How to Get Into Barnard: Admissions Stats + Tips
What’s Covered:
- How Hard Is It to Get Into Barnard?
- Average Academic Profile of Accepted Barnard Students
- What Is Barnard Looking For?
- How to Improve Your Chances of Getting Into Barnard
- How to Apply to Barnard
Barnard College, a distinguished member of the historic Seven Sisters, is renowned for its rigorous academic environment and highly selective admissions process. Crafting an application that resonates with Barnard’s distinctive ethos and academic rigor is crucial for aspiring students.
This guide is designed to help you navigate the intricacies of the application process, ensuring that you effectively highlight your strengths and potential contributions to this vibrant intellectual community.
How Hard Is It to Get Into Barnard?
For the 2024–2025 admissions cycle, Barnard received 11,836 applicants, of which 1,046 were accepted. This means that last year, Barnard’s acceptance rate was 9%, making it a highly selective school.
While Barnard’s admissions rates are very low, they don’t necessarily reflect your personal chances of admission. Our free chancing calculator can help you better understand your chances of acceptance into over 1,600 colleges across the country. By taking into account multiple elements of your profile, including your grades, test scores, extracurriculars, and more, we’ll estimate your odds of acceptance and even give you tips on improving your profile!
Average Academic Profile of Accepted Barnard Students
Class Rank
Of the 30% of last year’s first-year Barnard students who submitted their class rank, 90% graduated in the top 10% of their high school class, and 100% graduated in the top 25%.
SAT/ACT
Barnard has maintained a test-optional policy since Fall 2021. For the 2024–2025 admissions cycle, the middle 50% of admitted students scored between 1480 and 1540 on the SAT and between 32 and 34 on the ACT.
GPA
The average GPA of first-time Barnard students in the 2024–2025 admissions cycle was 4.13. Academic standards at Barnard are exceptionally high: 55% of admitted students had a GPA of 4.0 or higher, and more than 90% maintained a GPA above 3.75.
What Is Barnard Looking For?
At its founding, Barnard’s mission was to empower smart and ambitious women by providing them with a rigorous and timely education that, at the time, was only offered to men. Though we no longer live in the same social context today, Barnard still seeks women who are bold, socially engaged, forward-looking, and impact-seeking. Even at the high school level, Barnard wants to see students willing to take risks, whether academic or extracurricular, and that you can excel at what you set your mind to.
How Barnard Evaluates Applications
According to Barnard’s 2024–2025 Common Data Set, they consider the following factors “very important”:
- Course rigor
- Academic GPA
- Application essay
- Recommendations
- Character/personal qualities
These factors are “important”:
- Extracurricular activities
- Class rank
- Talent/ability
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
These are “considered”:
- Standardized test scores
- First generation
- Alumni relation
- Geographical residence
- Level of applicant’s interest
And these are “not considered”:
- Interview
- State residency
- Religious affiliation/commitment
Barnard is seeking individuals who not only achieve intellectually but also bring a strong and well-rounded character to their campus community. This is demonstrated by the attention placed on course rigor, academic GPA, application essays, references, and character/personal traits.
The primary emphasis for applicants should be on demonstrating their intellectual curiosity through a challenging high school curriculum and their capacity to express their ideas, experiences, and goals in essays.
While important, extracurricular activities, class rank, talent/ability, volunteer work, and job experience should be considered almost supplementary to your application, rather than its defining characteristics. These need to create the image of a dedicated and enthusiastic person who is active in and has an influence on their community.
That said, even if they are only taken into consideration, results from standardized tests and interviews can tip the balance in close admissions decisions, so be ready for them. It can make a difference to showcase that you’re truly interested in Barnard via attentive application writing and interview responses.
How to Improve Your Chances of Getting Into Barnard
1. Aim for all A’s while taking the most challenging classes available
Barnard doesn’t have a “cut-off” GPA; that said, accepted students across the board have strong academics. Since 90% of enrolled first-year students last year graduated in the top 10% of their respective high school classes, a competitive candidate for Barnard will need to have A’s in almost every class. Additionally, Barnard wants to see that students challenge themselves, so you should take numerous advanced honors, AP, or IB classes.
If your GPA is on the lower side and you’re still a freshman or sophomore in high school, there’s still time to increase your GPA. If you’re a high school junior or senior, it will be harder to raise your GPA, so the easiest way to improve your Academic Index is to get a higher score on a standardized test, either the SAT or the ACT.
2. Write engaging essays and supplement responses
In addition to the main Common Application or QuestBridge Application essays, Barnard requires applicants to complete the Barnard Short Answer Question—a 200–250 word response to the following prompt:
Rooted in a history of trailblazing women, Barnard College is a collaborative community of care shaped by bold women with a multitude of perspectives. Choose one woman—historical, fictional, contemporary, or personally significant—whose views differ from your own. Imagine a conversation with her. What would you discuss? How might her perspective challenge or shift your own? Share how this new mindset could influence your approach to learning and engagement both in and beyond the classroom at Barnard.
Your response to this question helps the admissions committee assess your openness to differing perspectives, your ability to integrate new ideas, your values, and—ultimately—how you would contribute to the Barnard community both academically and personally. For tips on how to approach the Barnard Short Asner Question, take a look at our guide to this year’s Barnard essays.
When it’s time to review your Barnard essays, gaining a fresh perspective is invaluable. Utilize our free Peer Essay Review tool for feedback from fellow applicants.
3. Cultivate at least one or two Tier 1-2 extracurriculars (find your “spike”)
Barnard seeks students who want to make their mark on the world. While that may sound like a tall order, this “mark” doesn’t necessarily mean on a global scale. It can be local or even personal. Barnard wants students who are curious and exploratory, and who can bring their independent thinking into the world.
Barnard cultivates the transformation of knowledge into action by helping students engage in real-life experiences that inform and enrich their coursework. The school wants to see that its prospective students have engaged with non-academic passions, whether that be through service work, debate clubs, music competition awards, or something else entirely.
In general, any activity that you do regularly outside the classroom counts as an extracurricular, as long as you can demonstrate that the activity has contributed to your growth as an individual and that you’ve applied any set of skills to your activity. However, not all extracurriculars are created equal.
Extracurricular activities can generally be divided into four tiers. To increase your chances at Barnard, you should have one to two Tier 1 or Tier 2 extracurriculars.
- Tier 1 activities demonstrate exceptional talent, achievement, leadership, or merit. Activities and roles on the national level or those that garner field-wide recognition count as Tier 1 activities. This may include winning a national award, qualifying for an international competition, or starting a nonprofit that gains national traction. Having a Tier 1 activity marks you as a distinguished youth in the field of your activity, so having Tier 1 activities is quite rare.
- Tier 2 activities are more common than Tier 1 but still display high levels of achievement and potential. Holding school-wide leadership positions like student government president, winning regional competitions or awards, and local recognition as a student-athlete or musician are all considered Tier 2 achievements.
- Tier 3 activities demonstrate sustained participation rather than exceptional achievement—they’re commonly seen in applications, both across the board as well as in any given individual student’s application (as some students may have more than one Tier 3 activity). These activities can include holding minor positions in school clubs or being on a varsity team.
- Tier 4 activities are the most common and have the lowest entry bar; they demonstrate interest without particular dedication. However, they are still important to include, especially if you have higher-tier activities, because they can help show the diversity of your interests. Tier 4 activities include endeavors like regular volunteering, general membership in clubs or organizations, or taking music or art lessons over several years.
4. Ask the right teachers for recommendation letters
Barnard requires two letters of recommendation from teachers of an academic core subject (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, or Foreign Language). You also have the option to submit up to two additional letters of recommendation, preferably from instructors or mentors outside of a classroom environment. When selecting recommenders, consider Barnard’s core values and choose teachers who can authentically highlight qualities in you that resonate with those values.
Extra letters should only serve to reveal new facets of your profile that aren’t apparent from your existing application materials. A strategic approach to your letters of recommendation is key to ensuring they provide the greatest impact on your application.
Take some time to think about which teacher will write you the most promising recommendation letter, and keep in mind the rules for requesting a letter of recommendation when navigating the process.
5. Apply Early Decision
Barnard’s early decision acceptance rate in the 2024-2025 admissions cycle was 26%, while the regular decision acceptance rate was 9%, consequently, students who apply under early decision have considerably higher statistical chances of acceptance, even after accounting for profile strength. If you have your heart set on Barnard—since the early decision is binding—applying ED can be a great way to show your commitment.
However, there are some drawbacks to keep in mind about applying early, including less time to refine your application, fewer financial aid package options, and the obvious inability to try your hand at other colleges if you do get in.
How to Apply to Barnard
Deadlines
Planning on applying to Barnard? Here are some dates to keep in mind for the 2025–2026 application cycle.
|
Application Timeline |
Admissions Application Due |
Notification Date |
|
Early Decision |
November 1 |
Mid-December |
|
Regular Decision |
January 1 |
Late March |
Application Requirements
Barnard accepts applications through the Common Application and QuestBridge National College Match application. To apply, you will need the following materials:
- All parts of your Common or QuestBridge application, including personal essay, extracurricular activities list, and $75 application fee (there is an option to request a fee waiver)
- Official high school transcript
- School Profile and report
- Responses to the Barnard Short Answer Question
- High school counselor letter of recommendation
- Two letters of recommendation from teachers of English, Math, Science, Social Studies, or Foreign Language, preferably from junior or senior years
Optional materials include:
- SAT or ACT
- Supplementary portfolios
- Up to two additional letters of recommendation (preferably from non-classroom teachers; e.g., club advisors or part-time job supervisors)
