Uni in the USA: A British Guide to American Universities and Colleges > All New: Colleges and Universities Added in 2009 > Barnard (new review!)
Upper West Side, New York
Undergrads: 2,350
Grads: 0
How many Barnard students does it take to change a light bulb?
2 – one to fetch it from Columbia University and one to find a way to integrate it into the Nine Ways of Knowing.
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Barnard is a beautiful, tiny, girls-only Liberal Arts college. But there’s a twist: Barnard is not in a tiny village somewhere in New England. Oh no, Barnard is in New York City itself. It’s the Liberal Arts school with a difference, combining the great features of the broad curriculum and great teacher contact with the high-charged insanity of life in the Big Apple. Added to this, Barnard is right across the street from Ivy Leaguer Columbia University; the two are affiliated and share classes and facilities, meaning access to all the juicy goodness of one of the best big universities in the country, as if the best big city in the country weren’t enough.
The Campus
Blink and you’ll miss it, the jumble of grandiose old buildings that forms Barnard is squashed into a tiny space about the size of one city block. The entrance is immediately opposite Columbia University on the other side of Broadway, and there’s a convenient subway stop between the two. Despite being tiny, there is a TARDIS bigger-on-the-inside feeling once you enter, and there are a surprising number of facilities crammed in.
The dorms, for example, house almost the entire student body – living is pleasantly communal, though study areas are available. Security is an issue for a girls' college in New York, and the university takes it seriously, employing plenty of security guards and having all kinds of padlocks, bolts etc on the doors. Crime isn’t much of a problem though, probably because the school is in one of the safest neighbourhoods of the city.
There are adequate sports facilities, including an indoor swimming pool, a smallish library (nice media centre though) and plenty of class rooms and labs, all connected by underground tunnels. Here, as in many parts of Barnard life, students benefit from their partnership with the Ivy League school across the street, where there are huge and high tech facilities of every kind for the taking, including a library system of over 8 million books which Barnard students are granted access to. One area where Barnard claims to have the edge over its larger cousin is the cafeteria, and as proof they cite the fact that the Columbia football team come eat there (though one doubts that the quality of the food is the only reason for their choice…)
Construction works on the Barnard campus should result in a green, spanking new “Nexus student life and learning centre” with 70,000 extra square feet of classrooms, art studios, dining options, space for student organisations and a black box theatre, due in 2010 to the eager anticipation of the students.
The Barnard Woman
Barnard students are friendly, well-balanced and intelligent, and have a healthy appetite for fun and learning in appropriate measures. In all areas apart from gender the student body is diverse. This is not unusual for a New York college, but Barnard has the extra spice of geographical diversity; people come here from all across the country and beyond.
There is a strong community here, typical of Liberal Arts colleges, but living in New York tends to make students more independent minded and confident – or perhaps it just attracts these sorts of people. In most pieces of university promotion and literature, they try to brand the students as powerful “leaders”. Students claim that they can’t be stereotyped, but in general are “focused” and “empowered”. That is not to say that they are anywhere close to the typical image of a woman’s college student – people are here for the academics and the city, not for the single-sex education.
Hitting the Books
Professors are excellent and put a lot of effort into their students. Small class sizes (student:faculty = 7:1!) mean that interaction with professors is straightforward, and bonds are easily formed. There are no teaching assistants, at least none teaching entire courses, so no shortage of quality time spent with those who really know what they’re talking about. About 50% of the faculty lives within a few blocks of the campus anyway, so you often meet your teachers walking nearby.
The general education curriculum, typical of all Liberal Arts schools, is called “the Nine Ways of Knowing” at Barnard, and officially incorporates the following areas: “Reason and Value”, “Social Analysis”, “Cultures in Comparison”, “Foreign Language”, “Laboratory Science”, “Quantitative and Deductive Reasoning”, “Historical Studies”, “Literature” and “the Performing Arts”. It’s enthralling, high-powered stuff, though not necessarily suitable for those know what they want to do and are keen to focus in on it right away.
Barnard students are allowed to take as many classes as they want at Columbia, though they are quick to point out that there are just as many Columbia students who take classes at Barnard as vice versa. The ability to take classes across the street is seriously advantageous, both because it provides access to the world-class professors and courses of an Ivy League institution, and because it broadens the range of courses on offer. Barnard does not offer any engineering classes, for example, while Columbia has nothing for those who want to do women’s studies, but both are available to students.
Academics at Bernard are strengthened by the internships and other positions that students are able to secure in the city. Apparently there are about 2,500 such positions available for Barnard students at various high-flying locations (newscasting, museum curation, political work at City Hall etc), and considering there are only 2,300 students at the school these seem like favourable odds. No wonder the Princeton Review rates the college as having the 10th “Best Career/Job Placement Services” in the US. As well as this, New York is often used by professors as an extension of class – trips into the city for a more practical application of knowledge are common
Social Life
Students like to say that if Barnard is my home, then “Columbia is my front porch, and New York is my front yard”. Students take full advantage of all three. The social life at Barnard is adaptable to the individual, depending on how much one opts to stay on campus or go exploring the biggest, most unique city in the world. “You can party every night if you want” said one student, “but you’d miss out on loads of the other things going on.”
You can join sororities at Columbia, if that’s your thing, though this is not very common. More popular are the range of student organisations, including creative groups of every description, student media and even student government. There are some fun events too – most loved is the “midnight breakfast”, an odd tradition that involves a nocturnal feasting on breakfast foods on the night before the first exams.
Sports are surprisingly strong, and 15 are offered ay varsity level. The college is the only all-female university to have teams in Division One, but there are also plenty of intramurals and social sporting clubs on offer too. The dance department at Barnard is renowned; there is an excellent (and popular) dance studio offering several forms of performance dancing which boasts some world-famous alumni.
Once you leave campus, of course, the choices jump to a whole different plane. New York is practically limitless in what it offers to those who seek. As a Barnard student, moreover, you can get free or discounted tickets to 100s of events. The university is not far from the gargantuan Central Park, and even closer to peaceful Riverside Park, which is always nice for a stroll or to escape from the intensity and traffic.
NYC has the best of everything – shopping, eating, drinking, parks, museums, famous sights, waterfronts, music, theatre, comedy, art – all a big hodge-podge of excitement, diversity and urban bustle among the ridiculously tall buildings on every street. The question is, what’s not to do?
Be warned, however, that as great as it is, especially for youthful students, New York is not a place for those who require hand holding. It can be an anti-social, cutthroat city, and Barnard will not be guiding you through it step by step. Timid or insecure types might want to think twice before plunging in.
Getting In
Barnard is tough, admitting around 30% of applicants, and you need a good application. The university is not just looking at your SAT scores, so try and make yourself seem well-balanced, interesting, and generally an asset to the college environment. Interviews are optional, but recommended – check with the college to see if there are any overseas alumni willing to conduct one with you.
There are no merit scholarships awarded at Barnard to help with the high cost of attendance, but there are a small number of needs-based packages reserved for international students.