Barnard revises supplemental application for the Class of 2030

Barnard Admissions required only one supplemental application essay for the incoming Class of 2030, consolidating prompts from previous years.

Photo by Jacquie Traenkle/The Barnard Bulletin

By Reema Bolnedi

April 24, 2026

Barnard College recently released admission decisions for the Class of 2030. In addition to standard application materials — including transcripts, test scores, and personal statements — Barnard now requires prospective students to respond to a short answer question, a requirement that has evolved over recent admissions cycles.

For over a decade, a defining Barnard supplemental prompt has asked students to “pick one woman — a historical figure, fictitious character, or modern individual — to converse with for an hour” and describe the conversation. Since 2022, the College has changed its required prompts each year, revising how it evaluates applicants’ experiences. 

“Barnard has always been home to trailblazers, leaders, and exceptionally talented women who are smart, driven, capable, and hungry for a rigorous liberal arts education. Our continually-evolving application process helps us identify the next generation of students ready to join that legacy,” said Jennifer Fondiller, Vice President for Enrollment and External Affairs at Barnard College.

In 2022, applicants to the Class of 2027 were required to write two essays — one about why they applied to Barnard and one about the bold questions they hoped to explore at the College — and had the option to respond to the  “conversation with a woman” prompt.

“I thought the [‘conversation with a woman’ prompt] was really interesting and on theme with Barnard,” said Akari Torres (BC ’27).

When asked how she felt about the “bold questions” prompt, Torres said, “I thought college was for exploring what you want to do. So, it was kind of hard for me to answer that.” She added that she liked the prompt about Barnard’s culture, explaining, “You’re trying to prove that you belong here.”

Students applying in 2023 for the Class of 2028 responded to the same two required prompts but could also select one optional essay from three choices: the “conversation with a woman” question; “How have you thought about gender in your academic life thus far and how has it shaped your learning experiences?”; and “In what ways have you challenged ideas, practices, or spaces?”

“I wrote about Malala [Yousafzai],” said Aasiya Zaidi (BC ’28), who answered the “conversation with a woman” prompt. Referring to Yousafzai’s autobiography, “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban,” Zaidi said, “I loved her book. It was one of the first things I grew up reading, and I think this essay came very naturally to me. When I was looking back, I was like, ‘this should have been an indicator that Barnard was a good fit.’” 

In 2024, the College removed the “conversation with a woman” prompt. Applicants to the Class of 2029 were instead required to answer three questions: how Barnard’s campus resources would support their journey, the “bold questions” prompt, and “Describe an instance where you engaged with someone who held a different opinion and explain how it shaped your perspective on the issue.” 

When asked whether she would have preferred to answer the “conversation with a woman” rather than the “differing opinion” prompt, Nandini Voruganti (BC ’29) said, “No. I liked the prompt that we had.” Voruganti, who wrote her essay about the distinct perspectives she and her instructor held when taking an Emergency Medical Technician class, said the prompt gave her ample room “to bring out different things to talk about.” 

In 2025, the College’s only supplemental essay combined aspects of the “conversation with a woman” and “differing opinion” prompts, asking applicants to the Class of 2030 to “choose one woman— historical, fictional, contemporary, or personally significant— whose views differ from your own … How might her perspective challenge or shift your own?”

“This year, we reintroduced and expanded a well-loved prompt that asks students to choose a woman they would want to converse with,” Fondiller stated. “The question is designed to help us better understand a student’s intellectual curiosity, how they engage with different perspectives, and how they see themselves learning in a collaborative, diverse environment like Barnard.”

Current Barnard students said the College’s decision to require only one essay provided fewer opportunities for applicants to introduce themselves. “I liked having choices,” said Zaidi. “This doesn’t necessarily fit for everyone.”

“I feel like [having multiple options] gave me room to pick,” commented Evie Komninakas (BC ’28). 

This shift reflects Barnard’s mission to “address issues of gender in all of their complexity and urgency,” which the College has long associated with its rigorous liberal arts curriculum and thorough admissions process.

“The Barnard admissions process is highly competitive and holistic … Our goal is to review a student’s writing to better understand how students think, what they value, and how they imagine themselves growing within our community,” Fondiller stated.

The College has not indicated whether it plans to revise, remove, or add supplemental essay prompts in future admissions cycles.