Safeties/Matches for Barnard Applicants?

fhg · 06-21-2008, 09:02 AM

So this might be a strange question to ask but what other schools did you/your daughters apply to? I've fallen completely in love with Barnard and am planning on applying ED but do need some safeties and matches and am kind of stuck. I figured people who applied to Barnard may have some good insight.

ittknee · 06-21-2008, 12:38 PM

Barnard was a reach for me and I was eventually waitlisted.
The other schools that I applied to (and their decisions) were Macalester (waitlist), Hofstra (accepted), Scripps (accepted), Sarah Lawrence (accepted), Mount Holyoke (accepted), Wellesley (accepted), Bryn Mawr (accepted) and Vassar (rejected).

I tend to find that Barnard applicants go for other Seven Sister schools or schools of Ivy League caliber and they fair well in both areas.

calmom · 06-21-2008, 05:38 PM

My d. really wanted NYC so she added Fordham as a last-minute safety; she also applied to (and got into) NYU (Gallatin). I had encouraged her to look at Goucher as a safety but she didn't like it. Although I am surprised that she was accepted, in a sense U. of Chicago was good backup -- statistically, they do accept a higher percentage of applicants than Barnard.

It all kind of depends on why you want Barnard.

churchmusicmom · 06-21-2008, 06:03 PM

My daughter applied and was accepted to U Mich. Her criteria for choosing schools to apply was rather limited, though: she wanted strong dance and strong academics, and Barnard and U Mich seemed to fit those, although these are two VERY different environments. She did get into Michigan, but Barnard was her first choice.

baehrr09 · 06-21-2008, 06:51 PM

Hey fhg, I know how you feel. I think your safety schools and the matches all depend on what you are interested in, and where you could see yourself. There are lots of schools that I think I could get accepted to, but after touring them, I wouldn't want to go back! For me, I am looking at schools that can offer me great music programs, and Barnard happens to be one of them. I wish you luck, and I hope we both get in!

By the way, I know that the common app website opens up July 1, but does anybody know when Barnard releases the supplement to the application?

fhg · 06-22-2008, 10:25 AM

Thanks everyone! I got some good ideas from your lists...

aube88 · 06-22-2008, 02:42 PM

I think Tufts is sort of similar to Barnard - very near a city but not a city campus, sort of in-between a LAC and big university. I didn't apply to Vassar, but have lots of Barnard friends who did so that's another thought. In terms of schools that are easier to get into, it all depends on what youre looking for, but I'd recommend Scripps (all-girls but in a five-college consortium where all the colleges are bordering e/o, in beautiful Cali!), Sarah Lawrence, Bard, Skidmore, and BU or Fordham if you want to be in a city.

MLeigh · 06-22-2008, 03:07 PM

Well, I think NYU is an obvious choice... and I agree with the people who have said Scripps; I think they are similar in many ways.

I didn't apply to either of those schools, though I came close... my safety was BU.

churchmusicmom · 06-22-2008, 05:01 PM

My daughter considered NYU, in fact she first visited Barnard while on a three week dance intensive there. It has a very different feel, however, from Barnard as well as different academic structure. It would have been difficult to study dance at a high level there and also pursue challenging academics, I believe.

She is considering NYU for grad, though.

MLeigh · 06-22-2008, 08:16 PM

Yeah, I'm planning on doing film, and I ended up not applying to NYU because I thought that the nature of the Tisch program was way too pre-professional for me... definitely not as academic an environment as Barnard, and very restricting.

That said, I know people who want desperately to be in the city, and they applied/are applying to NYU for that reason, even if it's not a first choice. And while I don't think that their College of Arts and Sciences is as academic as Barnard, either, it's much more similar than Tisch would be.

GWU might also be another thought... it's more like NYU than it is like Barnard, certainly, but if your objective is being in a city it could be a pretty decent backup.

eccentricme · 07-22-2008, 11:07 AM

Hey, Barnard did not accept me(i applied regular) but I'll still put my colleges. I applied to Barnard and Cooper Union as reaches(didnt get into either) NYU as a match(Accepted),Fordham University(Accepted, Attending) and Stevens IT and NJIT(As Safeties, I am from NJ)

hope I helped, and BEST OF LUCK =]

mythmom · 07-22-2008, 11:22 AM

D attends Barnard.

Her list: Brown, Barnard, Bard, Mt. Holyoke, Sarah Lawrence, Smith, Fordham, Skidmore, Binghamton, UMassAmherst.

Accepted to all but Brown.

mia305 · 07-29-2008, 12:34 PM

You are apparently confusing Barnard with Columbia. Barnard is a safety for Chicago, not the other way around. Barnard is also a popular safety for Columbia. IMO Mount Holyoke and Scripps are equivalent to Barnard, and not safeties.

Kaydad · 08-02-2008, 05:57 PM

IMHO don't count on Mount Holyoke as a safety.

calmom · 08-02-2008, 07:53 PM

Barnard is not a "safety" for anyone.

A "safety" is a school where you are absolutely sure of being admitted. Because Barnard is highly selective and uses a holistic admission process, it is not a sure thing for anyone -- your "stats" could be well above the norm and you could find yourself shut out because your essay and recs are unconvincing.