Barnard College is a highly selective liberal arts college for women located in the Morningside Heights neighboorhood of Upper Manhattan. Columbia University is directly across the street, and the two schools share many resources. Barnard and Columbia students can take classes at both schools, share the holdings of the 22 affiliated libraries, and compete in the joint athletic consortium. But unlike the now defunct Harvard / Radcliffe relationship, Columbia and Barnard have separate financial resources, admission offices, and staffing.
During the 2010 - 2011 admissions cycle, just 28% of applicants were accepted to Barnard, and they had GPAs and test scores well above average. The college's many strengths made it an easy pick for my lists of top women's colleges, top Middle Atlantic colleges, and top New York colleges. To see what it takes to get into Barnard, check out the Barnard College profile.
The campus is compact and sits between West 116th Street and West 120th Street on Broadway. The image above was taken from Lehman Lawn looking south towards Barnard Hall and Sulzberger Tower. During nice weather, you'll often find students studying and socializing on the lawn, and many professors hold class outside.
