Barnard College Barnard College
First-Year Applicants

The Application Process: First-Year Applicants

Application Review Philosophy

Learn about what kind of students Barnard is looking for, how to best prepare yourself for admission to Barnard, and how we read applications contextually and holistically.

Deadlines: Early and Regular Decision

Barnard offers two rounds of admission with two different deadlines. Learn more about which application round might be right for you.

Application and Short Answer Questions

Barnard accepts the Common Application. *Please note - Your application and the Barnard short answer questions must be submitted by 11:59 pm your local time according to the deadline below. Students applying through Questbridge can find more information on the Questbridge Applicants page. 

Early Decision

Deadline: November 1
Notification: Mid-December

Regular Decision

Deadline: January 1, 2026
Notification: Late March

Please note separate financial aid deadlines. 

Application Material Deadlines 

Please ensure that the following application materials are submitted by the following dates. As a reminder, applications should periodically check their Barnard application portal, once they have applied, to see the status of materials received. Materials can be submitted via the Common App or via Slate.org by the school counselor. The recommenders can also email recommendations directly to our office at admissions@barnard.edu. 

Early Decision

  • Secondary School Report and Counselor Recommendation: November 20th
  • Self-Reported Test Scores (if submitting testing): November 20th
  • Teacher Recommendations: November 20th 
  • 1st Quarter/Trimester grades: November 25th

Regular Decision

  • Secondary School Report and Counselor Recommendation: January 15th
  • Teacher Recommendations: January 15th
  • Self-Reported Test Scores (if submitting testing): February 15th
  • Mid-Year grades: February 28th

Required Application Materials

  1. Common Application: Each application will include personal information such as the school you attend, your extracurricular activities, and your senior year class schedule. They will also include the personal essay that will be sent to each school you apply to on each platform. For students applying through Questbridge, you can find more information on our Questbridge Applicants page. 
  2. Barnard Short Answer Questions: This will be submitted with your preferred application platform. The 2025-2026 short answer questions will be available soon. The short answer questions for 2024-2025 were:
    1. Required: Barnard College is an extraordinary community of women committed to fostering curiosity and the exploration of new experiences and ideas. By utilizing the resources of our campus, our Foundations curriculum, and New York City, our students expand their world and discover their own capabilities. How do you envision these intersecting components of Barnard shaping your academic and personal journey? (200 words max)
    2. Required: Barnard College students engage in the bold questions that define their generation. Choose one question that you have about the world around you, and explain why it matters to you. (150 words max)
    3. Required: In college, you will encounter others with diverse viewpoints and experiences. Describe an instance where you engaged with someone who held a different opinion and explain how it shaped your perspective on the issue. (150 words max)
  3. $75 non-refundable application fee or fee waiver request: Application fees are submitted through your chosen application platform. To request an application fee waiver, you may select the fee waiver option on either application platform and ask your high school counselor to complete the waiver form. If your counselor is unable to complete the waiver form through your application platform, they may submit your waiver directly to our office at admissions@barnard.edu. We will gladly accept waivers from the Common Application, NACAC, SAT, or ACT. If a form is unavailable, we will also accept a letter from your counselor requesting a fee waiver that explains the financial hardship.
  4. Official high school and college transcripts: Please use your application platform to request that your high school counselor send us your official high school transcript. If you have taken any college classes for credit, we also require these official transcripts.
    1. Mid-year report: Your counselor will submit your first-semester senior grades by March 1st using your preferred application platform.
  5. Secondary school report and high school profile: These are documents that your high school counselor will submit along with your transcript that help our office contextualize your achievements.
  6. SAT or ACT scores: For information about self-reported scores, score choice, and more, please view Barnard's standardized testing policies. Barnard will continue to be test-optional through 2027. For more information, please see our Temporary Test-Optional FAQ page.
  7. High school counselor letter of recommendation: Due to large student caseloads, we understand that your counselor may be unable to send a recommendation letter. Please contact us if this is the case. If your counselor is not able to submit a recommendation, we strongly encourage you to send an additional teacher letter of recommendation.
  8. Two teacher letters of recommendation: We require two letters from teachers that taught you in core academic subjects (English, foreign language, mathematics, science, or social studies [history, economics, etc.]). While we recommend that these teachers be from your last two years of high school, we will accept recommendation letters from 10th-grade teachers.
  9. Official TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test Scores: In addition to SAT/ACT requirements, TOEFL/IELTS/DET scores are required for students whose primary language is not English or who do not study in a school where English is the primary language of instruction. Please visit our International Applicants webpage to learn more about our English Language Proficiency requirements and see if you are eligible for a waiver.

Optional Application Materials

  • Additional letters of recommendation: Students may request letters of recommendation from up to two additional sources outside the required letters of recommendation. If you choose to request additional letters of recommendation, we recommend that they come from a different perspective than your previous letters, such as a part-time job supervisor, a research mentor, or a club advisor.
  • Additional Information section: The Common Application provides students an "Additional Information" section to add anything else they want to admissions committee to know that doesn't fit elsewhere in the application. If there are circumstances that may have impacted your academic performance in high school, the extracurricular activities you have been able to pursue, or anything else you would like us to know, we recommend telling us in this section of the application. 
  • Supplementary portfolios: Students may choose to submit supplementary portfolios containing film, photo, drawing, painting, sculpture, music, dance, theatre, or creative writing. Barnard does not require supplementary portfolios or auditions from any of our applicants, regardless of the intended major. Please note that supplementary material will not be reviewed by Barnard's faculty. We do also accept written materials (writing, poetry, other PDFs) via email to admissions@barnard.edu