Barnard - Social Scene and Academics?

calmom
Thu, 04 Apr 2013 04:44:48 +0000

My daughter relied on financial aid & at any given time had 2 or more part-time jobs as regular employment. She probably worked somewhat harder than many because she also wanted to travel abroad, so she was generally working to save up money to finance the travel as well as to pay for living expenses. But she would agree with you that there are “many” complacently rich girls at Barnard; also there are many complacently rich girls and boys at Columbia. I think “complacent” is more accurate word that “spoiled” - many of the students from privileged backgrounds are very nice, open, and friendly individuals – they just often lack sensitivity or awareness to the fact that money doesn’t come easily to others.

I think you would find that situation at any private college or university. The bottom line is that even if half the students are on financial aid, the other half aren’t, and in general it takes a lot of wealth these days to fund a college education. And NY is a place where it is possible to spend a LOT of money if you are so inclined. Many students do choose to attend Barnard & Columbia precisely because they want to take advantage of what NY has to offer, so in that environment it is unrealistic to expect that those who have money would curb their own lifestyles in order to accommodate less wealthy friends. So it does tend to encourage students to socialize mostly with those with similar financial circumstances.

NY also is a place where there are loads of things to do very cheaply or for free, so its not as if those without money are missing out. But they will end up moving in different circles - choosing different venues to shop and eat, etc.

2016BarnardMom is mistaken about “most” students being on some type of aid – I think roughly 45% of Barnard students receive some level of grant assistance, and some of those only qualify for a small amount – so probably it is more like around a third of the students who qualify for a significant amount of aid. The actual stats are easy to check. But her daughter’s perceptions probably reflect her actual experience – it’s likely that “most” of the people her daughter meets are in roughly similar financial circumstances, simply because students will tend to gravitate toward social activities or venues that they can afford.

My daughter had no problem meeting males. New York is full of them. That’s fortunate, because there are many nice young men who don’t happen to attend Columbia. My d. had male & female friends who attended other colleges, including NYU & CUNY, as well as Barnard & Columbia. It’s a big city with a highly reliable public transit system that lets you go wherever you want.

I think one thing that is important to understand is that you would be attending a school with a LOT of different people. You will meet people based on your own interests. If you are interested in politics, then you will have no difficulty meeting oppositely-gendered individuals-- just get involved in whatever political cause fits your interest.