Barnard Pre-College Programs: Find Top Courses & Training Locations

The Barnard Pre-College Programs include the Pre-Baccalaureate Program, Young Women's Leadership Summer Institute, Athena Summer Innovation Institute, and Kode with Klossy. All these courses take place over the summer on campus in New York City.

Barnard College is a private liberal arts college in New York City. Barnard was founded in 1889 due to Columbia University’s refusal to admit women. Barnard is one of the Seven Sisters: an elite group of the most prestigious women’s colleges, named for the mythical Greek Pleiades and founded as “sister schools” to the all-male Ivy League.

Barnard is currently the most selective women’s college in the country. Notable alumni include authors Zora Neale Hurston and Jhumpa Lahiri, lifestyle mogul Martha Stewart, anthropologist Margaret Mead, Academy Award-nominated Little Women director Greta Gerwig, and Jacqueline Barton, who pioneered the study of DNA structure.

Barnard Pre-College Programs invite young women to experience academically rigorous coursework in a community of engaged students. Pre-College students can explore their career interests in an encouraging community of like-minded women.

School Locations

All of Barnard’s Pre-College Programs are offered in-person on the Barnard campus in New York City. Students in Barnard’s Pre-College Programs have the opportunity to use New York City as a classroom: from attending Broadway shows to touring museums.

Subjects Taught at Barnard Pre-College Programs

Barnard currently offers four Pre-College Programs: the Young Women’s Leadership Institute, the Pre-Baccalaureate Program, the Athena Summer Innovation Institute, and Kode with Klossy, Powered by Barnard.

In 2015, supermodel Karlie Kloss created Kode with Klossy to teach computer science and engineering to young girls. Kode with Klossy has partnered with Barnard to offer a summer residential program for high school girls. Kode with Klossy, Powered by Barnard is a three-week camp that teaches web development, design, and design-thinking skills. The program's goal is to provide high school girls with competitive coding skills in a confidence-building community. Students will work on a final collaborative project that incorporates all of their learned skills.

Noble Desktop has a free Classes Near Me tool that lists web development classes for high school students if you're interested in learning more about front end and back-end web development.

One course offered in the Pre-Baccalaureate Program is Data Science for Politics. This course teaches techniques for gathering “big data” to answer political questions. The course teaches how to use the programming language R to gather data and transform it into a persuasive visual presentation. Students will then learn how to use this collected data to make informed decisions.

Data science is a rapidly-growing field with fast-growing job opportunities. You can use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me tool to look up live online data science classes for high school students.

Age Requirements

Age requirements for enrollment vary by program. Some Barnard Pre-College Programs are open to young women over 14 who are rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Pre-Baccalaureate students and Kode with Klossy campers must be rising juniors and seniors.

What Classes Are Available?

Barnard’s primary Pre-College Program is their 7-week Pre-Baccalaureate Program which gives talented high school students the opportunity to engage in college-level coursework and a vibrant community of like-minded women. All students are matched with a Peer Academic Leader to assist in transitioning to the college environment. All students receive a graded transcript at the end of the program.

Some upcoming course offerings include Abnormal Psychology, Postcolonial Comics, Dead Mothers and Wicked Stepmothers: The Maternal in Folk and Fairy Tales, Bad Love, and Literature & Science 1600-1800.

Class Formats

All courses are taught in-person on the Barnard campus in New York City. You can take the Pre-Baccalaureate Program residentially or as a commuter. Kode with Klossy is a three-week residential program.

Admissions Process

Barnard Pre-College Programs require an application and are selective in their admissions. Barnard’s undergraduate programs are the most highly selective of any women’s college in the United States.

Barnard Pre-College Programs are open to women over 14 with strong grades in academically-rigorous coursework (AP or IB enrollment is preferred). Successful applicants excel in the classroom and are well-rounded in extra-curricular activities such as after-school jobs and community service. Accepted students are ready to learn in a community of diverse young women.

Applicants must submit an application form, high school transcripts, a list of extracurricular activities, recommendations, a 500-word statement of purpose, and a $75 application fee. Pre-Baccalaureate Program applicants are also required to submit a writing sample.

Pricing & Payment Options

Prices for Barnard’s Pre-College Programs vary by program. The tuition cost for Kode with Klossy is $8,790 for the three-week camp and includes residential housing and a meal plan. The 7-week Pre-Baccalaureate courses cost $13,124 for residential and $9,434 for commuters.

Benefits of Attending Barnard Pre-College Programs

Talented young women have the opportunity to join a vibrant community of like-minded women while gaining college experience on Barnard’s campus in New York City.

What Do Students & Parents Say?

Reviews of Barnard’s Pre-College Programs are mostly positive, with a 5-star rating on Facebook. Many publications have ranked it as a top pre-college program in the United States.

One pre-college graduate gushes: “When I think of Barnard pre-college, I think of empowerment. At an all-women’s campus, every woman is like the star of her own show. Women of all colors come to this place to empower and educate one another in the greatest city in the world.” Another happy student writes, “I did the pre-college program last year for five weeks, and it was by far the best time of my life … I got to meet so many amazing people, take classes by amazing professors … go around NYC for five weeks…”

Some less enthusiastic graduates have called it “a waste of time” full of “busy work” and “boring seminars.” Another writes, “I didn’t get much out of the program besides a few friends and some nice dinners in NYC.” A sentiment that is echoed in another review: “I kind of decided to just think of it as a 4-week hotel with a few sponsored activities sprinkled in and spent most of my time exploring NYC on my own and with some students from Columbia and friends that had come to NYC for other programs or internships.”

Another graduate warns potential applicants about the high cost of tuition: “Take your thousands of dollars and do something else.”

Key Takeaways

Talented, ambitious young women can earn college-level credit while preparing for college in a supportive community.
Barnard is the most highly-ranked women’s college in the United States.
Kode with Klossy is a three-week computer science camp created by supermodel Karlie Kloss and offered on the Barnard campus.
Classes are taught in-person on Barnard’s campus, and students have access to use New York City as an additional classroom.
While some graduates say Barnard Pre-College was a life-changing experience, others report that the price tag is too high, courses are not interesting, and supervision in the residential program is too lax.

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Barnard Pre-College Programs

School Locations

Subjects Taught at Barnard Pre-College Programs

Age Requirements

What Classes Are Available?

Class Formats

Admissions Process

Pricing & Payment Options

Benefits of Attending Barnard Pre-College Programs

What Do Students & Parents Say?

Key Takeaways

Top Course at Barnard Pre-College Programs

Kode with Klossy Powered by Barnard
Not currently offered

Subjects Taught at Barnard Pre-College Programs

Web Development

Map of Barnard Pre-College Programs Locations

Top Certificate Programs

Top Courses

Top Certificate Programs

Top Certificate Programs

Top Courses

Top Certificate Programs

Top Courses

School Locations

Subjects Taught at Barnard Pre-College Programs

Age Requirements

What Classes Are Available?

Class Formats

Admissions Process

Pricing & Payment Options

Benefits of Attending Barnard Pre-College Programs

What Do Students & Parents Say?

Key Takeaways

Top Course at Barnard Pre-College Programs

Kode with Klossy Powered by Barnard Not currently offered

Subjects Taught at Barnard Pre-College Programs

Web Development

Map of Barnard Pre-College Programs Locations

Kode with Klossy Powered by Barnard
Not currently offered