Barnard College is an all-women’s college in New York City that is directly across the street from the main Columbia University campus. We say “main” because Barnard has a complicated relationship with Columbia. The college is part of Columbia, but it’s also sorta not. The application is separate and the schools operate independently. However, nearly all of the courses are mixed and your diploma will say “Columbia University” at the top of it with Barnard identified as your undergraduate college just as students in Columbia College or the engineering college of Columbia have. Over 12,000 students apply to Barnard annually, and the acceptance rate is 9%.
If you’re considering Barnard, there are two very important things to know. First, it’s an all-women’s college and they only admit individuals who identify as and live as women. This is central to the Barnard ideology and methodology and guides much of the academic experience. At the same time, since the courses are almost entirely mixed with Columbia College, you will rarely be in a class that is all women.
The second important thing to know is that students at Barnard do not adhere to Columbia College’s iconic Core Curriculum. Instead, they fulfill what is called the “Foundations Curriculum,” which is a more flexible and less prescriptive set of distribution requirements than what Columbia College requires. If this sounds good to you, you should also know that Barnard is test-optional for the 2023-2024 applications cycle, so they do not require the ACT or SAT to apply.
If you think Barnard could be your perfect fit, send us an email. We help students get into their dream schools
The Barnard supplement is on the more demanding side of the supplement spectrum. There are three questions, and they all ask you to put a lot into a pretty small package (250 words). We highly recommend starting these supplements well in advance of the application deadline so that you have time to edit, revise, and ask friends or teachers for feedback. Now on to the supplement.
Our backgrounds and experiences shape how we navigate the world and see ourselves. Tell us about when, where, or with whom you feel your most authentic, powerful self. How might Barnard further cultivate this version of you? (250 words)
We find this prompt very exciting because it asks you when you feel at your best, and to share that story. Instead of challenging you to drum up a hardship, it does the exact opposite, inviting you to share a triumph! As you approach this prompt, remember that the key is story. Don’t simply describe a place, activity, or relationship — tell a story that shows how what you are spotlighting is empowering for you. For example, if you do martial arts, it might be at the dojo. If you lead a Quiz Bowl team, it may be during practice when you’re confident in your team’s ability to work together. If you love spending time outdoors, it may be alone in the woods, learning a new survival skill.
Then, they ask you how you see yourself at Barnard — which, for the record, is not in the woods although young college students do have to cultivate survival skills like doing laundry and microwaving frozen ravioli. Barnard wants specifics, so share what it is about the Barnard program that resonates most strongly for you through the lens of empowerment. Be specific!
Barnard celebrates intellectual risk-taking, and we believe that academic inquiry starts with bold questions. What questions do you have about the world around you, and why do they matter to you? (250 words)
While they say “questions,” in the prompt, we recommend choosing one question that could have a spoken or unspoken series of questions below it. For example, if you were to ask, “Do octopuses feel friendship?”, that naturally speaks to a whole host of other questions but doesn’t require you to spend a large percentage of this supplement listing them (although a long list of questions cascading in specificity would be a bold move). Instead of a list, most students should spend less space on the question and more on the second part of this prompt: “why do they matter to you?” Why? Because that’s really what they want to know.
The best way to communicate why something matters to you is through storytelling. Writing “this matters to me because,” is banned from this supplement. As they say: Show, don’t tell. Running with the octopus example, perhaps it matters to you because you’re hoping to study psychology but have also nurtured a love of biology. One time, you were at a restaurant and your dad ordered the octopus and you talked about animal intelligence and then questioned the morality of eating a particularly bright creature while also wondering how humans make sense of the decisions we make writ large when they’re so often conflicting and contradictory.
Through telling the story of that meal and conversation, you would answer the prompt while also revealing so much more about how you process and engage with the world, and those around you — and this is exactly what Barnard is looking for.
If you would like to respond to one of our optional questions, please choose from the selected prompts below (250 words):
As you know well if you read our blog regularly, optional isn’t optional. You will pick one, it’s just a question of which.
Barnard’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion mission statement says, “Our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity has the potential to disrupt and transform entrenched practices and thinking.” In what ways have you challenged ideas, practices, or spaces? What did you learn from these experiences?
We love this prompt because, while you can write about something massive you may have done that challenged preconceived notions about what someone like you can do, you don’t have to think that big. In general, in fact, we like to think small. Not small as in low-stakes, but small as in zoomed in and focused. Perhaps you presented an alternative way of doing something that’s always been done the same way at your school, or you mistakenly toppled over a tradition simply by following a passion only to have everyone discover that tradition needed to be toppled. Cooking a duck for Thanksgiving instead of a turkey can, indeed, be a rebellious act if your family thinks you’re out of your mind for even pondering it — but perhaps you wanted to celebrate a piece of your culture through the shift in protein. Obviously, we have food on the brain today, but there are plenty of ideas that don’t involve mealtime. Maybe you led a decision in your student government that opened up room for more voices to be heard, or even stepped away from a leadership position when you realized that you weren’t actually the best fit for the role, challenging the idea that being in charge should always be the goal.
As a college for women, “Barnard embraces its responsibility to address gender issues in all their complexity and urgency to help students achieve the personal strength that will enable them to meet the challenges they will encounter throughout their lives.” How have you thought about gender in your academic life thus far and how has it shaped your learning experiences?
This prompt is especially fitting for someone who doesn’t ascribe to traditional gender norms, but who is excited to study at an all-women’s institution — but it’s not just for that sort of student. Any young woman who has thought about the role of gender in their education has something to say here, if this question resonates. However, we don’t recommend this prompt if you are coming from an all-girls high school. That isn’t because we don’t think you’d have a lot to say — you probably do. Rather, girls coming from all-girls high schools tend to have a particular perspective on this prompt if they are looking to continue on to an all-women’s college, and the last thing you want is to sound like everyone else. If you aren’t coming from a single-sex learning environment, though, this may be a great fit but try to look stereotypical talking points like boys monopolized classroom airtime. Those conversations are relevant and important, but don’t reveal as much about you as either of the other prompts here would.
Pick one woman — a historical figure, a fictitious character, or a modern individual — who you’d like to converse with for an hour and explain your choice. Why does this person intrigue you? What would you talk about? What questions would you ask her?
We love this prompt because it’s a chance to have some fun. “Oh no, college applications and fun don’t mix!” you say. Well, you’re wrong. We think they are quite enjoyable, and this type of prompt is exactly why. Consider writing a response to this prompt as a dialog. Set the scene: where is this conversation taking place? Then actually have the conversation! Instead of listing what you’d talk about or what questions you’d ask — ask them! If that doesn’t feel like your style, format your response as a letter or email, asking the woman you’ve picked to meet with you, and why. Or your response to this prompt could be you telling a friend or family member about this conversation after it’s happened. There are so many ways to approach this that are engaging, entertaining, and as fun to write as they will be for an admissions officer to read.
Barnard seeks out applicants who are creative, thoughtful, generous, and deeply invested in having a unique all-women’s educational experience. If that describes you, it may be your perfect fit.
If Barnard is your dream school, send us an email. We are experts at navigating their admissions process.