I know it’s not the same core curriculum as Columbia, but doesn’t Barnard require its own, called “Foundations” for their first year experience?
Also, everything you said is true. Because Columbia is doing holistic review, they are looking at not just grades, so it makes sense that people with perfect stats might not get admitted. I just hope my ECs and essays will be enough, but then again, nobody really knows because it depends on the AOs.