How to Get Into Barnard College: Acceptance Rate & Strategies

August 5, 2025

barnard college acceptance rate

Barnard College, an all-female college located in Manhattan, also boasts an affiliation with Columbia University. With all of those desirable attributes, it鈥檚 no wonder the Barnard College acceptance rate dipped below 10% for the third straight year in 2024. For historical context, Barnard still accepted 50% of applicants in 1995 and admitted 31% as recently as 2009.

In order to help you prepare for the challenges ahead on the path to gaining acceptance into Barnard, this article will touch on the following topics:

  • Barnard College acceptance rate (plus how to predict your chances with our free admissions calculator)
  • Barnard College Early Decision acceptance rate
  • SAT, ACT, and class rank of enrolled freshmen
  • Admissions trends 鈥 Class of 2028
  • Barnard College鈥檚 system for rating applicants
  • A look at the demographics of current Barnard College undergraduates
  • The percentage of accepted students who attend Barnard College (yield rate)
  • Tips for applying
  • How to assess whether applying to Barnard College is even worth the $75 application fee (for you)

Barnard College Admissions Calculator

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Barnard Acceptance Rate 鈥 Class of 2028

11,836 applications were received by the College in the most recent admissions cycle, just a touch higher than the year prior. Of those applicants, 1,046 were admitted, giving Barnard an overall admit rate of 8.8%.

Recent acceptance rates at Barnard were as follows:

Applicants Admits Acceptance Rate
Class of 2027 11,803 940 8%
Class of 2026 12,009 1,056 8.8%
Class of 2025 10,395 1,192 11%

Barnard College Early Decision Acceptance Rate

Barnard typically fills about 60% of the incoming freshman class with ED admits. Accordingly, the Class of 2028 saw a 26% acceptance rate in the Early Decision round, with 451 students offered admission.

What GPA do you need to get into Barnard?

For the Class of 2028, the average GPA was 4.13. Furthermore, 55% of enrolled students had a GPA of 4.9 or above; 92% had a GPA above 3.75; and only 2% had a GPA below 3.5.

What class rank do you need to get accepted to Barnard?

100% of students (yes, you read that correctly) earned a place in the top 25% of their graduating class. Of those students, 90% actually fell in the top decile.

What is the minimum SAT or ACT score for Barnard?

Barnard has been test-optional for the past three cycles. About 50% of the Class of 2028 submitted scores alongside their applications. Based on those students, the mid-50% SAT range was 1480-1540 while the mid-50% ACT range was 32-34.

Admissions Trends & Notes 鈥 Class of ’28 and ’29

  • Barnard received a record 1,694 early decision applications for the Class of 2028.
  • 50% of admitted students included SAT/ACT results with their applications.
  • 21% of the admitted 2029 cohort are the first in their families to attend college.
  • Approximately 12% of admits are international applicants. They hail from 40 countries.
  • 94% of the Class of 2029 admit pool placed in the top 10% of their high school class.

How Barnard College Rates Applicants

Barnard College categorizes five factors as 鈥渧ery important鈥 to the admissions process: rigor of high school course load, GPA, recommendations, essays, and character/personal qualities. Items that are 鈥渋mportant鈥 as part of the admissions process are: class rank, extracurriculars, talent/ability, and volunteer/paid work.

For a slightly different look at the school’s institutional priorities, we go right to their own admissions office:

  • 鈥淲hile admission is highly selective, it is also holistic; no one criterion or score determines acceptance. We consider each applicant in terms of their personal qualities, intellectual capacity, and the rigor of the curriculum they have pursued, as well as their potential for achieving at Barnard.鈥
  • 鈥淲e review each applicant in the context of their school, community, and individual story, meaning that we will never compare applicants to each other. We want to see how you have pushed yourself and succeeded with the resources and opportunities that have been available to聽you.鈥

Since Barnard wants to see achievement and leadership outside of the classroom as well, it鈥檚 important to grasp what highly competitive colleges are looking for when evaluating extracurricular activities. In short, they are looking for commitment and achievement in 2-3 core areas. For more, check out our blog entitled: How Many Extracurricular Activities Do I Need for College?

Who Actually Gets Into Barnard?

Let鈥檚 look at the demographics of the Barnard College undergraduate student body.

The regional representation among a recent class was as follows:

  • Mid-Atlantic: 9%
  • Midwest/Southwest: 17%
  • New England: 9%
  • South: 5%
  • West: 21%

The geographic diversity of a recent cycle was dominated by the following states:

  1. New York
  2. California
  3. New Jersey
  4. Massachusetts
  5. Florida

In terms of ethnic identity, the breakdown of the Class of 2027 was as follows:

  • White: 32.8%
  • Asian: 27.8%
  • Hispanic: 10.5%
  • Black or African American: 5.3%
  • International: 13.7%

In a recent class, admits attended the following types of high schools:

  • Public: 48%
  • Private/Parochial/Homeschool: 52%

Barnard College鈥檚 Yield Rate

For the Class of 2028, Barnard College鈥檚 yield rate is 68%, close to schools like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford that have yield rates of 80%+. For comparison, other top liberal arts schools, like Wesleyan University, Haverford College, and Vassar, have significantly lower yield rates.

Tips for Applying to Barnard College

If you plan on joining the 11,000+ Barnard College hopefuls for the next admissions cycle, you should know the following:

  • Firstly, if Barnard is your top choice, you鈥檒l want to strongly consider applying ED I by November 1.
  • Barnard will remain for the 2025-26 cycle.
  • This school offers non-evaluative chats with alumni during the admissions process.
  • Barnard College “considers” an applicant鈥檚 demonstrated interest.鈥漈herefore, we suggest making the effort to follow them on social media, sign up for a virtual info session, visit campus (if possible), contact an admissions officer, etc.
  • Lastly, make sure to dedicate sufficient time and effort to the supplemental writing prompts offered by Barnard College.

Barnard College Essays

In the 2025-26 cycle, the essay prompt was as follows:

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鈥 historical, fictional, contemporary, or personally significant鈥 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. (250 words)

Essay Tip: For more on penning a winning 鈥淲hy This College鈥 essay, revisit our previous blog on the subject.

Should I apply to Barnard College?

Just about everyone admitted to Barnard finished near the top of their high school class. Successful applicants also typically possess an impressive extracurricular resume and strong test scores. If you check those boxes, then you may be a competitive applicant at Barnard. If the school is a good fit for you, submitting an application will certainly be worth your time and $75.

Barnard College Acceptance Rate – Final Thoughts

Most students applying to a school of Barnard鈥檚 caliber also need to also have a proper mix of 鈥渢arget鈥 and 鈥渟afety鈥 schools on their college list. More on creating a balanced college list can be found here.

Ready to start building your college applications? Consider reviewing the following resources: