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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Backdoor into Columbia.[/quote]

OP, please disregard the above quote.  It's nonsense.  I went to Columbia and I was active in the student body; I had to learn about all the Columbia-Barnard details.  Please forgive the length of this post.

Barnard is an independent college that is part of Columbia University.  Barnard has its own campus and some of its own faculty.  Barnard has its own endowment.  Barnard has its own admissions office.

But Barnard cannot appoint tenured faculty, or start (or close) any degree program, without Columbia's approval.  Barnard cannot and does not grant degrees - Barnard alums hold Columbia degrees and that's what they are awarded at their commencement.  Columbia also names at least one but usually two trustees to Barnard's board.  The Barnard-Columbia relationship is written in stone in both Barnard's and Columbia's corporate documents, and Columbia's corporate documents are a New York State law that Columbia can't just change.  So Barnard is not some separate or back door to Columbia.  Instead, Barnard is a financially independent constituent college of Columbia.

Barnard students can and do participate in an active housing exchange with Columbia (even though they're across the street from each other), and Barnard offers single-sex housing to those who want it.  Barnard students can take any course open to Columbia College undergraduates and subject to no special prerequisites.  Barnard students can also participate in Columbia extracurriculars and teams.  Barnard students can major at Columbia.  In terms of being there as a full-time student, there is no real practical difference between Barnard and Columbia unless a Barnard student wants there to be.

Barnard students have average numbers (GPAs, rank, SATs, etc) only slightly and not substantially below Columbia College students - the Barnard numbers are competitive with the Columbia Engineering and GS students, and the Barnard numbers are higher than the Columbia allied institutions that accept undergraduates (like the Manhattan School of Music and the Jewish Theological Seminary).

Barnard is an excellent college.  If your DD is academically (very) solid, and very motivated, and has some "X" factor that goes beyond numbers, and would be a good fit in a demanding residential university, then you and she should be commended for thinking about Barnard and asking questions.  Anyone should think of his or her DD being admitted to Barnard as an honor and a compliment.

Best of luck.

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