So they say.

Today, Sue asked me why I applied early decision to Barnard and not Columbia or other schools. Many others have asked me the same question, and I never gave them a complete answer. To them, Barnard is an "inferior" school in one sense or another. And Sue said, Columbia students look down on Barnard students. Ok, this is not the first time I heard this. The last time was in College Confidential. And according to Sue and supposedly Beata's campus-visiting experience, "everyone" in Columbia "looks down" on Barnard. I don't know why. But "everyone" does. I mean, I understand that Barnard women on average are not as book-smart as the students from elite colleges. But that is not the reason one should be "looking down" on any college. Nothing is more elitist then this. And if anyone who attends a top university truly thinks that people are somehow less than he or she is just because they attend a college whose students' median SAT scores are not as high as theirs, then he or she truly does not deserve any respect at all. I mean, I'm all for the looking down of individuals. If someone speaks and behaves like a retard then for all means look down on him. But how can you make judgments about an entire student population of certain school based on merely numbers and what other people's subjective opinions.

Another question is, why did I apply to Barnard specifically instead of any other school. I've put considerable amount of time into this question. And I did not make my decision lightly. Ideally I would like to apply to a college with a good academic atmosphere (including programs offered, campus, surroundings, etc.); and the most important thing to me would be having interesting professors--perhaps like Arod. But how would I know where the professor(s) who would leave life-long impressions in me are? Plus, I assume that there should be memorable professors in all colleges, elite or not. Although I cannot accept the fact that Curtis is applying to schools not for himself but for another person, I have to agree with him that at this point, we rarely know which school's academic atmosphere is better than another other than information we solicit from rankings, numbers, stats--that I do not trust at all. To me, the Ivies and other elite colleges are the same to me. Who can really say which is "better"? It's obviously ridiculous to say that the entire University of Pennsylvannia is "better" than Columbia just because it's above Columbia on the ranking list provided by US News. We really don't know enough to determine which one is better. So the point is, the ideal method of determining which college is "better" (by looking at their academic program) is not going to work well. I don't want to go to a college only because of its location--something that we can decide if it's good for us--and financial aid package. I want to go somewhere because of something more. And that's why I resort to the idea/ideology of a college.

Frankly speaking, nothing about the Ivies or other elite colleges inspire me. Truly, nothing. I'm sure once I start attending these school I will find a lot of good things about them. But during the college searching process, I find nothing particularly attractive about any of these schools. They don't inspire me. They are no more than "good colleges." But Barnard is different. I like the fact that it stresses the value of women. The importance of being an independent and thinking woman. Choosing an all-women's college is not an easy decision. Our womenly instincts want men. We want boys and we want to flirt with them. But at the same time, we shouldn't forget that we are us. What's more important is the self-improvement of our selves and not whatever we gain from the depending on others. Going to Barnard is almost like making the statement that I understand this principle and I am there because I want to be a strong woman. I take pride in my identity and I want to be able to stand firmly in the real world as not just another person (in the ideal sexism-free world) but as who we truly are--women. I'm not saying that other women attending other schools do not have such willpower and sense of independence; I'm only saying that this independence and determination is the foundation of Barnard education. I'm assuming that all girls who chose Barnard have thought it through and have this idea in mind. This is their "core," their unique common value.

Still anxiously waiting for the decision to come...