Barnard College supplemental essays
Barnard College asks for two supplemental essays in 2026-27. Common App. Personal statement required (250-650 words).
That is two supplements plus the Common App personal statement: three pieces of writing in all. Early Decision closes November 1, 2026 and Regular Decision closes January 1, 2027. The prompts carry these limits: 50 words, 200-250 words. Every Barnard College prompt is printed on this page in full, with its word limit and who has to answer it, checked against the college’s own admissions page.
Deadlines
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Early Decision | November 1, 2026 |
| Regular Decision | January 1, 2027 |
Checked against barnard.edu/barnard-short-answer-questions. Confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.
The essays, 2026-27
Required · 50 words
At Barnard, inquiry starts with asking bold questions about the world. What is one bold question on your mind and what about it piques your curiosity?
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Required · 200-250 words
Barnard College is shaped by trailblazing women with a multitude of perspectives. Think of a woman, historical, fictional, contemporary, or personally significant, whose views or approach to problem-solving differ from your own, but who excels at bringing people together. What lesson from her approach would shape how you show up at Barnard both inside and outside of the classroom?
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Your Barnard College checklist
Two supplements, all required. The first deadline, Early Decision, is November 1, 2026.
- Common App personal statementRequired250-650 words
- Supplement 1Required50 words
- Supplement 2Required200-250 words
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Getting into Barnard College
Barnard College admits 8.8% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 1470-1560 on the SAT and 32-34 on the ACT.
About 1 in 11 applicants are admitted, at a college of 3,264 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 1470 | 1520 | 1560 |
| SAT reading and writing | 730 | 750 | 770 |
| SAT math | 740 | 770 | 790 |
| ACT composite | 32 | 34 | 34 |
What SAT score do you need for Barnard College?
A 1560 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1520 at their midpoint, and a 1470 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 32, 34 and 34. A quarter of an enrolled class scoring under the 25th percentile is not a rounding error, so a score below the range is a reason to strengthen the rest of the application rather than a reason not to apply.
US Department of Education, College Scorecard (2026-09-17). Percentiles describe students who enrolled, not everyone admitted. SAT totals are the reading and math bands added together, which is how every source in this market reports them and is an approximation of about 10 to 20 points, because the two sections are correlated.
- What SAT score do you need for Barnard College?
- Barnard College sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 1470-1560 on the SAT: a 1470 sits at the 25th percentile, 1520 at the median and 1560 at the 75th. A score at or above 1560 is a clear strength in the application; below 1470 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures Barnard College reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for Barnard College?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 32-34 on the ACT, with a composite of 34 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 32. Reported by Barnard College to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for Barnard College?
- The honest answer is that the federal data behind this page does not contain one. Colleges report their admit rate and their enrolled students' test scores to the Department of Education; they do not report a GPA distribution, so any site quoting an exact average GPA for Barnard College is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that Barnard College admits 8.8% of applicants, and the more selective a college is, the closer to the top of the class its admitted students sit and the more the strength of your course load counts alongside the number itself.
- How hard is it to get into Barnard College?
- Barnard College admits 8.8% of the people who apply, which is about 1 in 11 applicants. At that rate no set of numbers makes admission likely, a perfect one included, because the college turns away far more qualified applicants than it takes. Strong grades and scores get the application read; the essays, the recommendations and what you have actually done decide it from there.
What Barnard College costs after grant aid, by family income, from the same federal data.
Sort your whole college list into reaches, targets and likelies, or find colleges that fit your GPA and test scores. Both are free and neither needs an account.
Barnard College essay questions, answered
- Does Barnard College have supplemental essays?
- Yes. Barnard College asks for two supplemental essays in 2026-27. Every prompt is printed in full on this page. Word limits: 50 words, 200-250 words.
- How many essays do you write for Barnard College in 2026-27?
- Two supplements, plus the Common App personal statement.
Schools with similar admit rates
Barnard College admits 8.8% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: Rice University (8.0%), Williams College (8.3%), Cornell University (8.8%), Amherst College (9.0%), New York University (9.2%), Claremont McKenna College (9.6%).