Barnard vs. NYU Specifics from current students/parents? Please Help!

melon92
Sun, 05 Oct 2014 16:03:44 +0000

Hi, I’m a prospective undergrad student and I’m seriously considering Barnard College and NYU for early decision, but I can’t decide which. As of now I’m 50/50.

I attended a program at Barnard over the summer, and have visited my sister at NYU multiple times, so I’m familiar with the general vibes from each school as well as their areas. I love Barnard’s campus, buildings, and dorms, as well as their leadership opportunities and academic strength. Although NYU lacks a traditional campus, I love how it’s in the heart of NYC and how renovated/modern most of its buildings/resources are.
However, I wanted to know some more detail about each-- from a first-hand perspective, if you have one, what would the pros and cons of attending either school be, if I were to enroll as a fall 2015 freshman?

For Barnard: I’m a tiny bit turned off by the fact that it’s not in the heart of the city like NYU is. Although I know Manhattan is fairly small that and it’s actually quite easy to travel to the “heart” of the city from Barnard, it’s not quite the same for me as a school that has its main campus there.
I’m also concerned about the social scene. I had never considered an all-girls school before, but since Barnard is such a good school and it’s possible for students to mix into the coed Columbia crowd, I put it on my list. But I wanted to know how easy this is- to take classes at, make friends/meet guys) from Columbia? I was also wondering about clubs and sporting events. Is it easy to join clubs (particularly cultural) at Columbia as a Barnard student? And can Barnard students attend Columbia football games? Does the same go for parties?

For NYU: Is the lack of campus a serious issue for someone who wants structure and a bit of community with the rest of the student body? Is it hard to maintain a group of friends because everyone could be over the place? And since there’s no football, are there other alternatives to get that classic “college experience?” Are academics here significantly inferior to those of Columbia/Barnard?

Sorry for such a long discussion question… I’m just really indecisive
Honestly any kind of advice will help at this point, even if it’s small! Thank you in advance.