jessicams

I've been accepted to Barnard, along with Northwestern,UMichigan, emory, and USC. What makes Barnard unique (aside from the all girls aspect)? And what kind of people go there in general? Also I know it is an all girls school, but I want to go to college to meet GUYS. With the Columbia connection, is this really easy to do at Barnard?

aube88

Yes, it's easy to meet guys...I do not really feel like I am going to a women's college except for the fact that my dorms are single sex, 'cause all of my classes (with the exception of first-year english) are co-ed, including my classes at Barnard, and I have many guy friends.

In my opinion, what makes Barnard unique is that it is one of the only small, liberal arts schools in a city. And though it is a small liberal arts school, with all the advantages that come with that (close advisor relationship, strong ties with alumni, small classes, strong community) you have essentially all the advantages of going to a large ivy league university because Columbia is at your feet. you can take classes there, and join extracurriculars... you will feel a part of both communities, and this is reflected on your diploma, which lists both schools.

katescully

Aside from the obvious academic benefits - attention of a college, resources of an ivy league university, Barnard has always appealed to me due to the girls that attend the college.

Throughout highschool, I struggled with my identity. It was almost as if I was running back and forth between two worlds. On the one hand, I loved to go out and have fun and yes, go to parties. I also get along with boys much better than girls, my best friends as of now are boys that I've known since the beginning of high school. On the other hand, I was [am] an intellectual. I love to read, I love to learn about history, politics, and international affairs and community service means A LOT to me. It seemed as if all my peers chose an extreme: to be the fun girl/boy, or to be the smart girl/boy. I am confident that I will find a great balance at Barnard. There's so much support from faculty concerning academics and ec's, and one can easily join a Columbia sorority to pump their social life.

Anyways, there are boys ALL over campus all the time. Columbia is across the street, and you WILL be eating there, socializing there, working out there, taking classes there. It's all girls without being all girls, which you'll hear a lot.

Good luck!

ennie

I was in Ann Arbor for the first time last summer and was struck by how HUGE Michigan is physically. You can't walk everywhere. One really nice thing about the Barnard/Columbia campus is its compactness. It's a great physical environment and if it ever feels claustrophobic, the rest of New York City is just a subway ride away.

honied_dreams

Agreed with both of ennie's points. First and (at least for me) very important, Barnard is in New York. Although Ann Arbor is an interesting place and Northwestern is close to Chicago (don't know the other two very well), neither have that city atmosphere. Often, you'll go with classes to museums, the theatre, etc. If you're looking for that, Barnard is the place to be. Also, Barnard is small, both in campus size and class size. You're not just a number here, which is a wonderful feeling.

Other than what everyone else has said, I would mention that Barnard's academic program is very strong, especially because we are tied with Columbia. I know at Michigan and Northwestern, other things seem to be prominent--sports, music, Greek life. I came to college to escape that atmosphere, and I found it here.