Barnard vs. Wellesley and Smith

naomikt
Sun, 27 Mar 2011 16:28:28 +0000

I think it makes a lot of sense to go to Barnard if you want to do something in biology because you’ll have SO many opportunities with Columbia right next door.

Have you visited Barnard? The area Barnard is in is very safe IMO, and NYC is actually considered one of the safest (big) cities in the country. Of course I am a city girl, but as long as you have some street smarts that should be a non issue.

It was only recently that Barnard and Columbia revamped their websites and Columbia included Barnard as one of their undergraduate schools. Before that there was some ambiguity towards whether Barnard was an independent and merely affiliated school or under Columbia University’s wing. Maybe USNews will get the memo soon? I kind of feel like probably not though…but honestly it doesn’t really matter. The ranking is irrelevant because when you get your degree it will say “Columbia University” on it.

Barnard is the only LAC I am applying to, and also the only women’s college I am applying to. Basically it only ended up on my list because of its ideal location (like I said…I’m a city girl.) Only later, did I start to really like it for what it offered. I think your decision comes down to what kind of an experience you want. Obviously, Wellesley and Smith will offer a more conventional women’s college feel with a much larger campus. The first I don’t want and the latter I don’t mind (since Columbia is so close.) But it really depends on what you would like!

As far as grad placement, I don’t really know…although I’m crossing my fingers to get into Columbia’s law school. And I imagine Barnard would have quite a few opportunities in the city of internships, work-study, etc? But I have no clue really…