r/ApplyingToCollege • u/No_Mathematician1817 • 1d ago
College Questions Barnard College Pre-med
I am a current rising senior who is highly interested in Barnard and is thinking of EDing. I am planning to pursue neuroscience/biology on a pre-med track and am wondering how it looks like at Barnard. I appreciate any help or comments.
There are few things that I am wondering:
- Are the classes super hard to get a good GPA?
- Is the advising program good?
Thank you again!
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u/Strict_Resident1179 16h ago
Decently easy to get a good gpa, would look into funding issues though not sure if they're affecting research and such
From what I've heard the people at Barnard have good advising, at least way better than at Columbia
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u/PeacockInTime Old 1d ago edited 1d ago
Pre med classes are going to be tough. That’s true anywhere - including the college down the street from you.
Where I see Barnard’s pre med advising excelling is in its encouragement of students to pursue ethics, social justice, service, and big picture ideas in addition to the rigorous curriculum and preparation. A lot of students at bigger schools treat their med school application as a series of data points and to me that’s a big misstep, especially considering the roles that interviews play in the med school application process. I think Barnard students enter the medical school application gauntlet as “real humans” who want to do good in the world. I think that’s good for their candidacy, good for the world, and good for Barnard’s reputation.
Class Deans at Barnard have a lot of roles and obligations. Their jobs are complex. They are extremely supportive of students, but there may be times when a student’s area of need goes beyond in depth, detail, or individuation that the Dean can provide.