Still Finding My Way

Introduction
If you decide to attend Barnard College make sure you are not afraid of working hard and being around women all the time. I chose Barnard College because I wanted to be in New York City. I am the type of person who is always stressed and I figured that being in a city, there would always be a place to escape to. I was considering a university in the middle of nowhere, but I thought it would be too isolating. I loved the sense of community and warmth that I felt the moment I walked onto the Barnard campus. I liked the idea of being surrounded by "strong, beautiful Barnard women." I have found Barnard women to be very articulate and independent. If you are looking for a large party scene and not willing to spend Saturday night in the library, I might think twice about attending Barnard.

Campus Life and Social Life
It is hard to complain about social life and things to do when campus is located in New York City. NYC is, however, very expensive. There is always something going on on campus (usually free). The Columbia student center plays $3 movies every Thursday night for example. There are no parties in the Barnard dorms, at least the freshman dorms, but there are parties in the Columbia dorms. These parties can be hard to get into because Barnard students need to be signed in by a Columbia student. There are usually frat parties on weekend nights, but the frat life cannot be compared to that of a large state school. Barnard women tend to go to bars downtown or the bars surrounding the Columbia campus. While almost no one participates in sports, there are intramurals. There are many clubs and activities, but I have found them difficult to get involved with. It seems to me that the most popular clubs are religious and cultural groups (i.e. Korean Students Association) Being a reform Jew, I found it difficult to become involved in the Barnard/Columbia Hillel because it seems that only conservative and orthodox students are involved. There is a very large Orthodox Jewish community at Barnard/Columbia. I have found that most students are not involved in many activities because they simply have no extra time after schoolwork. Advertisement
Academics
Barnard's academics are first rate. I am interested in economics and English; both departments are wonderful. Some of the departments are very small and have limited class offerings, like the Religion department, but classes can always be taken across the street at Columbia. There is no math department at Barnard (all math classes are taken at Columbia) but all other departments have amazing professors. Of course I have had professors who are boring or don't care about the students, but for the most part I have loved my profs thus far. Teachers' Assistants (TAs) do not teach classes at Barnard - this is one of the things I love about the school. TAs do however teach recitation sessions. I have found that most of the TAs are extremely intelligent and a great resource.

Student Body
One of the things I love about Barnard is that there is no typical student. There are many artsy students, those who are very NYC-saavy, hippies, conservatives, those who go to frat parties every weekend, and those who party at The MET on the weekends. While I have made a group of friends that I like a lot, at times I find the students at Barnard to be cliquey, competitive, and even cold. Barnard students tend to be very independent which can be a problem when trying to make friends. A lot of students are from the NE, especially NY and NJ. However, there are students from all across the country and a lot of foreign students as well. There is a large Jewish community and a large Asian community as well. There are a lot of very privleged students who are attending elite prep schools. The student body tends to be politically active and quite liberal.

In Closing...
It is not easy to meet guys. I thought that guys would wander across the street from Columbia or that I would meet guys in my classes, but I do not. While I know some people with male friends, most of my friends don't know any guys. There is also some tension between Barnard and Columbia students. While I was always considered to be extremely smart in high school, at Barnard I often feel as though I am being looked down upon by Columbia students. I have to say, while Columbia students may have higher SAT scores on average, the Columbia students I have met are not any smarter than my friends at Barnard.