Why I Chose Barnard

Meeting Gloria Steinem

“Why did you choose Barnard?” 

I have been asked this question since I got accepted early decision. I have yet to come up with one, single answer because there are so many reasons that I fell in love with Barnard.

In my first post, I explained how I found out about Barnard through a professor I had at a summer program at Columbia. Most of you remember writing that “Why Barnard” supplement essay back in the fall when you were applying. I’m going to share mine with you:
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“As I walked through the black iron gates, I knew I was entering an oasis, a place spiritually apart from the business of the city and where the students and faculty represent one body. I honor the idea of learning aside young women who are motivated to become productive and exemplary citizens. I am enthralled by Barnard's devotion to providing young women scholars with foundations in an expansive range of subjects with its Nine Ways of Knowing. I have always envisioned myself walking through those gates once again, as a Barnard student, and being exposed to such a superb academic environment. Barnard will bring my intellectual abilities to a whole new level and enable me to continue challenging myself.”
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My reasons for attending and loving Barnard have multiplied over the past year. I have to admit that the fact that Barnard is a top tier liberal arts college in the City of New York factored into my decision-making. But it was more than just that. I remember as a high school junior, looking through every inch of Barnard’s website and being in awe of what both the faculty and students had accomplished, of how the college expands its connections globally, and of how everyone has a genuine smile in every picture. Most importantly, it was extremely empowering to me that I saw women on all of those pages and postings.
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At my admitted students Open House

I must confess that I was one of those people who came to Barnard despite the fact that it is a women’s college, but that is now one of the major reasons that I call this place my home. Because I’m in a nurturing environment where women are encouraged to go above and beyond their immediate potential, I am a stronger and braver woman than I was eight months ago. I never imagined myself speaking up in class, supporting women’s issues, majoring in economics, minoring in computer science, being elected class vice president, meeting the mayor and councilwomen in City Hall, or chatting with Gloria Steinem. If I weren’t attending Barnard, I probably would not have achieved even half of those things within my first year of college. Seeing women in leadership and being successful really encourages me to go out of my comfort zone and try things that might seem impossible at first, but are absolutely achievable.

Each day at Barnard is like a breath of fresh air: the strong sense of community, compassion of faculty, academic readiness of students, and unlimited possibilities of the future remind me how lucky and honored I am to be a Barnard woman. I chose to attend Barnard, and that made all the difference.

Sarah

Hosting Admitted Students Last Weekend! (Part 2)

Even though I knew that I was going to attend Barnard by the time my Admitted Students’ Open House came around (I applied Early Decision to Barnard), I gained absolute assurance that I had chosen the perfect school for me during that weekend. After that, my love for Barnard kept getting deeper and deeper. As a current student, I really wanted to help prospective students make the decision to attend Barnard and fall in love with it as I have. So, I was super excited to host prospective students last weekend.


With my admitted students at Open House

On Saturday night, I went to the ice cream social to meet the two students I would be hosting over the weekend. I was fortunate enough to be given two amazing ladies, Helen and Jilliann, who were both from Southern California. Even though they were exhausted from their long flight and a busy day packed with events, they willingly stayed up long into the night to hear about the experience of my first year. Just looking at them reminded me of how excited I was at my admitted students’ weekend and couldn’t believe that a year had passed since then. Although I wished I had more time with them to talk about the greatness of Barnard, I was delighted when they told me that this weekend made them put Barnard on the very top of their college choice list and thanked me for being so supportive of them and enthusiastic about Barnard.

 

Helen and Jilliann will keep me posted about their final decisions in the coming weeks. I am really hopeful that I will see them around campus next September!

Sarah

Hosting Admitted Students Last Weekend!

A group of admitted students that Lina brought to Vine,
a local Asian fusion restaurant

So last weekend, one of my suitemates, Lina, and I hosted two students for admitted students Open House weekend. I wasn’t able to go to admitted students weekend before I came to Barnard, so it was fun for me to experience some of the fun events that the Office of Admissions plans! Hosting admitted students was also a great excuse get milkshakes at Tom’s Diner (of Seinfeld fame and the restaurant which Barnard alumna, Suzanne Vega, wrote a song about!) with my first year roommate, Hayley, and the admitted student she was hosting.

Having just recently declared my major and pretty much set up the rest of my coursework (though I could technically still change it), it’s fun to talk about all the possibilities that lie ahead for you all as you begin your time at Barnard. Talking with prospective students over the weekend also reminded me how diverse the interests are of all the people I’ve met in my time at Barnard.  As the prospective Barnard students asked me about clubs or majors they were interested in, if I didn’t personally know much about it, I could almost immediately name someone who they could talk to about this or that.

After we all went to Tom’s, we came back to my dorm and distracted Lina from her problem set. To be honest, it is equally as important to find time for fun as it is to set aside time for work. Lina and I spent the night telling the prospective students about some of our favorite Barnard memories. If you didn’t have the chance to come to admitted students weekend (or even if you did!) feel free to ask me any questions in the comments or through email, so I can put off homework tonight too (:

Margeaux

Congratulations! And welcome to Barnard.

About six years ago, when acceptance letters still came by mail and Facebook was a world almost exclusively inhabited by college students, I drove ten miles an hour behind the mailman as he made his way through my suburban Chicago neighborhood. In that large USPS envelope that he handed me with an understanding look of confusion on his face was the answer I had been agonizing over for a year; I had been admitted to Barnard, and it truly felt as if with that offer, the life I had dreamed of for myself was finally beginning.   

You have all been chosen from the largest and most talented pool of applicants Barnard has ever seen. As our staff listened to your teachers rave, marveled at the incredible organizations you founded and led, read about the amazing instances where you stepped up and majored in unafraid, we felt awestruck, inspired, and so excited to meet you. You have all done incredible things in the communities you live in, and we cannot wait to see the impact you will surely have on Barnard’s campus.

So now you’ve done it. You have been admitted. What you thought would be the hardest part is over. Barnard wants you. Hopefully you have taken time to celebrate with your friends and family, have taken what may feel like the first deep breath in over a year, and have given yourself a great big pat on the back. Now the power is in your hands and you simply have to decide if Barnard is the place for you.

The prospect of figuring out where to spend your next four years is daunting, but we are hoping we can help. If you have the opportunity to come for one of our Admitted Student Open House events in April, I really encourage you to go online and register. Open House is an opportunity to visit campus free from college admissions fears you may have had during your college tours, and a chance to focus on what really matters. In two jam-packed days you will meet the other amazing young women who will be your future classmates, you will listen to current students, faculty members, alumnae, and support staff speak about this special place, you will tour campus and our neighborhood to see what it would really be like to live and go to school in New York City, you will spend the night with a current student in our dorms, and you will sit in on a class of your choice.

And, perhaps most importantly, you will have the opportunity to ask questions. Lots and lots of questions. Questions that will be hugely helpful in making this decision. The entire Office of Admissions staff will be on hand to share information with you and hopefully guide you through this overwhelming process. You will leave Open House exhausted and armed with more information than you’d ever need to know about Barnard. Hopefully, you’ll leave knowing that Barnard is the place for you.

We know that coming to campus for Open House isn’t necessarily going to be possible for all of you, but rest assured that there are ways to learn about Barnard that don’t involve an airplane or train. If you won’t be able to visit us for our events we are still available to answer your questions via email. This blog will be a place where you can read about various topics you might want to learn more about. You are welcome to email barnardstudent@gmail.com with questions, and current Barnard students will get back to you. Join the Barnard College Class of 2018 Facebook page to meet your future friends and classmates. 

While on this journey do not be afraid to ask the tough questions. We want you to spend the month of April really thinking about the big picture. Close your eyes and try to imagine where you see yourself this September. Do you see yourself wandering into Riverside Park with a book and a cup of Joe’s coffee? Do you see yourself meeting in Hungarian Pastry Shop with your English professor to discuss your first literary analysis assignment? Do you see yourself surrounded by brilliant driven young women in the center of one of the most exciting cities in the world?

I started this post by saying that being admitted to Barnard made me feel like my life was finally beginning. While this certainly sounds dramatic, it ended up being rather true. College is an opportunity to do things you never thought you would do and become the person you always thought you would be. Who do you want to be for the next four years? Who do you want to have become in forty?

We hope you’ll let us help you get there.

With warmest congratulations,

Alexandra