everyone throws all their notes and papers from the semester out of their windows. it sounds stupid but its the best night of the semester, even if you have an exam at 9 the next morning (speaking from experience) - the big sub: or some witty name involving "sub", I forget what exactly. Basically, a 700 foot sub sandwich is set up on campus, and then starting at 7 we get to eat it. As this is a campus filled with hormonal women, the sub is typically consumed within 10 minutes. - take back the night: a protest to end sexual violence. its a good experience, but also kind of intense - certain dances are held by clubs every year, as well as a number of cultural events and shows and whatnot

Barnard is in and of New York City, providing Barnard students with countless opportunities for culture and nightlife. "Student activities" exist on campus, but for many "student activities" means local bars, performances and other city-specific activities like movies, restaurants, relaxing in any number of parks, etc. For others New York means museums, film festivals, Yankee games, galleries and, of course, shopping. Basically, student activities and social life overflow from campus and into Manhattan. As for campus activities, Barnard students participate equally in all Columbia groups, including athletic teams and all student groups. Dance and a capella groups are popular, as well as religious and political groups. While Columbia competes in the Ivy League, sports are basically a joke-- athletes aren't super stars like they might be at Duke or UNC. Fraternities and sororities are popular in their own circles (Barnard girls an pledge just like Columbia girls) but a small percentage of students actually go Greek, as it really does not dominate the social scene. For the most part no one group or activity dominates the social scene: Barnard and Columbia students tend to be pretty independent and urban-minded, making their weekends look like pretty much whatever they want.

we rarely stay on campus on weekend nights. it's ny, and ny has a lot more to offer than a college campus does, no matter how hard they try. some do stay; there are frats, and other dorms, but generally, the city has more to offer. i feel like there's not much you can do on weekend nights except party, although if you're not into that, you're probably friends with like people, so you don't have to worry. and my friends and i don't go out every night. it is barnard, and academics are important. i've stayed in doing homework on weekend nights. i've also stayed in and just hung out with friends, watching movies or whatever. i like how the school isn't totally into partying, like a lot of other schools are. i like the balance. i like how i don't have to feel weird if i don't feel like partying on a saturday night sometimes.

NEW YORK CITY!!! Make the best of it...

There are lots of options for socializing at Barnard. Lots of students go out to bars on the weekends, sometimes in the neighborhood around campus, sometimes in other parts of the city. If you want do this, it is vital to get a fake ID. If not, you're in New York, and there is, of course, a lot of other stuff to do. It's important to remember, though, that it takes a good deal of effort and exploration and trial-and-error to find YOUR New York, to discover the scene that appeals the most to you. There are also a lot of fun events happening on campus, like student shows and guest speakers. Fraternities and sororities exist, but they're not that popular. I met my closest friends on my freshman year floor. Before going to Barnard, I read in some college guide that the dating scene was competitive, because there are so many more girls than guys. As it turns out, this really is the case. Making friends with guys and finding boyfriends--especially in a casual, sober setting--is not the easiest task, but it can be done.

Activities... Arts is huge on this campus. Dance, theater, music, singing, there are over 50 clubs dedicate to the arts, each with it's own speciality. You can find your niche here. I ended up joining a dance team thats specific to the folk dance of Northwest india. If i can find that, you can find anything. Religious, cultural, politically active groups on campus are huge. As are pro-environment ones. Student government is good. They do a lot of good work, but are still somewhat detached from the students. Social Life.. It's nyc. Enough said. If you dont have a social life here, you wont be able to have one anywhere. I typically go out/downtown 1-2 nights a week, I would stay around campus for parties another 1-2 nights a week. We definitely live the work hard, play harder mentality. If you are worried about meeting boys and dating life at an all-women's college, just stop. Not only is columbia literally right across the street, but it's Manhattan. 3 million men in a 10 mile radius.

Lots of people are involved in community service groups. Other popular orgs are the Columbia Spectator (daily newspaper), the College Democrats, and dance groups. Lots of dancers go to Bnard. Nobody goes to athletic events, but everybody works out. There are lots of cool guest speakers. Lots of Bnard girls date Columbia guys and also guys from other schools (or not) in NYC. My closest friends were my freshman year hallmates. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I'm probably studying at the library - the Columbia library, Butler, is super intense. On a Wednesday though, I might be at a bar drinking. Got to balance it all. People party at Morningside bars. You'll always find people you know there on weekend nights (Thurs-Sat). There are also dorm parties and frat parties, but the frat scene is pretty small. People also go to bars and clubs downtown. You need a fake ID as a freshman!