Haverford vs. Barnard vs Smith

calmom
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 05:18:11 +0000

@doschicos – it’s next to impossible to attend Barnard for 4 years without also attending Columbia (U).

And your anecdotal experience aside, my DD’s linked in profile lists “Barnard College” as her college. I think that’s simply the way Linked In works – you pick a school that matches their index – see https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/school/19150

But in the “experience” section – yes it says Columbia. That makes sense considering she held leadership positions in Columbia student associations & had a paying job working for a Columbia academic department.

Rather than reviving this tiresome old Barnard v. Columbia debate, suffice it to say that Barnard is a semi-independent subsidiary of Columbia, and any student at Barnard will by definition also be a student at Columbia U, and will receive their degree from Columbia U.

For the OP’s daughter that can be a plus or a minus, because it is highly likely that along the way the student will experience various academic issues which tend to be common in larger research universities, like large classes with recitations and labs led by TA’s, papers being graded by TA’s and disputes that sometimes arise from that. You could take the position (as we did) that Barnard represents the best of both worlds: LAC + research U, women’s college + co-ed — or you can take the position that Barnard doesn’t provide enough of of whatever it is that the student was seeking in an LAC or women’s college.

But anyone who thinks that Barnard courses are any less demanding or rigorous than the courses offered across the street by virtue of the sign on the school gate simply hasn’t been there.