Academics
Barnard College, a celebrated private women's liberal arts college, offers students "the best of both worlds" with both a "small academic setting" and "full access to the Ivy League institution (Columbia University) right across the street. The school's "close community" offers a familiarity that carries beyond the walls of the classroom into the real world, where 37,000 alumnae form an empowering web that provides internships, career opportunities, and guidance through a variety of programs such as Mentor-in-Residence. Through this vast support network and Barnard's plentiful resources (for instance, the school spends $750,000 annually to aid students wishing to take unpaid internships), students seamlessly undergo a "transition from a young female college student to an adjusted global citizen."
This is due in no small part to Barnard's faculty, who are "really engaging and make the material approachable and interesting" and advise in further capacities through the school's numerous research and fellowship programs. No matter the area of study or size of the class, professors "definitely make time for students to come talk to them." Classes are a mix of lectures and discussions, and Barnard was one of the first colleges to institute a digital fluency requirement that imparts data manipulation skills and unites disciplines using digital tools. Even for those who may be nervous to tackle an unfamiliar topic or requirement, students say educators here are adept at "creating an environment to learn from and be inspired by classmates through the discussions held." The "phenomenal" education experience may be "challenging and very stressful" at times, but students are "so grateful" to be under the Barnard umbrella.
Student Body
Barnard College is filled with "driven, intelligent" students who are "extremely interested, dedicated, and passionate" in everything: "biology, dance, theatre, architecture, economics, international relations" (just to name a few). Undergrads suggest that there's a "tendency to overload," but qualify that by explaining that's not a bad thing, as they are "very proactive and use all resources available...to achieve their goals." Moreover, while students here are "ambitious, driven, and hard workers," it is "not at the cost of physical or mental health: they know how to have fun, too." The result is a group of women that is "smart, independent, and ready to take on the world." These "cool, creative, confident, well-spoken, and determined" women are well aware of what's been said about their "cosmopolitan" location: those who make it here can make it anywhere.
Campus Life
Students at Barnard live in "one of the greatest cities on Earth," they're not just given free admission to many of New York City's legendary institutions, but have the opportunity to study with local artists, curators, and scientists, often at the museums or labs in which they work. Of course, the beauty of the school's uptown location is that it provides a whole city to explore while also being just removed enough to allow "a lot of fun events [to] take place on campus." And while there are over 60*0 clubs between Barnard and Columbia, it's not unusual to find students "just chilling"-that is, when they're not " working or going to office hours, or pursuing an internship, a personal job, etc." Even with rigorous classes and a city filled with theaters, museums, and more restaurants than one can healthily visit in a lifetime-plus traditional and "phenomenal Greek life" opportunities across the street at Columbia-students are "intensely dedicated to pursuing their interests, whether that be artistic, academic, pre-professional, or athletic ones."
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