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Barnard College
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Barnard College - Inside Scoop - College ProwlerCollege Prowler0.00

Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

School Slang
  • Courseworks: The network Columbia maintains that teachers post grades, homework, and class notes on.
  • CULPA: www.culpa.info - The Columbia Underground Listing of Professor Ability - Everyone checks here during program filing to check what other students thought about different classes and professors.
  • Ebear: The network Barnard students use to sign up for classes and to check grades.
  • L Courses: These are courses with limited enrollment. When filing programs for the next semester, you are assigned a slot of time during which you are able to go online and add L-courses to your schedule.
  • The Lawn: The Lawn is located in front of Lehman Library.
  • Points: Points are what Barnard calls their credit hours. They look and act like what credit hours are at other schools, but don’t expect them to always add up to hours spent in class.
  • Programming: This is what Barnard calls registering for classes.
  • Registration: This is what you do when you arrive at school to let them know you will actually be attending classes, not when you actually sign up for classes.
  • Shopping for Classes: Barnard students have a two-week window in which they may attend as many classes as they want before they finalize their schedule with their advisor, called “shopping.”
  • The Vag.: The student center being constructed will be named for Diana Vagelos. Before it was known that it would be named "The Diana," students guessed the donor's surname would be used. Because "the vag." is particularly appropriate for a women's college, this one may stick even after the center is open.
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
  • Classes here are competitive—there are many aspiring young professionals here who are “18 going on 30.”
  • If you take a class and you don’t expect to do as well as you like, it is always better for your GPA to drop the class and take a W rather than to see what you get in the end.
  • Make sure you really look for interesting classes and good professors during the shopping period at the beginning of the semester, since after this time, it is difficult to get out of a bad class.
Tips to Succeed
  • Get a meal plan with fewer meals and more points. You can use points to buy a meal in the dining hall and to buy coffee and snacks at Java City, but you can only use an actual “meal” in the dining hall.
  • Take advantage of what New York has to offer. But try to do it in moderation.
  • Try to avoid taking more than one course with a lab in a semester. Lab courses tend to demand much more time and effort than other classes.
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Barnard Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Inside Scoop at Barnard College

bc2013

'13

Japanese Language and Literature

5.0
A+

An Amazing Place

I adore everything about Barnard: the eclectic mix of students, the atmosphere of intelligence with a sense of humor, the beautiful campus, the caring professors, and the unlimited resources of the school, Columbia, and the city. But most of all, what sets Barnard apart is the sense of community and pride; it doesn't matter who you are, you are a Barnard woman, you are part of the family.

Aug 18, 2011

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Inside Scoop at Barnard College

dle2112

'12

French Language and Literature

2.7
C+

All Girls

Barnard is an all women's school and the faculty and staff do a wonderful job of maintaining a close-knit community feel in a city as large as NY. However, I would say that most individuals at Barnard could stand to be a lot friendlier.

Apr 08, 2011

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Inside Scoop at Barnard College

vjelly

'13

Health Care

4.2
A-

Barnard's Balance

Barnard is strong in humanities but it also offers lots and lots of science research opportunities. There is a pretty tight relationship with Columbia- I had half my classes there first semester - which can be a blessing and a semi curse. You have an amazing research institute right across the street, but in general, Barnard professors tend to teach smaller classes (unless you're in premed 101 type classes) and are just much better at teaching. The only problem I have with Columbia is that it tends to detract from Barnard's awesomeness. It's not exactly a defined relationship, but it's a symbiotic one. Barnard professors, as I said before, are a-ma-zing. Then, of course, there's NYC. The greatest city in the world plus a college full of smart, diverse, cultured girls and awesome academic opportunities. What else could you want?

Jun 29, 2010

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Page 1 of 1

Facts

Traditions
  • “I Love Barnard” Spirit Day : Once a year, Barnard holds a spirit day in which the school sells T-shirts, holds a barbeque out on the lawn for all students, and gives away all sorts of Barnard goodies. This event really brings students together as a college to appreciate Barnard and what it means to each student.
  • Big Sub to Traditions : At Big Sub, which is sponsored by McIntosh Activities Council and held in the fall, students help build a huge, 705 foot long sub sandwich that stretches all over campus. The sandwich is rumored to be totally gone in less than ten minutes.
  • Each fall and spring, New York City street vendors set up shop for a couple days on Lehman Lawn.:
  • Greek Games : Each year, during the spring, Barnard holds the Greek Games, which bring together its students and each class for friendly competition in games, such as tug of war.
  • Midnight Breakfast : This event is held twice a year—at the end of reading week, right before finals start, and is sponsored by McIntosh Activities Council. Volunteers and administrators and even the college’s President serve food like waffles and eggs to hungry students who are about to take their semester finals.
  • Urban New York: Once each semester, Barnard students start lining up early in the morning in hopes of getting their first choice of the opportunities offered through the Urban New York Program. These opportunities include tickets to Broadway shows, sports games, and concerts as well as free meals at upscale restaurants. Sometime mid-morning, the staff of the College Activities Office bring in donuts and coffee.
Urban Legends It is rumored that on Martha Stewart’s notes to sell the Imclone stock that got her convicted of insider trading, there was also a note to send gift money to Barnard College, her alma mater.

Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Barnard

Name: Megan Cloud

Hometown: Ft. Worth, Texas

Major: Psychology

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