HELLO and welcome to Part 4 of our Life at Barnard Blog Series: Fabiha's (Hopefully) Comprehensive Guide to Commuting at Barnard!
This one's for all my commuter friends. We're a small (relative to the size of the BC/CU community) group. I see you and I'm here to tell you all the tips that I've found useful from my last two years of commuting to Barnard.Can you still have an amazing Barnard experience without being on campus all the time?
YES! You definitely can and I hope these tips do help.
Get ready because I've got A LOT to say.
Daily Life
How should I schedule my classes?
I like to take a couple of things into account:
- Commute Time: Take into account your commute time! If you are not a morning person, 8:40's will be hard. Waking up at 6am is not my cup of tea, so I never take 8:40am classes. Late classes may end up being inevitable, (depending on your major or if it's a class you really want to take) so make sure you're ok with getting home late if this happens (I'm talking 8-9pm in some cases). Besides the timing of classes, I try to group my classes together so they all fall on 3-4 days, 5 days is sometimes inevitable, but I prefer to group my classes together so I commute for less days (and save a train fare or two haha).
- Breaks: This is just general advice but take breaks! Make sure you have time to eat and take a breather from your classes. If you end up having a super long break, this can be a great time to get studying and assignments out of the way, especially if you're going to have a really long day.
Are there things I should always have with me?
- Another general tip but water and snacks!!! I don't know about y'all but some days, I just get hungry super fast during the day and it sucks when I can't go to a dining hall to grab food because I'm rushing to class.
- A laptop or tablet. Basically, some device that you can use to connect to Canvas.
- Chargers! Always carry a charger for whatever device you're carrying with you. There's nothing worse than having your device be on life support in the middle of the day or on your commute home.
Is there anywhere on campus I can store my things?
YES! Commuters can get full-sized lockers which are located in the basement of Barnard Hall. You can have a locker for all 4 years for a small, one-time fee of $3 (yes, you heard that right. $3.). You pay the fee at the Bursar's Office (in the basement of Milbank) and they will give you a slip showing that you paid the fee. Then you walk through the tunnels to get to Facilities Services (in the Barnard Hall basement, next to the staircase that leads to Hewitt Dining Hall), where you will give the slip from Bursar to get your locker assignment. The lockers are super handy for storing things you don't want to carry around with you all day, like an extra sweater or umbrella, among other things.
Where can I hang out in between classes?
Barnard and Columbia has so many seating spaces, so this is a trial and error for you to find your favorite spot to hang out (whether it's indoors or outdoors). I'm just going to point out a few spots you might like...
- Libraries: There's so many to choose from. Literally. And there's so many different spaces in each library. Whether that's the green chairs in Milstein or the huge study room in Butler, you're guaranteed to find a space to your liking.
- The Commuter Lounge! This does in fact exist and it's located on the first floor of Diana, right past the Barnard Store. This is a great way to meet other Barnard commuters, and can also be a great space to eat, work, or just relax. You need to swipe your Barnard ID to get into the Commuter Lounge, and you must be a commuter to do so. Now the real question is...
How do I gain swipe access to the Commuter Lounge?
First thing's first, you need to have a commuter sticker on your ID. Students living in the Quad have a "Q" sticker on their ID, and commuters have a "COM" sticker. You should be getting your COM sticker during NSOP. If you don't get it then, you should reach out to CARES to get it.
Ok, you have your COM sticker, what's next? There is a QR code available at the Barnard Hall security desk, which leads to a form that you use to request swipe access. The form asks you to show proof that you're a commuter, hence why you need the COM sticker on your ID.
Meals
I don't think I'll need all of the swipes/points on my current meal plan. What should I do?
All Barnard students are required to be enrolled in a meal plan, regardless of your residential status. (You can't get out of it. Believe me, I've tried.) While all first years living in the Quad are required to have the Platinum Plan, commuters can enroll in any plan, and have to be enrolled at minimum in the 500 points Convenience Plan. For the Fall semester, you have until Monday, August 28th to change your meal plan. Check out meal plan prices here.
Social Life + Extracurriculars
Can I still have a social life if I won't be on campus as much as residential students?
Ok, I think it's obvious that since you won't be living on campus, you will have less opportunities to see your friends, as in you can't have a sleepovers all the time and stay up late watching movies. (I mean you could do watch parties online but you know what I mean.) When the semester gets really busy, your schedule might be completely different from your friends' but don't let that stop you from having a social life.
- If you're in the same class with your friends, plan study sessions. Heck, even if you're not in the same classes, plan a study session together. Studying with other people is more enjoyable than studying alone.- Visit your friends in the Quad. Yes, you are allowed in the residence halls. You just have to tap your ID.- Get lunch with your friends!- If you bump into people you recognize and you both aren't busy, hang out or just sit and chat! This has happened to me a lot actually and I like the spontaneity of it.
Can I still join clubs?
Unfortunately, a lot of club meetings happen during the evening hours (7PM and later). Don't worry, there are some clubs that meet slightly earlier in the day. Some of you may be fine with getting home super late at night, and others may not be. Either way, don't let that discourage you from getting involved in Student Life. There's over 600 clubs across Barnard and Columbia that you can get involved with, so you will definitely find a club that works for you.
(More info about club fairs will be sent out in September after the semester begins.)
Travel Tips
I'm going to be assuming that some of y'all aren't from the city and aren't too familiar with navigating the trains and buses, so I'll be explaining everything. I've been commuting to school for 6 years (both high school and college), so I've got a lot to say about it.
How much is the metro fare?
In case you haven't heard the terrible news, MTA fares are being raised on August 20th. These are the changes that may be most relevant for you all.
- The fare for subways and buses are increasing from $2.75 to $2.90.- Express bus fares are increasing from $6.75 to $7. (The fare is more expensive because they run from the outer boroughs straight into Manhattan and make very few stops.)- The 7-Day Unlimited Pass is increasing from $33 to $34, and the 30-Day Unlimited Ride will increase from $127 to $132.
I need to take multiple trains and buses to get to campus. Will I have to pay for each train/bus I take?
Nope. Whether you're swiping a MetroCard or tapping your phone to pay, you will have a free transfer on whatever card you're using to pay. The transfer lasts for an hour though, so if you need to make a stop on the way home, I suggest you do it during that hour to save money.
When you're commuting for most of the week, your weekly/monthly commute expenses can add up. Keep these costs in mind while I talk a little bit about budgeting.
Planning your commute expenses
Some of you may not only be commuting to school. You might also have a part-time job or internship that you'll use public transit to get to. I suggest that you estimate how much you'll be paying for public transit each week/month. Sometimes it might more worth it to get a 7-Day/30-Day Unlimited MetroCard.
Is there anywhere I can get financial assistance to pay for my commute?
YES!
- If you are an OP commuter student, you can free monthly MetroCards. You can email your OP advisor when you need to pick up a MetroCard for each month.
- You can request financial assistance using the SASA form on Slate. Any Barnard student can request for assistance from SASA (and it doesn't just have to be for your commute). Read more about the SASA fund here.
Any more travel tips?
- If you live in the Morningside Heights and Manhattanville areas, Barnard and Columbia offer the Via ride-share service for free in these areas. Find out more here.
- Please, please, please plan extra time into your commute. Google Maps might tell you that your commute is 40 minutes, but you never know when there's going to be a switch malfunction at some station, or if your train is all of a sudden not in service one day. As someone who has been using the MTA to get to school for 6 years, TRUST when I tell you that you should plan for MTA malfunctions. It's inevitable. I've had to miss class before because of it. It's better to be early to class than to be late/miss it completely.
Resources
As a commuter, am I allowed to use services offered by Primary Care Health Services?
Yes, these services are covered in the comprehensive fee that you pay as part of your tuition. Here are some of the other health service programs that you are allowed to use.
- Denise LeFrak Foundation Alcohol and Substance Awareness Program (ASAP)
- Disability Services
- Furman Counseling Center
- Rape Crisis/Anti-Violence Support Center
- The Wellness Spot Health Promotion Program
Have questions/concerns that you want addressed? Want to reach out to more commuters? Here are a few resources:
- Skip Stop (AKA the Commuter Lounge): Just to reiterate, you always have the Commuter Lounge, and it's a great place to make more commuter friends. Skip Stop is technically an official Barnard student organization. You can follow and send any concerns to Skip Stop on Instagram @skipstop or you can email skipstop@barnard.edu.
- Reach out to the SGA Rep for Commuter, Transfer, and International Students. Express your concerns to your representative so they can bring it up during SGA meetings. You can find them on Instagram @barnardsga, or email at sga@barnard.edu.
- Reach out to Lizeth Ramires, the Director for Non-Residential Student Services, at offcampus@barnard.edu. She can also assist with finding off campus apartments.
OK, that was a lot to take in. I hope this answers any questions that you may have and that you feel more prepared to start your Barnard journey. We'll see you tomorrow for our last Life at Barnard blog post of the week. (Hint: 🍔🍕🍚🍜)
