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Barnard College Profile

New York, New York

Barnard College Profile

Barnard College was established in 1899 as an independent affiliate of Columbia University. Barnard is a women’s college offering comprehensive undergraduate programs in several different fields including liberal arts & sciences, and engineering.

The college itself is located in New York City’s Morningside Heights section in upper Manhattan. The footprint of the site is unique for an urban school because Barnard has approximately 4 blocks of Manhattan real estate which starts at 116th Street between Claremont Ave and Broadway on it’s southern border, and West 120th Street on it’s northern border. The campus has approximately 15 buildings including lecture, residential, research, and dining facilities. The internal campus setting provides students and employees with several types of student services including health, physical fitness, library, and cultural meeting places.

Barnard College is also unique because it shares the Morningside Heights neighborhood with Columbia University with it’s massive real estate holdings including 36 acres of upper Manhattan real estate and 115 buildings. Columbia is actually situated across the street on 116th Street and Broadway, which is the main entrance to the university. Barnard was designed to offer students a liberal arts education while still allowing students to enjoy a big campus environment in one of the world’s largest cities. The Morningside Heights campus offers students approximately 36 acres of shared city property situated within a large Upper Westside community. Barnard College also guarantees housing for all 4 years for students with the internal urban campus providing housing for 2,057 students, the college also manages several off-campus apartment buildings located within 2 blocks of the campus. 90% of Barnard student live within these facilities according to campus officials.

The published demographic information for the college describes a culturally diverse student population with students from all across the world. Barnard College has developed educational affiliations with 3 different Columbia University campuses to offer students a Liberal Arts and Science, Research, and a Comprehensive education format to enhance it’s commitment to different types of career endeavors. Below is a description of demographics for Barnard College.

Barnard College Demographics: Barnard College is home to an overall student population of approximately 2,295 female full time undergrad students. The average age of a freshman is 18 years old; all undergraduates are 20 years old. 68% of students are out of state residents, the rest of students attending the university come from all 48 states, and 35 foreign countries. 67% of students are white, 7% are Hispanic, and 5% are African American, and 17% are Asian.

Student Housing

The purpose of student housing is to provide safe and reasonable accommodations for students living away from home. The issue of housing and dormitory life is a critical element of overall campus life because students spend a large amount of time in their rooms. Student housing units historically come in 3 different styles including traditional corridor, suite, and apartment style units.

Barnard College guarantees housing for all undergraduate students (except transfers) who has filed their intent to reside on campus by the stated deadline and who have continuously registered as full time students. The school has started developing housing resources for upper classman through it’s capital improvement initiatives. The college apartments are new, and beautiful, but only upper classmen can rent them. The apartments are located across the street on West 116th Street between Claremont Avenue and Broadway. Information about housing can be found on the quick links page of this document.

The college has also published a document called “ A Guide to Living “ that gives everyone who lives on campus a roadmap that addresses emergency procedures, codes of conduct, access control procedures, and many other very useful items. It’s the best document that I have ever seen that details almost every potential situation or event.

Off Campus Housing

The area around Bernard & Columbia has been described as a mini-city in an uptown muti- cultural residential community. The reason I have mentioned the overall community of Morningside Heights is to re-assert the point that Bernard’s network of affiliated campuses has encapsulated it’s real estate holdings within the area. The campus footprint allows almost every student to have housing within walking distance to the campus. The issue of off campus housing has a different feel to it compared to other university off campus housing demands.

The demand for housing, especially off campus housing is usually a tough issue for institutions attempting to keep students within the general geographical area. Barnard & Columbia has addressed this issue by buying up residential buildings and developing housing networks. One such network is called The Off- Campus Housing Assistance Program (OCHA), which lists local rooms and apartments for students. The OCHA only allows students with an acceptance letter, and or, a current student I.D. to use this program. Information about off campus housing can be found on the quick links page of this document.

Campus Life

Barnard College is a multi-cultural campus environment that provides students with an excellent social, and educational atmosphere. The admissions demographics paint a picture of a very diverse community with students from all over the world. The local community of Morningside Heights only adds to the universities international status because the community has multi-cultural roots as well. Barnard also addresses the issue of ecology in a positive way. The physical environment is clean and well maintained and the economic conditions are favorable to students and local residents due to the available services in walking distance to the school. The emotional climate of the entire community is positive because students are involved with local community groups.

This issue of school culture is also a very important part of campus life because everyone wants to have a connection and emotional fit to their new school and community. Barnard has done a great job developing positive social systems through it’s relationship with Columbia University that offers students a series of coordinated programs including workshops and seminars for freshman students. This type of process provides a foundation for learning and personal growth providing over 100 academic clubs, and student organizations within Barnard, and over 360 academic clubs, student organizations, and over 30 intramural sports activities within Columbia University.

Campus life at Barnard is more than academic excellence; it’s about school sports, performing arts, history, cultural events, restaurants, and local museums. For example, the City of New York has hundreds of venues to enjoy the previously stated activities including the Metropolitan Art Museum, Madison Square Garden, and Carnegie Hall to mention a few. The college also shares several global education centers in the area for students to learn, and gather information about studying abroad. The down side of sharing sports activities on the Morningside campus is students can’t walk to Baker Field, they have to take the school’s campus shuttle. The up side is the available exercise facilities within the Dodge Fitness Center on the Morningside campus. Barnard also participates in 14 NCAA Varsity Sports for Women.

Public Transportation

The New York City Transit System has a subway that stops right at the main focal point of the campus, which is 116th Street and Broadway. Students and visitors get off the train and walk up the street to the main entry to the school. The Seventh Ave Line (#1 Train) stops at 116th Street but it also connects with every other subway line within the system. Riders can take the train from south ferry in lower Manhattan to the Washington Heights in a relatively short amount of time.

Public transportation resources can also be found at New York Penn Station that links with trains to Long Island and New Jersey through the LIRR and Jersey Transit respectfully. Amtrak also uses Penn Station as a major hub within it’s Northeast Corridor. All these trains can be linked by the #1 train, which makes stops at Penn Station. Riders who wish to go to northern New York State can catch a shuttle train at 42nd Street from the # 1 train to Grand Central Station for the Metro North Trains.

This complex train system also allows riders the ability to travel to Liberty Airport via Jersey Transit, and Kennedy Airport via the N.Y. Subway system. People who live, work, and visit New York usually travel by some type of mass transit. Students should be encouraged to purchase a metro card to get around. Mass transit information can be found at: http://www.mta.info

Community Profile

Morningside Heights has been identified on maps geographically as north of 106th Street, and south of 126th Street between Morningside Avenue and Riverside Drive. The community has been described as scholarly and intellectual due to its student population and historical neighborhood architecture. The greatest number of residents north of 110th street is in fact a college student. Barnard & Columbia University is the main property owners within the area; both schools collectively own most of the housing up to 123rd Street. The local pedestrian walkway on Broadway links local residents to a large number of restaurants and local shops.

The community has a real city type feel to it because people usually walk on Broadway between 120th Street down to 110th Street for food and shopping. I don’t suggest that tourists walk beyond West 123 rd Street because the area changes in a hurry. The issue of walking alone at night outside the perimeter of the campus gates should also be curtailed in my opinion. Morningside heights has several community parks and ball fields in the Riverside Drive and Morningside Park areas but local police officers have told students to exercise some caution when using the city parks after dark.

The following demographics for New York City describe a multi-cultural community within a total population of 8,214,426 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Both Barnard, and Columbia Universities have a strong relationship with this diverse community. An example of this commitment can be observed through each school’s community services handbook that describes educational programs, health care programs and services, legal programs and services to local residents who may require community help.

A Census Bureau community survey highlights several characteristics to describe the population including: 47.7% of residents are male, 52.3 are female. 43.9% of residents are white, 25.1% are African American, 27.6% are Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% are Asian, 6.3% are some other Race, and finally 2.0 are two or more Races. The median age of population is 35.9 years old. 76.3% of residents are 18 years old or over and 12.1% of city residents is over the age of 65. The issue of housing in New York is also interesting. 91.2% of all housing units within the city are occupied. 65.6% of housing units are renter-occupied, while 34.4% of units are owner-occupied. Only 8.8% of total available housing was vacant.

Local weather

Weather is also an issue to consider for students preparing for a university experience. New York City enjoys all four seasons of weather including rain and snow. Northeast weather patterns sometimes allow for temperatures to drop below 32 degrees for a considerable amount of time during the winter. New York City also gets it’s share of rain during the spring and summer months as well.

Barnard College Quick Links

Hotels & Restaurants in Upper West Side of Manhattan

Below is a sample list of local restaurants, and hotels in the Upper West Side section of New York City. These restaurants and hotels are in close proximity to Barnard College. National restaurant chains & shopping resources can be found in several areas of the city including the East & West Village, Mid & Downtown, and Lower Manhattan. Complete information about hotels, restaurants, shopping, museums, and general tourism activities can be found in the document “ Everything in New York City” on the Your College Profile web site.

Upper West Side Area Hotels

Lower Manhattan Hotel Listings

Chelsea Area Hotel Listings

Upper West Side (Columbia/ Morningside Heights Area)

Chelsea ( Midtown/ West Side of Manhattan)

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