Barnard College

Introduction

Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college in the United States and one of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, it has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. Barnard's 4-acre (1.6 ha) campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City. It is directly across Broadway from Columbia's campus and near several other academic institutions and has been used by Barnard since 1898.

Admissions

When applying to Barnard College, it's important to note the application deadline is January 1, and the early decision deadline is November 1. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due January 1. The application fee at Barnard College is $65. It is most selective, with an acceptance rate of 23.8 percent.

Admissions to Barnard is considered most selective. It is the most selective women's college in the nation in 2008, Barnard had the lowest acceptance rate of the five Seven Sisters that remain single-sex in admissions.

The class of 2019's admission rate was 19.5% of the 6,655 applicants, the lowest acceptance rate in the institution's history. The early-decision admission rate was 47.7%, out of 392 applications. The median SAT Combined was 2060, with median subscores of 660 in Math, 690 in Critical Reading, and 700 in Writing. The Median ACT score was 30. Of the women in the class of 2012, 89.4% ranked in first or second decile at their high school (of the 41.3% ranked by their schools). The average GPA of the class of 2012 was 94.3 on a 100-point scale and 3.88 on a 4.0 scale.  For the class of 2011, Barnard College admitted 28.7% of those who applied. The median ACT score was 30, while the median combined SAT score was 2100.

In 2015 Barnard announced that it would admit transgender women who "consistently live and identify as women, regardless of the gender assigned to them at birth", and would continue to support and enroll those students who transitioned to males after they had already been admitted.

Academic Life

The student-faculty ratio at Barnard College is 10:1, and the school has 71.9 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Barnard College include: Social Sciences; Visual and Performing Arts; Biological and Biomedical Sciences; Psychology; and English Language and Literature/Letters. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 96 percent.

Student Life

Barnard College has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,573, with a gender distribution of 0 percent male students and 100 percent female students. At this school, 91 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 9 percent of students live off campus. Barnard College is part of the NCAA I athletic conference.

Campus Services

Barnard College offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, women's center, health service, and health insurance. Barnard College also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at Barnard College.

Traditions

The southern end of the Diana Center, the college's student center

v  Each April, Barnard and Columbia students participate in the Take Back the Night march and speak-out. This annual event grew out of a 1988 Seven Sisters conference. The march has grown from under 200 participants in 1988 to more than 2,500 in 2007.

v  WBAR-B-Q, a free and all-day music festival takes place on Lehman Lawn each April. It is put on by Barnard's student-run freeform radio station, WBAR.

v  Midnight Breakfast marks the beginning of finals week. As a highly popular event and long-standing college tradition, Midnight Breakfast is hosted by the student-run activities council, McAC (McIntosh Activities Council). In addition to providing standard breakfast foods, each year's theme is also incorporated into the menu. Past themes have included "I YUMM the 90s," "Grease," and "Take me out to the ballgame." The event is a school-wide affair as college deans, trustees and the President, Debora Spar, serve food to about a thousand students. It takes place the night before finals begin every semester.

v  On Spirit Day, there is a large barbecue, the deans serve ice cream to students, different activities are hosted, and the whole student body celebrates. The school sells "I Love BC" T-shirts, and gives out free Barnard products. The event is run by the Spirit Day Planning Committee which is chaired by the Programming Officer of the student-run activities council, McAC (McIntosh Activities Council) and the Representative for Community Affairs of the Student Government Association (SGA).

v  During the fall semester, students help to construct and then consume a sandwich 1-mile (1.6 km) long known as "The big sub". Every year another foot is added onto the sub as it stretches across campus. The event is organized by the student-run activities council, McAC (McIntosh Activities Council).

v  In the spring of each year, Barnard holds the Night Carnival, in which many of Barnard's student groups set up tables with games and prizes. The event is organized by the student-run activities council, McAC (McIntosh Activities Council).

v  At the end of the Fall semester, the Columbia Marching Band plays in the Barnard Quad on the last night of reading week (traditionally known as "Orgo night" because it is the night before the Organic Chemistry final is given). Students traditionally open their windows and throw out all the old papers from the semester that they no longer need.

Athletics

Barnard athletes compete in the Ivy League (NCAA Division I) through the Columbia/Barnard Athletic Consortium, which was established in 1983. Through this arrangement, Barnard is the only women's college offering Division I athletics. There are 15 intercollegiate teams, and students also compete at the intramural and club levels.

From 1975–1983, before the establishment of the Columbia/Barnard Athletic Consortium, Barnard students competed as the "Barnard Bears".Prior to 1975, students referred to themselves as the "Barnard honeybears".

Summary

Barnard College is a private institution that was founded in 1889. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,573, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 4 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Barnard College's ranking in the 2016 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 29. Its tuition and fees are $47,631 (2015-16).

Women at Barnard College can experience two extremes of education—a small, liberal arts school and a large, coeducational Ivy League institution—all the while enjoying an urban lifestyle in New York City. Barnard is an all-female college in Manhattan with a partnership with the school across the street, Columbia University. Barnard women can take classes, play sports and join organizations at Columbia University-—and Columbia students have the same opportunities at Barnard. The two schools are joined in an athletic consortium, and compete in the NCAA Division I Ivy League Conference. The school’s own mascot is a dancing Barnard Bear named Millie. Barnard College has about 80 of its own student organizations, though Columbia students often join, too. The Barnard Student Government Association does not recognize on-campus sororities, but women can join Columbia’s Greek organizations. Students call the school’s location in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of the Upper West Side home, as nearly 95 percent live on campus. Freshmen are not required to live on campus, but 98 percent choose to do so. The school’s Urban New York program takes first-semester students to free events around the city, and all Barnard women get student discounts on tickets to nearby on- and off-Broadway shows, various sporting events and concerts. Barnard students also have year-round opportunities for internships in New York City, organized through the Career Development office.

Men are permitted to be professors at this women’s college, but females still dominate, accounting for 65 percent of the faculty body. The school has a renowned Barnard Center for Research On Women, which sponsors conferences and panels on the subjects of gender, feminism and women’s rights. Famous alumnae of Barnard College include author Anna Quindlen and entrepreneur Martha Stewart.