Barnard College Top Questions

"Small liberal college in the best city in the world with all the perks of a big university across the street," is exactly what admissions office will tell you and they're right. If you love the city, but still want a campus that feels like home... If you want to be surrounded by the most intelligent, driven women you'll ever meet in your life... If you want all the resources of a huge university, but the care and attention of a small school... If you want a solid liberal arts base, but the opportunity for great work experience during your time in college... If you want to feel like you're part of a greater legacy and network of alumnae... Then Barnard is the place for you.

I love Barnard. It's a clode-knit community of amazingly motivated and socially-conscious women. I have made the best friends there. People are often scared of the whole all-girls thing, but it honestly is not a problem. Freshman year can be a little rough, but now I feel fully integrated into the Columbia community and have just as many guy friends as girlfriends. I feel like Morningside Heights (the neighborhod of both campuses) is my home. It's kind of like a college town in the middle of New York City. It's where I spend most of my time although I try to go explore other areas of the city as well.

It's a small intimate environment that really creates adult women who genuinely care about helping the world around them. These women really care about learning as well, and very much enjoy learning. Many many students go on to become Phd students as a result of this environment. It takes an unusually independent minded woman to decide to go to an all girls school, and so Barnard attracts a lot of liberal thinkers. NYC of course is fabulous as a college town. There is ALWAYS something to do. I would say the Career Development office does a very good job of taking advantage of the job and internship opportunities in the city. Barnard academically also takes good advantage of the city. For my art history class we visit museums constantly.

I love Barnard. It's the only school where you have the advantages of a small college (amazing advising system, more approachable administration) plus the advantages of large ivy-league university (tons of great classes and famous professors, high-profile speakers like Ahmadinejad and Natalie Portman) AND! a campus but also the city at your fingertips. It's an amazing combination! Sometimes when I tell people I go to Barnard they're like "Oh...how do you like it being around all girls?" but I don't really feel like I go to a women's college. While the freshman dorms are single-sex, all my classes and extracurriculars have guys in them and I have several guy friends from Columbia. Your experience can be more or less "Barnard" or "women's college" depending on your own decisions and wants.

Very good education but lacking in community. There is little connection between the students and it can be very isolating. Extremely heavy work loads but the classes are normally very good. Its great living in NYC but very expensive to do anything.

The best thing about Barnard is the advising system and the sense of community that you feel on campus.

-Best thing about Barnard: an intimate community, integrated with NYC (can be as anonymous as you would like by wandering away from Morningside Heights and into the city) -Worst thing: Combine Barnard and Columbia housing...while Barnard girls can live with Columbia, would be a more unified community if everyone was living together from day 1 (if necessary, have an all-girls Barnard option) -many racial controversies over the past year -Barnard is very unusual- in a good way. It is impossible to explain and can only be understood if you are a Barnard student. My love for Barnard has grown immensely as the years have gone by. While Freshman year was difficult, I am going to be a senior at Barnard and could not be freaking out more about graduating. Barnard forces you to become an individual and to just be completely comfortable in your own skin.

I get different reactions when I tell people I go to Barnard. Some respond with, "where's that?" and others know right away where and what it is. Most professionals in academia know of Barnard and I believe it has a good reputation for turning out strong women leaders, however there are some people who look down upon it. It's frustrating to go here sometimes because if I'm abroad I have to say I go to Barnard and it's affiliated with Columbia University, otherwise people won't have a clue what I'm talking about. Because Columbia has the Earth Institute, Lamont-Doherty and the new Climate Center, you'd think Barnard and Columbia would be way ahead of other campuses in "going green." While they are making an effort, Barnard certainly has a long way to go.

The best part about Barnard is that we are a small liberal arts college with our own beautiful campus, yet we have all the resources and offerings that Columbia University provides. And who can forget New York City, and all the internship/job opportunities? About being an all-women's college: for those wanting to be in New York, at a school with a campus, and who aren't interested in Columbia's Core, do not be deterred by the "absence" of men. Barnard students are very well integrated into the student body at Columbia's 3 other undergraduate colleges, and few students have trouble finding male friends. Boyfriends can be more difficult, as the ratio is not in girls' favor, but New York is filled with men. Whether or not you choose Barnard for being all-women, something must be said for the value of a women's college. Students approach the community in a variety of ways, and everyone benefits from the experience differently. To some, it provides comfort and convenience, as services such as counseling, health services, and college activities are specialized and cater exclusively to 18 - 22 year old females. Others find it empowering to be surrounded by intelligent, articulate women. Some students learn, finally, how to trust women, or realize they can be both an athlete and a nerd. Some forget entirely that they go to an all-girls school. It's what you make of it.

People do not know what Barnard is. Explaining that it is an entity of Columbia University is tiring. I spent most of my time in my room or the lounges. Lounges NEED an upgrade!!!!!! NO OLD and SLEEPY security guards PLEASE