Barnard admits Class of 2029, yet to release acceptance rate or number of applicants

Of the students who reported their class rank, 94% were in the top 10% of their class.

Photo by Sherry Chen/The Barnard Bulletin

By Jaya Shankar

April 7, 2025

On March 26, Barnard College released its admissions decisions for the incoming Class of 2029. The College had not previously publicized the date on which decisions would be released, with an Admissions webpage stating that regular decision notifications would only be available in “late March.” In contrast with previous years, Barnard did not release an acceptance rate or the number of applicants for either the early decision or regular decision cycle. The acceptance rate for the Class of 2028 was 7%, with 719 of 11,832 applicants admitted to Barnard.

According to a statement posted on the Barnard website, the Class of 2029 hails from 47 states, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, and more than 40 countries. First-generation college students make up 21% of admittees, a decrease by one percentage point from the Class of 2028, of which 22% are the first in their families to attend a four-year college.

The 2024-2025 Barnard first-year application also saw changes to the writing requirement. The application now requires three supplemental essays, a shift from the 2023-2024 application, which required two essays and offered an optional third. 

For the 2023-2024 application, the first of the two required prompts asked students how attending Barnard might cultivate their “most authentic, powerful self,” while the second asked students to describe their “bold questions” about the world. Applicants then had the option to write a third essay, choosing to either write about how gender had “shaped their learning experiences,” describe the ways in which they had “challenged ideas, practices, or spaces,” or imagine conversing with a historic, fictitious, or modern woman. 

Barnard’s 2024-2025 application essays differed in content and word count, and all three essays were required. The first prompt asked applicants how Barnard would shape their “academic and personal journey,” the second required them to explain “one question they have about the world,” and the third asked them to recount “an instance where you engaged with someone who held a different opinion” and “how it shaped your perspective on the issue.” 

“Their questions were unique but straightforward, which I really liked,” said Nyrah Siddiqui, an incoming first-year from Cleveland, Ohio, in an email to The Barnard Bulletin. “I really wish they did interviews though because I think that’s a great way to get to know applicants beyond a multi-page document.” Siddiqui, who received her acceptance on December 17, 2024, after applying early decision, also expressed excitement about attending Barnard, saying, “I remember literally sobbing when I got in.”

“It is a privilege to welcome such an inspiring and accomplished group of students,” said Jennifer Fondiller, Barnard’s Vice President for Enrollment and External Affairs. “We can’t wait to see how they shape our campus and beyond.” Admitted students have until May 1 to confirm their enrollment.