Barnard College Top Questions

That we are JAPs, or lesbians, or overly liberal girls who don't deserve to get a Columbia University degree at the end of 4 years.

Some Columbia students, mostly Columbia girls, argue that Barnard women are not as smart as CC students. Also, one occasionally hears that Barnard students are all lesbians.

Barnard is thought of as a liberal haven of fiesty women who seek a top tier education in an extremely broadminded campus. Barnard is also known as the "easy in" to Columbia, and it is sometimes seen as an ivy wannabe. Socially, Barnard women have the reputation of being promiscuous on account of the male-free campus, and Columbia women are known to dislike Barnard girls due to the competition they pose

Barnard is a women's college, so people like to make sweeping generalizations about the sexuality of the entire student body- most commonly that we're a testosterone-deprived and therefore desperate (read: easy) community of women ("Hey, let's go to 1020 and pick up some Barnard freshman!" - a joke at last year's Columbia Law Revue) The other obvious thing about Barnard to the general outsider is its relationship with Columbia Univeristy, and there seems to be this idea that all Barnard students would go to Columbia College if only they could, but they were just not quite smart enough to make the cut.

It really depends on which side of the street you're asking. On the west side of Broadway, anyone will tell you that "Barnard girls" are generally smart, studious, driven -- perhaps even a bit pre-professional, and stylish. On the east side, you might hear that they are slutty idiots who just couldn't get into Columbia College.