And The Winner is….

It’s done! The trips back to Boston and DC are behind us and the colleges’ programs, opportunities and atmospheres have all been re-tested. Miss Vicki mulled, considered, parsed, poked, prodded, kicked tires, quizzed students, slept in dorms, ate college food, strolled campuses and made lists of pros & cons. And last night, she rendered her decision….drum roll please….she has committed to Barnard!


Of course, the first thing we needed to do was get us some Barnard swag! So, today I took her into the city to the Barnard campus for a couple of sweatshirts, a car sticker, etc. Even got her brother a shirt saying “Barnard Football – Undefeated since 1889!” Then we strolled around the Barnard and Columbia campuses and down to 112th and Broadway to have lunch at the diner made famous in the TV show “Seinfeld” (you would recognize the outside for certain – inside it is much smaller than the studio version). The Morningside Heights section of Manhattan is very, very nice and amazingly clean and safe. Frankly, better than any area of the city I’ve been in before. I only wish it hadn’t been raining today as it would have been fun to take a walk in Riverside Park before running off with our booty.

During Vicki’s search process, I learned that many people are unfamiliar with Barnard, so I will take a moment to tell you about it. Barnard is the women’s college at Columbia University. It is both a part of Columbia University and independent of it at the same time. Barnard and Columbia students take classes together, participate in the same clubs, sports teams, live in each others dorms, etc. However, Barnard has its own Board of Trustees and admissions process and provides many services such as career counseling, peer support, some clubs and some traditions that are unique to Barnard. Barnard degrees are conferred by Columbia University with the seals of both Barnard and Columbia (and Columbia must approve of the hiring and tenure of professors at Barnard).

So, a natural question (for me) was – why didn’t Barnard just merge into Columbia like Radcliff merged into Harvard long ago? The answer: Columbia asked, Barnard said No! After 10 years of asking, Columbia gave up and opened it’s admissions to women but still maintained the curious “she is but she isn’t” relationship with Barnard. Barnard didn’t want to get married, she wanted to live together and keep her own name! And that’s what they do.

In any event, Vicki is very excited about becoming a “Barnard Woman” and we are, of course, very proud of both her achievement and the thoughtfulness she put into deciding the best college match for her. The picture above is one of Vicki’s graduation portraits --- doesn’t she look like a Barnard woman?