CollegeVine College Essay Team August 2, 2024 11 Barnard College,Essay Guides 2024-25

How to Write the Barnard College Essays 2024-2025

For all applicants, Barnard College has two required supplemental essays and one optional essay that gives you a choice between three different prompts. If you are applying to the Science Pathways Scholars Program (SP)2 or Bridgewater Scholars Program, you will also have one additional essay to write.

Barnard’s location in New York City, elite academics, and status as a historic all-women institution make admissions incredibly competitive, which means your essays will need to truly shine in order to set your application apart. In this post, we’ll break down how to tackle each prompt, so you can be confident that you’re putting your best foot forward.

Along similar lines, although one of Barnard’s supplements is optional, we strongly encourage you to write a response. College applications are limiting by their nature, so you don’t want to pass up any opportunity to share more about yourself and how you’d enrich Barnard’s campus community.

Read these Barnard essay examples to inspire your writing.

Before You Write

When composing your essays for Barnard, you need to be thinking about 1) larger issues in the world, 2) your relationship to them, and 3) your contribution to a meaningful solution. Barnard is a very “outward-looking” college, and admissions readers will be looking for applicants that share this wide, “macro” perspective. You should talk about larger issues in a personal way, and demonstrate your knowledge with both academic achievements and personal connection. 

It might be worth it to brainstorm the following things: 

• Values. What values listed on Barnard’s website really hit home with you? Print out this Mission page and this Fearless History page from Barnard’s website, and circle words that resonate with you. List reasons why they’re important to you. Then emphasize those value-oriented words and themes in your essays.

• Womanhood. Big topic, isn’t it? And it’s a good one, because everyone relates to it a different way.  Because Barnard is a women’s college, you should sit down with some blank paper and list your experiences in relation to this category. Make a flow chart; list the things that come to mind. How have you engaged with, experience, and wrangled with “womanhood” in a way that sets you apart? Do you have a unique cultural understanding, experience, or research perspective? 

All right, let’s take a deep breath and dive in!

Barnard College Supplemental Essay Prompts

This prompt is a version of the “Why This College” essay, as it asks you to describe how you hope to show up at Barnard. In this prompt, unlike many others, you’re given specific aspects of Barnard to talk about in your essay. Let’s talk about how to do this most effectively. 

First, you’ll want to acknowledge each of the three characteristics mentioned in the prompt. Start thinking about how you’ll engage with the Barnard campus, the curriculum, and the NYC location. Here are some questions to help you brainstorm.

For the Barnard campus:

• Are there any clubs or organizations you hope to join, or perhaps start? 
• What specific courses, professors, or areas of study do you hope to explore?
• Are there labs, libraries, or other academic resources you’re particularly excited about?

For the Barnard Foundations curriculum:

• What is interesting, surprising, or intriguing about the Foundations curriculum? Is there a particular aspect of it or guiding strategy that resonates with you?
• What qualities do you hope to develop or refine through the Foundations curriculum? Will it especially aid in your ethical leadership, global citizenship, critical thinking, etc?
• How will the Foundations curriculum shape your intellectual journey at Barnard?

For New York City:

• Are there specific cultural institutions, internships, museums, or other New York history that will influence and inform your studies?
• How will the context of studying in New York City shape your academic journey?
• Are there opportunities for civic engagement, community outreach, or fieldwork that will aid in your studies?

As you consider these questions and more, make sure that your responses are specific and authentic, and demonstrate deep knowledge of these resources. Writing generic responses about how the campus opportunities are vast, the curriculum is comprehensive, and the city is diverse, will make you a forgettable applicant. Doing some research, connecting your responses to yourself, and integrating them with each other to create a holistic view of your Barnard future will do just the opposite. 

This might sound like an overwhelming amount of considerations to balance. Let’s look at some hypothetical student examples to envision what a well-written response might look like.

• Aspiring Journalist: A student passionate about storytelling who has written for her high school’s newspaper writes about how she plans to major in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. She is eager to explore New York’s literary scene, and she would write about using Barnard’s Writing Fellows program and the city’s numerous literary events to hone her craft. She plans to combine the Foundations curriculum’s emphasis on critical thinking with hands-on experience in NYC’s diverse media outlets. 

• Environmental Studies Enthusiast: A student with a deep interest in environmental justice, who has led a sustainability club in high school. She could focus on how Barnard’s Environmental Science department, coupled with access to NYC-based NGOs, will help her develop the skills needed to make a tangible impact on urban sustainability, aligning with Barnard’s Foundations curriculum that fosters global awareness.

• Future Entrepreneur: A student passionate about social entrepreneurship and interested in Barnard’s Athena Center for Leadership. She could discuss how the interdisciplinary approach of the Foundations curriculum, along with the entrepreneurial ecosystem in New York City, will provide her with the tools to launch ventures aimed at social good.

The key to this prompt is showing that you can think critically about the world around you, through the lens of particular topics or issues you’re passionate about, and offer some explanation about what your interest in this thing says about who you are in general – why they matter to you, to use Barnard’s own words.

The key here, like with pretty much all college essays, is specificity. At Barnard you’ll be given much more independence in your classes, so admissions officers want to see that you’re able to look at a broad topic and zero in on one particular feature that you feel is especially important. So, rather than asking “How will we respond to the climate crisis?” ask the much narrower “How can we ensure safe and equitable access to clean water both locally and globally as temperatures rise and access is complicated by climate disasters?”

This specificity not only shows superb critical thinking skills, but also teaches Barnard admissions officers much more about who you are. You’re engaging with an issue that is current and pressing, and demonstrating your ability to think deeply about many different aspects of the issue. By asking this question you show awareness, critical thinking skills, and empathy for those who can’t access clean water. 

As you brainstorm, keep in mind that you don’t have to answer this prompt in a purely academic way. College essays, and applications as a whole, are usually pretty dry, structured affairs, but this prompt presents an opportunity to discuss parts of yourself that might not show up anywhere else.

For example, maybe you want to know how Taylor Swift was motivated enough during quarantine to write two Grammy-nominated albums. While this is a fun question, you’ll want to make sure that you engage with the “bold” aspect of the prompt. Maybe you can connect your curiosity about her drive to an interest in mental health, inspiration, and lengthening attention spans that have been shortened by technology. 

You can still use this more playful question to highlight your academic potential. While showing admissions officers a more “fun” side of you might feel risky, in reality mixing up your tone can provide a breath of fresh air that makes your application as a whole more engaging.

The key to a strong response is connecting the questions you have to personal experiences and anecdotes that show who you are as a person. If your essay is just a bunch of questions, and associated discussion of the topics they concern, Barnard admissions officers may come away with a much better understanding of, say, water synthesizing technology, but not of what you have to offer their school.

Instead, you could connect your interest in this kind of technology to your lifelong fascination with water, as you’re from Arizona and have always marveled at how many animals and plants manage to thrive in the desert, and describe a particular hike you went on to learn more about different kinds of cacti.

Keep in mind that, to craft a response that’s engaging throughout, you’ll likely need to discuss two or even three questions. Even if you have one that you could talk for hours about, evaluating some topic, like space colonization technology, from a variety of angles will make your essay livelier, as you’ll keep your readers on their toes.

Ideally, those questions will be at least somewhat related, as if you jump from talking about space colonization to your Taylor Swift’s songwriting, your essay will likely feel disjointed, even if your discussion of each topic is independently engaging. 

One other mistake to avoid is failing to include a question, like the prompt is directly asking for. It’s easy to get carried away talking about passions and interests, but you don’t want to get so excited that you immediately get carried away by your own fascination and forget to provide the one thing the prompt is directly asking for.

This prompt falls under the Diversity archetype, which asks you to write an essay that reflects on your own identity, that of others, and the intersection between the two. The focus on a difference of opinion provides an opportunity to demonstrate your openness to diverse viewpoints, your ability to listen and engage thoughtfully, and how this experience influenced your understanding of the issue at hand.

So, what makes a good response to this prompt? First, you’ll want to make sure that you pick a specific anecdote. Not only is this what the prompt is directly asking for, but it will help anchor your essay, providing a memorable reference point for a college admissions team. 

Next, you’ll want to pick a disagreement of sufficient importance to make a meaningful statement about yourself and your qualities. You might be able to write a very entertaining essay about arguing with your sister over the best fast food restaurant, but this subject won’t tell the committee much about your interests or best self. However, you should also try to avoid topics that are too major and polarizing, such as abortion; the admissions committee is likely to get many essays on these topics, and there is a small chance you could alienate your reader, even if Barnard is a progressive school.

Finally, you’ll want to use this story to demonstrate growth and reflection. You don’t need to have changed your opinion entirely, but you should show your ability to learn from encounters with others, as well as your potential for thoughtful consideration. These are especially attractive qualities in a potential student, as they show the admissions committee that you will use challenges and opportunities alike to benefit your development. 

What does it look like to put all these elements together? Consider the example below of a strong Barnard essay for this prompt. 

In a school debate about animal testing, I initially defended it as necessary for medical advancement, believing that the benefits to human health justified the means. However, my opponent shared insights from his experience volunteering at an animal shelter, describing the trauma that animals can endure even in controlled environments.

After the debate, I researched the topic more deeply and was shocked to learn about alternative methods, like computer modeling and cell cultures, that can replace animal testing without compromising research quality. This new information challenged my original stance, leading me to advocate for these alternatives in future discussions. The experience taught me the importance of questioning widely accepted practices and being open to more humane solutions, even in fields where tradition and progress are deeply intertwined.

This example works well because it shows a clear, specific instance where the student’s perspective was directly challenged by another viewpoint, leading to a significant change in their thinking. The essay demonstrates the student’s willingness to research and reconsider their beliefs, ultimately leading to advocacy for more ethical practices. Not only does this essay respond to the prompt, it gives us insight into the kind of person the author is, presenting them in a great light as a future student at Barnard.

This prompt has some similarities to the classic “Why Us?” supplement. Namely, as you brainstorm your answer the key is to focus on the commonalities between your education goals and the Science Pathways Scholars Program. Notice how instead of Barnard as a whole, we now have to focus on the (SP)²  in the righthand column. And instead of yourself as a whole, you should focus on your scientific foci and how your personal experiences intersect with these foci. 

Again, it’s essential to be specific. Specificity should be present in both your goals, what you like about (SP)², and any personal history you want to include. Integrate all three areas into a blended whole. To start, brainstorm a research question or area of inquiry you have, and then sketch out how you could learn more and improve your abilities through (SP)². 

Example: I want to explore therapeutic treatment for OCD

• (SP)² would allow me to spend the summer working in Columbia’s Martinez Laboratory, which is at the forefront of finding novel psychiatric treatments for compulsions
• (SP)² mentorship would ensure that I have an experienced perspective guiding me towards the labs and classes that best fit my niche

Alternatively, start with an inciting incident or personal history, and discuss how it shaped you and how you’re passionate about your field, despite systemic disadvantages. 

When COVID-19 first started to spread in Alaska, I was worried. In the early 1900s, Native communities were devastated by the Spanish Flu, and I was worried history would soon repeat itself. But instead, my Native town made the decision to seal itself off. We closed the road and pooled our resources. Although we never had a case of COVID, our isolation meant we had to ration our medical resources for other emergencies. Seeing the sacrifices made by my community has strengthened my commitment to improving how America approaches Native healthcare. By majoring in biology, with a pre-med track, I’m hoping to do my part to lessen the burden on indigenous communities like my own. 

Where to Get Your Barnard Essay Edited 

Do you want feedback on your Barnard essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool, where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

Need feedback faster? Get a free, nearly-instantaneous essay review from Sage, our AI tutor and advisor. Sage will rate your essay, give you suggestions for improvement, and summarize what admissions officers would take away from your writing. Use these tools to improve your chances of acceptance to your dream school!