Is Barnard the same as Columbia?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are hard to get into, but Columbia is far more selective. Columbia's acceptance rate in 2025 was 3.9% while Barnard was 8.8%. Bright kids are present at both school, but on average, Columbia College and SEAS undergrads have higher stats upon admittance.

GS is an easy admit, 25% of enrollment, and they take classes with the College and SEAS — that’s 1/4 of students significantly lower than Barnard.

Yes, the PP didn't mention General Studies--which is a different pool of applicants and also includes many non-degree students. The PP mentioned CC and SEAS which are far more selective, and employers who know Columbia University, know the relative selectivity of the various degere programs.

It's also not the case that GS students take all their classes with the CC and SEAS. While General Studies students can enroll into some classes where Columbia College students are (ex: post-bac pre-med General studies students who would take the same pre-med requirements), they aren't permitted into many of the core curriculum classes that are marked as Columbia College specific, without a dean's ok.

They are in all the major classes and all the non-Core classes. Every last one of them — as you well know.

The Core Curriculum is the defining characteristic of being a Columbia College undergraduate and makes up a big chunk of a Columbia College undergraduate's degree credits, as you don't seem to know. Those Core Curriculum classes are also have a much lower student: teacher ratio than the average Columbia class and more professorial resources dedicated per student. While some GS students may request permission to attend, my understanding is that a Dean's permission would rarely be granted to do so. Same for Barnard students. That's because the degree programs are different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are hard to get into, but Columbia is far more selective. Columbia's acceptance rate in 2025 was 3.9% while Barnard was 8.8%. Bright kids are present at both school, but on average, Columbia College and SEAS undergrads have higher stats upon admittance.

GS is an easy admit, 25% of enrollment, and they take classes with the College and SEAS — that’s 1/4 of students significantly lower than Barnard.

GS are truly different students, generally 5-10 years older, adults who for a variety of reasons didn’t go to college right after high school.
often vets or people who have worked/gone to community college. They don’t live in the CC/SEAS dorms and they don’t really socialize with them.
IMO GS is real benefit to people who otherwise would likely never have access to that level of educational resources

It is 25% of the school, and it is a way of avoiding giving financial aid. GS students have more financial resources, not less, because full need is often not met. Plus, you are exaggerating their age. Many 20-year-old rich international freshmen who bought their way into Columbia GS…

Current average age of CC/SEAS students = 20; current average age of GS is 27 . . . I stand by 5-10 years older

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are hard to get into, but Columbia is far more selective. Columbia's acceptance rate in 2025 was 3.9% while Barnard was 8.8%. Bright kids are present at both school, but on average, Columbia College and SEAS undergrads have higher stats upon admittance.

GS is an easy admit, 25% of enrollment, and they take classes with the College and SEAS — that’s 1/4 of students significantly lower than Barnard.

GS are truly different students, generally 5-10 years older, adults who for a variety of reasons didn’t go to college right after high school.
often vets or people who have worked/gone to community college. They don’t live in the CC/SEAS dorms and they don’t really socialize with them.
IMO GS is real benefit to people who otherwise would likely never have access to that level of educational resources

It is 25% of the school, and it is a way of avoiding giving financial aid. GS students have more financial resources, not less, because full need is often not met. Plus, you are exaggerating their age. Many 20-year-old rich international freshmen who bought their way into Columbia GS…

Maybe you should reading the General Studies website, which will show that you are wrong..

Columbia University School of General Studies (GS) is the undergraduate college specifically designed for students pursuing a nontraditional path to a rigorous, traditional, Ivy League education, including students who have had a break of a year or more in their educations and those enrolled in one of our innovative dual degree programs. Most GS students have, for personal or professional reasons, interrupted their education, never attended college, or are only able to attend part time.

Whether you've taken time off for personal reasons, parenthood, travel, or your career, the School of General Studies—Columbia University’s college for returning and nontraditional students—makes it possible for you to complete your degree at one of the finest institutions in the country. In fact, Columbia is the only Ivy League university with a freestanding college in which nontraditional students are fully integrated into the undergraduate curriculum.

Because the average age of GS students is 26, they usually have 8 to 10 more years of experience in life than traditional college students. That means that diversity at Columbia is not only measured by ethnicity and gender, but also by experience and maturity—a maturity we find leads to great academic success. At GS, you'll join a community of students who after graduation go on to pursue advanced degrees and lead stimulating professional lives.

[Anonymous]

Barnard is not the same as Columbia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are hard to get into, but Columbia is far more selective. Columbia's acceptance rate in 2025 was 3.9% while Barnard was 8.8%. Bright kids are present at both school, but on average, Columbia College and SEAS undergrads have higher stats upon admittance.

GS is an easy admit, 25% of enrollment, and they take classes with the College and SEAS — that’s 1/4 of students significantly lower than Barnard.

GS are truly different students, generally 5-10 years older, adults who for a variety of reasons didn’t go to college right after high school.
often vets or people who have worked/gone to community college. They don’t live in the CC/SEAS dorms and they don’t really socialize with them.
IMO GS is real benefit to people who otherwise would likely never have access to that level of educational resources

+1 General Studies students are a mixed bag--some are bright, others not so much. They are a cash cow for the university, particularly the non-degree students, similar to Harvard's Extension school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are hard to get into, but Columbia is far more selective. Columbia's acceptance rate in 2025 was 3.9% while Barnard was 8.8%. Bright kids are present at both school, but on average, Columbia College and SEAS undergrads have higher stats upon admittance.

+1 This. Plus Barnard is female only, and has degree requirements that are different from Columbia College (which has an extensive Core Curriculum requirements) and SEAS (the engineering school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are hard to get into, but Columbia is far more selective. Columbia's acceptance rate in 2025 was 3.9% while Barnard was 8.8%. Bright kids are present at both school, but on average, Columbia College and SEAS undergrads have higher stats upon admittance.

I don't get it why you splitting hairs here. Barnard is a college of Columbia University, and it's super selective as is. Barnard's acceptance rate is comparable to many top schools including Cornell (8.8% vs 8.9%).

Nobody would think Cornall Agriculture or hotel management is not an ivy, their acceptance rate is higher than Cornell Engineering or CAS.
Nobody would say Penn CAS is not ivy, their acceptance rate is higher than Wharton SEAS.
They all have separate admissions.

In terms of core curriculum, Columbia SEAS takes only half of the core curriculum. If core is so sacred, would you say Columbia SEAS is only half of an ivy?

So what is it? Why are you so against a women's college in an ivy league university?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are hard to get into, but Columbia is far more selective. Columbia's acceptance rate in 2025 was 3.9% while Barnard was 8.8%. Bright kids are present at both school, but on average, Columbia College and SEAS undergrads have higher stats upon admittance.

I don't get it why you splitting hairs here. Barnard is a college of Columbia University, and it's super selective as is. Barnard's acceptance rate is comparable to many top schools including Cornell (8.8% vs 8.9%).

Nobody would think Cornall Agriculture or hotel management is not an ivy, their acceptance rate is higher than Cornell Engineering or CAS.
Nobody would say Penn CAS is not ivy, their acceptance rate is higher than Wharton SEAS.
They all have separate admissions.

In terms of core curriculum, Columbia SEAS takes only half of the core curriculum. If core is so sacred, would you say Columbia SEAS is only half of an ivy?

So what is it? Why are you so against a women's college in an ivy league university?

OP asked what the differences were between Columbia and Barnard, and people have tried to explain it to them--if you feel that pointing out the differences is "splitting hairs" then you can just respond that the degrees are the same and enjoy your ignorance.

1) No one is talking about women's colleges not being part of an Ivy league university.
2) Barnard students get a degree that says Barnard College of Columbia University, but it's not the same degree as one that says Columbia College of Columbia University or SEAS of Columbia University.
3) In terms of selectivity, yes, Cornell is less selective (in terms of share of applicants admitted) than Columbia College. Barnard is also less selective than Columbia College. Ergo, Columbia College is more selective than Barnard, as the PP above explained. If you think that the selectivity rates are similar because 4% is similar to 9%, that's between you and the person who taught you math.
4) People who know elite universities know that Cornell hotel management and Ag school are much easier to get into than Cornell Arts and Sciences. The same way they know that it's easier to get into Barnard or Columbia School of General Studies than Columbia College.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are hard to get into, but Columbia is far more selective. Columbia's acceptance rate in 2025 was 3.9% while Barnard was 8.8%. Bright kids are present at both school, but on average, Columbia College and SEAS undergrads have higher stats upon admittance.

I don't get it why you splitting hairs here. Barnard is a college of Columbia University, and it's super selective as is. Barnard's acceptance rate is comparable to many top schools including Cornell (8.8% vs 8.9%).

Nobody would think Cornall Agriculture or hotel management is not an ivy, their acceptance rate is higher than Cornell Engineering or CAS.
Nobody would say Penn CAS is not ivy, their acceptance rate is higher than Wharton SEAS.
They all have separate admissions.

In terms of core curriculum, Columbia SEAS takes only half of the core curriculum. If core is so sacred, would you say Columbia SEAS is only half of an ivy?

So what is it? Why are you so against a women's college in an ivy league university?

OP asked what the differences were between Columbia and Barnard, and people have tried to explain it to them--if you feel that pointing out the differences is "splitting hairs" then you can just respond that the degrees are the same and enjoy your ignorance.

1) No one is talking about women's colleges not being part of an Ivy league university.
2) Barnard students get a degree that says Barnard College of Columbia University, but it's not the same degree as one that says Columbia College of Columbia University or SEAS of Columbia University.
3) In terms of selectivity, yes, Cornell is less selective (in terms of share of applicants admitted) than Columbia College. Barnard is also less selective than Columbia College. Ergo, Columbia College is more selective than Barnard, as the PP above explained. If you think that the selectivity rates are similar because 4% is similar to 9%, that's between you and the person who taught you math.
4) People who know elite universities know that Cornell hotel management and Ag school are much easier to get into than Cornell Arts and Sciences. The same way they know that it's easier to get into Barnard or Columbia School of General Studies than Columbia College.

First, Barnard's acceptance rate for the class of 2029 was 10% not 9%.
Second, Barnard accepts 10% of a much smaller pool of applicants (10K) than Columbia College and SEAS (they report their data together) who accepted 4% of 60K applicants for its class of 2029.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are hard to get into, but Columbia is far more selective. Columbia's acceptance rate in 2025 was 3.9% while Barnard was 8.8%. Bright kids are present at both school, but on average, Columbia College and SEAS undergrads have higher stats upon admittance.

GS is an easy admit, 25% of enrollment, and they take classes with the College and SEAS — that’s 1/4 of students significantly lower than Barnard.

GS are truly different students, generally 5-10 years older, adults who for a variety of reasons didn’t go to college right after high school.
often vets or people who have worked/gone to community college. They don’t live in the CC/SEAS dorms and they don’t really socialize with them.
IMO GS is real benefit to people who otherwise would likely never have access to that level of educational resources

It is 25% of the school, and it is a way of avoiding giving financial aid. GS students have more financial resources, not less, because full need is often not met. Plus, you are exaggerating their age. Many 20-year-old rich international freshmen who bought their way into Columbia GS…

Maybe you should reading the General Studies website, which will show that you are wrong..

Columbia University School of General Studies (GS) is the undergraduate college specifically designed for students pursuing a nontraditional path to a rigorous, traditional, Ivy League education, including students who have had a break of a year or more in their educations and those enrolled in one of our innovative dual degree programs. Most GS students have, for personal or professional reasons, interrupted their education, never attended college, or are only able to attend part time.

Whether you've taken time off for personal reasons, parenthood, travel, or your career, the School of General Studies—Columbia University’s college for returning and nontraditional students—makes it possible for you to complete your degree at one of the finest institutions in the country. In fact, Columbia is the only Ivy League university with a freestanding college in which nontraditional students are fully integrated into the undergraduate curriculum.

Because the average age of GS students is 26, they usually have 8 to 10 more years of experience in life than traditional college students. That means that diversity at Columbia is not only measured by ethnicity and gender, but also by experience and maturity—a maturity we find leads to great academic success. At GS, you'll join a community of students who after graduation go on to pursue advanced degrees and lead stimulating professional lives.

Someone needs a lesson in statistics. The median, I can assure you, is lower than the average.

[Anonymous]

Acceptance rate doesn't mean much, especially when the school is test optional. The 4% acceptance rate only means a lot of underquanlified take their chances at a test optional school.

Columbia takes tons of hooked students. Selectivity doesn't equate to student quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are hard to get into, but Columbia is far more selective. Columbia's acceptance rate in 2025 was 3.9% while Barnard was 8.8%. Bright kids are present at both school, but on average, Columbia College and SEAS undergrads have higher stats upon admittance.

GS is an easy admit, 25% of enrollment, and they take classes with the College and SEAS — that’s 1/4 of students significantly lower than Barnard.

GS are truly different students, generally 5-10 years older, adults who for a variety of reasons didn’t go to college right after high school.
often vets or people who have worked/gone to community college. They don’t live in the CC/SEAS dorms and they don’t really socialize with them.
IMO GS is real benefit to people who otherwise would likely never have access to that level of educational resources

It is 25% of the school, and it is a way of avoiding giving financial aid. GS students have more financial resources, not less, because full need is often not met. Plus, you are exaggerating their age. Many 20-year-old rich international freshmen who bought their way into Columbia GS…

Maybe you should reading the General Studies website, which will show that you are wrong..

Columbia University School of General Studies (GS) is the undergraduate college specifically designed for students pursuing a nontraditional path to a rigorous, traditional, Ivy League education, including students who have had a break of a year or more in their educations and those enrolled in one of our innovative dual degree programs. Most GS students have, for personal or professional reasons, interrupted their education, never attended college, or are only able to attend part time.

Whether you've taken time off for personal reasons, parenthood, travel, or your career, the School of General Studies—Columbia University’s college for returning and nontraditional students—makes it possible for you to complete your degree at one of the finest institutions in the country. In fact, Columbia is the only Ivy League university with a freestanding college in which nontraditional students are fully integrated into the undergraduate curriculum.

Because the average age of GS students is 26, they usually have 8 to 10 more years of experience in life than traditional college students. That means that diversity at Columbia is not only measured by ethnicity and gender, but also by experience and maturity—a maturity we find leads to great academic success. At GS, you'll join a community of students who after graduation go on to pursue advanced degrees and lead stimulating professional lives.

Someone needs a lesson in statistics. The median, I can assure you, is lower than the average.

The bolded text from Columbia's website references the average age for a General Studies, which is 26. The person who doesn't understand statistics is you, because median is not the same as average. Please cite the data you have on the median age of a GS student and explain why they're as young as a typical Columbia College or SEAS applicant. You don't have that data, because as Columbia takes great pains to explain on their publicly available website, GS students are an different pool of much older applicants who are "non-traditional and usually have 8 to 10 more years of experience"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Acceptance rate doesn't mean much, especially when the school is test optional. The 4% acceptance rate only means a lot of underquanlified take their chances at a test optional school.

Columbia takes tons of hooked students. Selectivity doesn't equate to student quality.

That acceptance rates don't mean much is your opinion, not a fact. I disagree. Barnard is also test optional but has a much smaller applicant pool and a much higher acceptance rate (10%) than Columbia College & SEAS (4%).

And news flash--nearly every elite university takes "hooked students" if by hooked, you mean providing an admissions preference to legacy applicants, big donor kid (development admit) applicants and athletic recruits. The exceptions are Cal Tech and MIT, but every other Ivy operates the same way as Columbia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are hard to get into, but Columbia is far more selective. Columbia's acceptance rate in 2025 was 3.9% while Barnard was 8.8%. Bright kids are present at both school, but on average, Columbia College and SEAS undergrads have higher stats upon admittance.

GS is an easy admit, 25% of enrollment, and they take classes with the College and SEAS — that’s 1/4 of students significantly lower than Barnard.

GS are truly different students, generally 5-10 years older, adults who for a variety of reasons didn’t go to college right after high school.
often vets or people who have worked/gone to community college. They don’t live in the CC/SEAS dorms and they don’t really socialize with them.
IMO GS is real benefit to people who otherwise would likely never have access to that level of educational resources

It is 25% of the school, and it is a way of avoiding giving financial aid. GS students have more financial resources, not less, because full need is often not met. Plus, you are exaggerating their age. Many 20-year-old rich international freshmen who bought their way into Columbia GS…

Maybe you should reading the General Studies website, which will show that you are wrong..

Columbia University School of General Studies (GS) is the undergraduate college specifically designed for students pursuing a nontraditional path to a rigorous, traditional, Ivy League education, including students who have had a break of a year or more in their educations and those enrolled in one of our innovative dual degree programs. Most GS students have, for personal or professional reasons, interrupted their education, never attended college, or are only able to attend part time.

Whether you've taken time off for personal reasons, parenthood, travel, or your career, the School of General Studies—Columbia University’s college for returning and nontraditional students—makes it possible for you to complete your degree at one of the finest institutions in the country. In fact, Columbia is the only Ivy League university with a freestanding college in which nontraditional students are fully integrated into the undergraduate curriculum.

Because the average age of GS students is 26, they usually have 8 to 10 more years of experience in life than traditional college students. That means that diversity at Columbia is not only measured by ethnicity and gender, but also by experience and maturity—a maturity we find leads to great academic success. At GS, you'll join a community of students who after graduation go on to pursue advanced degrees and lead stimulating professional lives.

Someone needs a lesson in statistics. The median, I can assure you, is lower than the average.

The bolded text from Columbia's website references the average age for a General Studies, which is 26. The person who doesn't understand statistics is you, because median is not the same as average. Please cite the data you have on the median age of a GS student and explain why they're as young as a typical Columbia College or SEAS applicant. You don't have that data, because as Columbia takes great pains to explain on their publicly available website, GS students are an different pool of much older applicants who are "non-traditional and usually have 8 to 10 more years of experience"

You are drinking the Columbia Kool-aid. Ask someone on campus: most GS are about 2-3 years older than typical undergrads, especially the full-timers, and the GS dual degree kids are all the same age. As for data. Hmmnnn. Columbia. Data. Transparency. I think we see the problem…

And, without the data, if you cannot see that the median is lower than the average, given a handful of middle-aged folks, you really do need to understand statistics better….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both schools are hard to get into, but Columbia is far more selective. Columbia's acceptance rate in 2025 was 3.9% while Barnard was 8.8%. Bright kids are present at both school, but on average, Columbia College and SEAS undergrads have higher stats upon admittance.

+1 This. Plus Barnard is female only, and has degree requirements that are different from Columbia College (which has an extensive Core Curriculum requirements) and SEAS (the engineering school).

+2 With the correction that Barnard's acceptance rate in 2025 was 10% for the class of 2029 not 8.8%.
https://barnard.edu/news/barnard-welcomes-its-class-2029