Is Barnard College Worth It

Barnard is one of a handful of outstanding colleges exclusively for women. The entrance standards at Barnard are very tough, but the Admissions process is definitely less competitive than Columbia's. For example, though Barnard matriculates about 550 students per year, it admits 23% of its applicants. Columbia, by contrast, only accepts about 7% of its applicants! Now once enrolled, Barnard and Columbia seemingly intersect everywhere. Note that they do NOT share dorms, but the Freshman orientation program is completely co-mingled.

So yes, I would probably recommend that a student who is in love with Columbia, but not quite qualified to be in the top 25% of the Columbia applicant pool look seriously at Barnard. They are both elite with incredible and strong alumni networks . For those who qualify (academically and 'financially) and fit , either school is a winner.

Barnard is a small, highly selective liberal arts college for women located in New York City. The student body of just over 2,650 is part of a diverse and close-knit community and students study with leading scholars who serve as dedicated, accessible mentors and teachers. Founded in 1889, Barnard also engages in a unique partnership with Columbia University, situated directly across the street.

Students have access to cross-registration of courses with Columbia, many joint extracurricular activities, participate in NCAA Division I Ivy League athletics and enjoy a fully coed social life. The location in New York City grants students access to thousands of internship opportunities in addition to unparalleled cultural, intellectual and social resources. Barnard's diverse student body includes residents from nearly every state and more than 55 countries worldwide. About 40 percent of the student body identify as students of color, and 11 percent are non-US citizens or permanent residents. As of 2012 Barnard pays Columbia about $5 million a year under the terms of the "interoperate relationship", which the two schools renegotiate every 15 years.

Despite the affiliation Barnard is legally and financially separate from Columbia, with an independent faculty and board of trustees. It is responsible for its own separate admissions, health, security, guidance and placement services, and has its own alumnae association. Nonetheless, Barnard students participate in the academic, social, athletic and extracurricular life of the broader University community on a reciprocal basis. The affiliation permits the two schools to share some academic resources; for example, only Barnard has an urban studies department, and only Columbia has a computer science department.

Most Columbia classes are open to Barnard students and vice versa. Barnard students and faculty are represented in the University Senate, and student organizations such as the Columbia Daily Spectator are open to all students. Barnard students play on Columbia athletics teams, and Barnard uses Columbia email, telephone and network services. Luckily, unlike some Seven Sisters schools and other all-women liberal arts colleges in the country, students at Barnard are not required to live on-campus.

This means that they can deduct $15,691 from the sticker price if they wish to live elsewhere, bringing the total cost from $76,279 down to $60,588. Barnard College is liberal arts college based in New York City, United States. It is a private college which was named after the 10th president of Columbia University, Frederick Barnard, and is currently one of the renowned names in theUS Education System.

It is one of the selective colleges with an average acceptance rate of 13%. Barnard College enrolls around2,682studentsincluding 11% international students from 57 countries aspiring tostudy in the US. Founded in 1889, Barnard is a small liberal arts and sciences college for women. Our faculty is comprised of leading scholars who serve as dedicated, accessible teachers to our diverse community of 2400 extraordinary women. The College's metropolitan location grants students access to thousands of internships in addition to excellent cultural, intellectual, and social resources. Barnard students graduate from the University, though we remain an independent institution.

Georgia Institute of Technology, often referred to as "Georgia Tech," is a located in Atlanta, Georgia. The school offers technology-focused education to more than 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students across six colleges and 28 schools focusing on business, computing, design, engineering, the liberal arts and sciences. If you want to have friends, you have to be able to go to the bars and out to eat and pay for clubs or pay to be in greek life. I was constantly stressed about money every single day I was at this school, and the people around me literally were a level of rich I did not even know existed. I definitely made a few good friends, but I truly found like maybe 2 people the ENTIRE time I was there that came from a similar (working/middle class, rural or small town) background like I did. Everyone knows you are not one of them, even if you don't.

And very few other people I knew had jobs, so I felt alone in that too. There are definitely other girls like me there, but it was NOT the majority. Basically, I would say if you are a regular person, you will feel extremely stressed out and subtly isolated at this school. Through an agreement with List College of the Jewish Theological Seminary, located just north of the campus at 122nd Street, students can apply to simultaneously earn a BA degree from Barnard and a BA at JTS.

Barnard also offers highly-talented music students the opportunity to apply for the Lesson Exchange Program with Juilliard and/or the Cross Registration Program with the Manhattan School of Music. Both programs will require a separate application and audition. The Lesson Exchange at MSM and Juilliard provide private weekly lessons with faculty.

It is important to note that the Exchange does not include participation in large ensembles. Students in the Juilliard program can take classes in instrumental or vocal performance and piano composition. MSM students can take lessons for instrumental or composition only. Barnard does also offer a multitude of music courses, major, private lessons and many performance opportunities through its own music department and at Columbia. "Small liberal college in the best city in the world with all the perks of a big university across the street," is exactly what admissions office will tell you and they're right.

If you love the city, but still want a campus that feels like home... If you want to be surrounded by the most intelligent, driven women you'll ever meet in your life... If you want all the resources of a huge university, but the care and attention of a small school... If you want a solid liberal arts base, but the opportunity for great work experience during your time in college... If you want to feel like you're part of a greater legacy and network of alumnae... In 1955, few American colleges offered financial aid, and access was restricted, as a result, to those who could pay—typically, white, Anglo-Saxon, relatively wealthy families.

Today, by contrast, higher education is firmly and proudly committed to opening its doors to capable students from all family backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. This is a very good thing, in my opinion, probably the most critical development in higher education of the last century. At Barnard, as at most of our peer schools, nearly half the student body receives some form of financial aid. The cost of this achievement is $34 million a year, or nearly 25 percent of our total budget. But it is a very real cost, and one that cannot be contained without limiting access. Barnard is amazing because it is a small liberal arts college with an abundant of resources, services, and support.

It gives students the best of both worlds- a huge research university experience and a small student-centered liberal arts college experience. The community on campus is warm and welcoming, and the intellectual debate and dialogue is rigorous and stimulating. There is a ton of school pride, and most students are thrilled to be here and love it. At the current published rates, an estimated total tuition, fees and living expense price for a 4 year bachelor's degree at Barnard is $312,176 for students graduating in normal time.

This methodology for estimating the 4 year cost is a straight multiple of the most recent reported annual total cost and does not factor in tuition increases during the time you're in school. It also assumes you receive no grant or scholarship aid and pay the full list price. The academics at Barnard College offer students a traditional liberal arts education, putting the emphasis on exploring the world from a wide variety of perspectives in a multitude of disciplines. The objective for a Barnard student is to develop her individual vision of how she can uniquely shape the world, and help her determine what her role could be within that vision. Barnard teaches their students how to think critically both inside and outside of the classroom in the sciences, humanities, social sciences, the arts, and world languages.

This is an academic program for brave young women who constantly exchange ideas without being afraid to take risks both intellectually and creatively. This highly respected liberal arts college is based in Williamstown, Massachusetts. All Williams students take at least two writing-intensive courses as well several courses in the arts and humanities, social sciences, and science and mathematics. Williams enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduate students. Sometimes when I tell people I go to Barnard they're like "Oh...how do you like it being around all girls?" but I don't really feel like I go to a women's college.

While the freshman dorms are single-sex, all my classes and extracurriculars have guys in them and I have several guy friends from Columbia. Your experience can be more or less "Barnard" or "women's college" depending on your own decisions and wants. I liked the balance between having an entire city at my doorstep and having the quiet, intimate retreat of the Barnard campus to come back to. The campus is physically very small, but it doesn't feel this way, because you have access to space, activities, and resources across the street at Columbia. One potentially uncomfortable aspect of going to Barnard is the ambiguous relationship between Barnard and Columbia, which the administration does a pretty poor job of defining. When I tell people I went to Barnard, I often get the question, "Oh, so, is that like, the same thing as Columbia?" The answer I give them is no, it's not, it is its own college with its own philosophy of higher education.

But, being affiliated with Columbia University, it offers students the opportunity to take Columbia courses, participate in Columbia student groups, use the Columbia libraries, and just hang out on the Columbia campus. The way I see it, every student can choose her own balance between Barnard and Columbia life and find some satisfying meeting point between the two worlds. It's a great liberal arts college focused on goal oriented women's success. All of the administration wants to help and be accessible to the students. Barnard students, for the most part, while having a competitive edge, want to help each other.

People think it's great when you tell them you go to Barnard, although initially between Columbia College Students and Engineering students, there may be a little tension. I don't spend all of my time on campus, there's lots to do in the city, and I view seeing the city as part of my education. The big picture is that Barnard is an all women's college in the middle of New York City.

It's small, but you still get the big city atmosphere by just stepping out of the gates. You get the comfort of a school really dedicated to helping women be successful and you get to use all the resources of Columbia University. There is a lot of pride at Barnard and I don't see why there shouldn't be. It is discouraging sometimes when people ask me where I go to College and when I tell them they don't even know or they reply by saying, "You go to an all women's college?!?!" But I just set them straight.

The second consideration after understanding the cost of college is determining how to finance it. Some students are fortunate enough to have some form of family financial assistance, but student loans end up financing a significant portion of higher education in the U.S. 29% of Barnard College students receive U.S. Federal Student Loans with an average annual Federal Loan aid amount of $3,621. Other loans, or private loans, are the last resource students turn to when paying for college. They're the least preferable form of financial aid because they have higher interest rates and cost students the most money in the long run.

High percentages or amounts of federal loans still isn't a great sign - again, you don't want to see students burdened with too much debt. Generally, schools with strong financial aid programs will have students with more federal loans than private loans. It is a liberal arts college but because of Columbia across the street Barnard students get both a small community and a larger university. And in all honesty, Barnard truly does feel like a little more independent undergraduate college of Columbia University, it's a pretty close relationships.

They speak their mind and stand up for what they believe in. It's rare to find a Barnard student who doesn't express what she feels articulately in a class. The best thing about Barnard is that whatever interest you have, you will always find means to develop that interest. If you are interested in a certain career, you can use the funding that school provides through the Office of Career Development to attend conferences or get paid for a non-paid internship.

Another great thing is that if you don't have enough money to pay for your tuition, they will try to do everything to help you in terms of scholarships, grants and low interest loans. The school is just the right size, it is small enough to provide personal help and support, however, it supplies lots of resources within big campus of Columbia University. Most of my time on campus I usually spend, in libraries, of which there is plenty, beautiful college lawns in spring, campus caffe's and in nearby restaurants.

Barnard's administration is really great-everyone is very helpful. Just as the admissions office will tell you over and over - Barnard is the best of both worlds, a small college in a big city. Some people spend most of their time in the Barnard/Columbia/Morningside Heights area while others prefer to spend more time adventuring into the New York. The community can be what you make of it, if you want to find a large, close-knit, group of friends you will be able to.

If you prefer to have one or two close girl friends, you can do that to. The community is a good size, Barnard is small but if you ever feel claustrophobic, Columbia is a much larger community right across the street. Most people hangout on campus in the dorms, or in the Diana Center . A lot of people also choose to hangout at Columbia, in the libraries or the student center over there.

Barnard has a lot of "Barnard Women" pride, but not a lot of pride in the traditional sense. If you really want a rah-rah campus with tons of pride for athletic events and school-sponsored functions, Barnard/Columbia is not the place for you. I love pretty much everything about Barnard, I think its great that you can get the benefits of a women's college without having to sacrifice men. Barnard College, a private women's liberal arts college in New York City, is #51 among schools in the Veritas Prep Elite College Rankings and is one of the most selective women's colleges in the United States. Founded in 1889, the four-acre urban campus is adjacent to Columbia University in New York City's Manhattan neighborhood.

Barnard has a complicated relationship with Columbia University, being both a wholly independent entity with its own governance, and also a college within Columbia. Barnard students graduate with Columbia University diplomas that are signed by the Presidents of both colleges. Furthermore, Barnard College has a strong financial aid program. The lower your income is, the more help you can expect to receive in need-based grants. Because it's not a top-tier program, you may still have to find other ways of paying, like taking student loans or working, but you can expect to receive good support.

The "Cost of Attendance" is the total amount of money the average student has to pay, WITHOUT any financial aid, to attend a particular school. It includes not just Barnard College tuition and fees, but also room, board, textbooks, and personal expenses. Barnard college is one of the most unique college experiences that exist- partly because of it's location in NYC, partly because of the affiliation with Columbia, and partly because of its existence as a women's college.