Anonymous
12/27/2025 15:36
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:LACs are just much easier than normal colleges. They are meant to be comfortable bubbles that coddle rather than challenge.
+2
However, this is not necessarily a bad aspect of higher education.
Anonymous
12/27/2025 15:34
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Barnard has always attracted quirky girls of middling intelligence.
2 close friends of mine attended and I would sometimes visit. All their friends and room-mates were low-to-middle intellects.
That's rude
It's just my assessment, take it or leave it. A lot of the girls also had psychological issues.
Anonymous
12/27/2025 14:11
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:I have a freshman at Barnard and I would describe their first term as challenging, as she came from a public HS with a ton of grade inflation, and had a couple of tough profs, one known for rarely giving As and the other having 2 TAs, one that was very difficult with grading that she was assigned to. Probably this is very class and prof-dependent.
No ties to Barnard, but agree with this. I think polar opposite experiences could be posted about from any school. Too many variables.
Anonymous
12/27/2025 14:00
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
I have a freshman at Barnard and I would describe their first term as challenging, as she came from a public HS with a ton of grade inflation, and had a couple of tough profs, one known for rarely giving As and the other having 2 TAs, one that was very difficult with grading that she was assigned to. Probably this is very class and prof-dependent.
Anonymous
12/27/2025 12:32
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don’t really see why this matters. If she wants a demanding education, she can make her schedule as hard as possible taking physics, math, and upper div philosophy seminars. It sounds like Barnard is just easing the adjustment- which is fine.
Most schools aren’t Reed.
Maybe it is just the first semester, in which case I agree that it might be fine and they are just being gentle with these students during the first semester but I'd be annoyed if it continues into next semester. Students can't just decide to take whatever classes they want to increase rigor--they are restricted by what's available and college courses should be demanding across disciplines.
Most schools don't have harsh restrictions on taking upper div seminars in humanities or social sciences (that aren't economics). You just have to take the harder courses. Our DD's first semester at a peer lac was 3 upper division courses in the humanities and she was challenged to the bone, but loved the experience and pursued no intro courses that weren't required.
Correct.
And barnard provides a further advantage over other lacs.
Because it's an undergraduate college of Columbia U, Barnard students can enroll in graduate level courses with Columbia's graduate students.
OP: You can encourage your kid to explore into upper division courses and graduate-level courses.
As others have said, this is not generally an option during the first year at Barnard. I'm not the OP but the classes that were available my DD (a second year there) were all Barnard undergraduate classes that were not full already with upper classmen. The rigor did increase this year but people who say that these students can just "take harder classes" - whether those are upper level, at Columbia, or grad school classes- during their first year are incorrect.
College is four years?
Freshman year is the transition year. Many schools emphasize a smooth transition. MIT makes the first semester grades P/F.
Is Barnard so bad to make the first year a little bit easier?
Harvard has its remedial math.
UCSD has its elementary school math class.
At Stanford you will encounter the largest population of disability.
Anonymous
12/27/2025 12:31
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:Barnard has always attracted quirky girls of middling intelligence.
2 close friends of mine attended and I would sometimes visit. All their friends and room-mates were low-to-middle intellects.
That's rude
Anonymous
12/27/2025 12:12
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Barnard has always attracted quirky girls of middling intelligence.
2 close friends of mine attended and I would sometimes visit. All their friends and room-mates were low-to-middle intellects.
2 close friends of mine attended and I would sometimes visit. All their friends and room-mates were low-to-middle intellects.
Anonymous
12/27/2025 11:50
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:My DD is first year at Barnard and, though she loves being in the city, she is finding the classes pretty easy (and she came from a public school with a lot of grade inflation). She expected more rigor/to be challenged more and maybe that's still to come but she's underwhelmed. Anyone else?
Protest season doesn’t start until the spring.
Anonymous
12/27/2025 11:42
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:LACs are just much easier than normal colleges. They are meant to be comfortable bubbles that coddle rather than challenge.
er, no! My DC went to a SLAC (not Barnard) and was very challenged, got a great education, honed their critical thinking skills nd got an excellent and meaningful job when graduated.
Anonymous
12/27/2025 09:55
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don’t really see why this matters. If she wants a demanding education, she can make her schedule as hard as possible taking physics, math, and upper div philosophy seminars. It sounds like Barnard is just easing the adjustment- which is fine.
Most schools aren’t Reed.
Maybe it is just the first semester, in which case I agree that it might be fine and they are just being gentle with these students during the first semester but I'd be annoyed if it continues into next semester. Students can't just decide to take whatever classes they want to increase rigor--they are restricted by what's available and college courses should be demanding across disciplines.
Most schools don't have harsh restrictions on taking upper div seminars in humanities or social sciences (that aren't economics). You just have to take the harder courses. Our DD's first semester at a peer lac was 3 upper division courses in the humanities and she was challenged to the bone, but loved the experience and pursued no intro courses that weren't required.
Correct.
And barnard provides a further advantage over other lacs.
Because it's an undergraduate college of Columbia U, Barnard students can enroll in graduate level courses with Columbia's graduate students.
OP: You can encourage your kid to explore into upper division courses and graduate-level courses.
As others have said, this is not generally an option during the first year at Barnard. I'm not the OP but the classes that were available my DD (a second year there) were all Barnard undergraduate classes that were not full already with upper classmen. The rigor did increase this year but people who say that these students can just "take harder classes" - whether those are upper level, at Columbia, or grad school classes- during their first year are incorrect.
Anonymous
12/27/2025 05:48
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:LACs are just much easier than normal colleges. They are meant to be comfortable bubbles that coddle rather than challenge.
+1
I love how useless this comment is in response to a wrong statement. Classic DCUM.
Anonymous
12/27/2025 02:24
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don’t really see why this matters. If she wants a demanding education, she can make her schedule as hard as possible taking physics, math, and upper div philosophy seminars. It sounds like Barnard is just easing the adjustment- which is fine.
Most schools aren’t Reed.
Maybe it is just the first semester, in which case I agree that it might be fine and they are just being gentle with these students during the first semester but I'd be annoyed if it continues into next semester. Students can't just decide to take whatever classes they want to increase rigor--they are restricted by what's available and college courses should be demanding across disciplines.
Most schools don't have harsh restrictions on taking upper div seminars in humanities or social sciences (that aren't economics). You just have to take the harder courses. Our DD's first semester at a peer lac was 3 upper division courses in the humanities and she was challenged to the bone, but loved the experience and pursued no intro courses that weren't required.
Correct.
And barnard provides a further advantage over other lacs.
Because it's an undergraduate college of Columbia U, Barnard students can enroll in graduate level courses with Columbia's graduate students.
OP: You can encourage your kid to explore into upper division courses and graduate-level courses.
Anonymous
12/27/2025 02:13
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:LACs are just much easier than normal colleges. They are meant to be comfortable bubbles that coddle rather than challenge.
+1
Anonymous
12/27/2025 00:27
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don’t really see why this matters. If she wants a demanding education, she can make her schedule as hard as possible taking physics, math, and upper div philosophy seminars. It sounds like Barnard is just easing the adjustment- which is fine.
Most schools aren’t Reed.
Maybe it is just the first semester, in which case I agree that it might be fine and they are just being gentle with these students during the first semester but I'd be annoyed if it continues into next semester. Students can't just decide to take whatever classes they want to increase rigor--they are restricted by what's available and college courses should be demanding across disciplines.
Most schools don't have harsh restrictions on taking upper div seminars in humanities or social sciences (that aren't economics). You just have to take the harder courses. Our DD's first semester at a peer lac was 3 upper division courses in the humanities and she was challenged to the bone, but loved the experience and pursued no intro courses that weren't required.
Anonymous
12/27/2025 00:25
Subject: Disappointed with Barnard
Anonymous wrote:LACs are just much easier than normal colleges. They are meant to be comfortable bubbles that coddle rather than challenge.
Yeah Yeah. We get that you just don't like the colleges.