<p>OHMom – if your daughter is leaning toward engineering, then Barnard probably would not be a good fit. It would probably be fairly rare for a SEAS student to take courses at Barnard – much more common for a Columbia student with a humanities or social sciences focus. </p>
<p>I think perhaps its might be better for you and your daughter to do more research before visiting, rather than rely on impressions from a tour guide or info session. I’m on the west coast so I didn’t accompany my d. for any college visits – I just put her on a plane and let her manage what she could. She was a senior and scheduled interviews at various schools, including Barnard – and she felt very positive after the interview. But we had already gone through a pre-screening process of matching schools to interest/ prospective major – so she was able to ask very specific questions about her areas of interest. </p>
<p>It sounds like you are attracted to Barnard, but it isn’t doing anything for your d. That could change, but I think the college selection process needs to be student-driven, with parents setting boundaries as needed related to finances or geography. I’m not a big believer in the concept of a “dream” school, but at the same time the student needs to feel an attraction to various schools on the list. I think you should be listening to your d. more and perhaps look for schools where she might have the flexibility to choose an engineering or STEM major without necessarily locking herself into that. Here’s a thread that might be a good starting point: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/957914-liberal-arts-colleges-engineering-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/957914-liberal-arts-colleges-engineering-programs.html</a></p>