Barnard College | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Hannah

Class: Freshman
Major:
Gender: F

High School:
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

Barnard occupies a really unique place in the world of American colleges. On one hand, it's a small, private liberal arts school for women but on the other hand we have access to all the resources of a large Ivy League school - namely Columbia. So it is both a small school and a large one, both single-sex and co-ed. We have complete cross-registration privileges, which is amazing, but Barnard professors really are more approachable. And Barnard is full of amazing traditions. Possibly the best is the Midnight Breakfast: at midnight before exams begin, the entire school crowds into the gym and professors and deans and famous alumnae serve us breakfast. Similarly, each spring we have a Spirit Day which shows just how phenomenal Barnard spirit is and how proud we are of where we go to school. And being in New York City can only be considered a plus. We're on the Upper West Side, and the neighborhood - Morningside Heights - almost feels like a mini college town. But a ten minute ride on the 1 train brings you full stop into the middle of the city. So you can get away from all that insanity when it's just too much, but it's also amazing to be so close to everything that New York offers.

Academic Life

Academics is really important at Barnard. Because we have complete cross-registration privileges with Columbia, there are an incredible number of classes to choose from and the faculty are amazing. It's a smaller school, so teachers are very available and happy to speak with students. Students definitely have intellectual discussions outside of class. Every first-year is required to take an English and a Seminar and if you have the opportunity, the most amazing Seminar is one called Reacting to the Past. It's run as a series of games (three) over the course of the semester, in which students act out periods in history. For example, the first game took place in Athens in 403 BCE. We were all members of the Athenian assembly. As Athens had just suffered a crushing defeat to Sparta, it was our job to make laws and determine how bring Athens back to glory. We each had roles and positions and we spent our classes arguing about who should be allowed to vote, about whether we should send military expeditions off to raise money, about what to do concerning education. It was amazing how seriously everyone took their roles. The game is fascinating because you really get to experience periods and time and interact with texts (like Plato's Republic) as if they're real things, not just classic books that some professor forces you to read.

Student Body

Barnard is made up of every type of person imaginable except for, of course, males. There are numerous vocal groups for every race and religion as well as LGBT groups. Personally, I have experienced the Hillel, the Jewish students group that is joint with Columbia. It's full of events but not precisely the most welcoming organization. Hillel students seem to expect their fellow students to fall neatly into one of Judaism's three or so denominations - Reform, Conservative or Orthodox. It's tricky to be a Conservative Jew who doesn't keep kosher. It's also tricky to be Conservative because many Conservative students on campus are in a joint program with the Jewish Theological Seminary. As a result, they all know each other and have a common background. This isn't to say it isn't impossible to get involved, it just takes some action on your part. Most students come from the New York/New Jersey area, but there are also lots of students from across the country and indeed across the world. It's predominately white, in terms of race, but I understand that the administration is trying to change that. It's about 40% Jewish, too. It's also mostly liberal, but there is a College Republicans Club on campus. Students, for some reason, tend to dress well - heels and skirts, for example, even just for class. It can be a bit disconcerting at first and it isn't the entire population at all, but perhaps it stems from living in New York; many Barnard women like to keep up with fashions.