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The fall 2020 acceptance rate for Bard College is 56%. That means, out of _____ applications received in 2020 , _____ students were offered admission. The number of males who applied was _____ vs the number of females which was _____.
What should every freshman at your school know before they start?
Visit the school, try and find out what the school's values are, what the school's philosophy is, don't base your decision off of who gives you the most aid. Find out what the classes are like, what books teachers ask you to read and what the professors are like. Also, make sure you like the look of your campus, you dont want to feel it's dirty or too noisy. Your campus is your home for the next four years you should love it.
Read all 54 answers Describe the students at your school.
intellectual, academically driven, east coast culture, well traveled, worldly, well read, liberal.
Read all 39 answers Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?
Yes, most of the students are those kids you knew in high school who never really fit in. Chances are, if you're at all "mainstream" you'll have a hard time finding your place here. There really are all types of people here though, it's just difficult to find them. You pretty much are only friends with the people you live with. It's hard to socialize outside your dorm, especially when the weather gets bad. For such a small school, it seems even smaller since there are so many little cliques. And no, not everyone is a pothead. But at times it can really seem like it. A LOT of kids at Bard smoke pot. There's not a lot of pressure to do it, but chances are you won't go the whole four years here without at least trying it.
Read all 27 answers What are the academics like at your school?
Classes are tiny. If you're a freshman, you'll have a hard time getting into any. Bard does offer a lot of courses, as you may see in their course book, but the catch is that they're not all offered every semester. So one semester there may be a class you want to take but can't get into, but there's no guarantee that class will be there next semester.
Plus, Bard has this thing called moderation. You can't just major in whatever you want, you have to take classes in it, and usually in your sophomore or junior year you are evaluated by a moderation panel and they decide whether or not you are "worthy" of that major.
And no, I know they tell you you can make your own major but that's just not true. It's very difficult to make your own major and extremely rare. Even double majoring is difficult because there's not much time to moderate into both fields, and doing two different senior projects is hell. What most people end up doing is majoring in interdisciplinary studies so they can combine two different fields that they're interested in.
Bard makes all first year students take a First Year Seminar class which is pretty much just an Intro to Philosophy class. You have to read works of Plato, Nietzsche, Mary Shelley, Blake, Rousseau, Locke, and pretty much any other philosopher you've ever heard of. The readings can be interesting but you're not given much time to read them since it's such a broad overview. And there are a few papers required for the course as well.
There are two different sets of academic requirements: Those classes you need to graduate and those classes you need to moderate. For more information on distribution requirements go to http://www.bard.edu/academics/curriculum/
Read all 27 answers What is the stereotype of students at your school?
All Bard kids are hipsters who sit in their room doing coke while listening to old Pavement B-Sides and counting their parents' money.
Read all 27 answers What is your overall opinion of this school?
The best thing at Bard is the weekend breakfast. It's served till 2pm and they bring out the waffle maker! Although it's difficult to make a waffle because there's only one waffle maker and the line is usually very long. The reason breakfast is so wonderful is because, as most Bard students will tell you, food at Kline, the main dining hall, SUCKS. Most students try to go to Manor, the nicer dining hall, or eat off campus (which can get expensive really fast).
Bard is really small. Very small. In fact, there's only one place on campus to go to socialize besides the dorms, and thats the Campus Center. The Campus Center has a game room which is pretty much just a tv and two arcade games next to a change machine. There's a computer lab, a vending machine, a pool table, and an on-campus eatery called Down The Road. On the weekends clubs rent out the dining halls for parties, and there are usually performances on the weekends, but beyond that there's not a huge social scene. Even at the parties and performances, one rarely ever socializes with people they don't already know. So even though there aren't many students, there are always people you haven't met. Also, Bard offers a lot of lectures, and open-mic night which is where students can pretty much just put on an improv talent show every week.
When you tell someone you go to Bard, the reactions are pretty mixed depending on where the person is from. They either say "What's that?", "Oh, Barnard!", "I hear that school's full of creeps," or "Ooo! Bard! Congratulations!"
The "college town" is called Red Hook which isn't actually the same town that Bard is in, but it's the closest town there is. It has a CVS, a couple diners, a cute little Bagel Shoppe, and Hannafords. If you go to Bard, you've gone on at least one late night trip to Hannafords which is the 24 hour grocery store near by.
As for bigger stores like Target and WalMart, the closest place that has those is Kingston, which is impossible to get to without taking the shuttle or having a car.
Bard is rural. They're not kidding about that. There are things that could possibly be walking distance but only if you feel like taking a VERY long walk. IT IS VERY USEFUL TO HAVE A CAR AT BARD. The campus is pretty spread out, and it's not likely that someone on south campus is going to feel like trekking up to north campus for class when the weather is really bad (and it will be really bad, and classes are rarely cancelled). Also, if you ever want to go to the city or out of town for the weekend, there aren't any shuttles to the train stations so you have to take a car. You won't be happy at Bard for very long without a car, or at least someone who has a car.
There is no school spirit. People go to sporting events but usually just about a handful, and they're usually girlfriends of the players.
Bard has it's own nude magazine called "The Moderator." Every year The Moderator has a party to celebrate it's release and these parties are clothing optional. I hear they used to get pretty crazy, but recently they changed the rules so that the party can't go passed 10, so this year it ended up as just kind of a scantilly clad cheese and crackers party.
Read all 26 answers What are the most popular student activities/groups?
Bard College Step performance at the Spring ASO Blowout 2007
Read all 22 answers Describe how your school looks to someone who's never seen it.
Bard doesn't encourage competition, but it provides opportunities to inspire yourself.
Read all 19 answers Here's your chance: Say anything about your college!
What I love about Bard is how small and personal of an atmosphere it offers. There are only about 400 people in my class. When I need help or guidance, or want to make something happen, I can easily find someone who'll listen to me and trust that I'll get a response. The anonymity of a large state university doesn't exist here; everyone is a lot more accountable for their education. Having the luxury of such a small student body comes with the expectation that you will take command of your education and take it seriously.
Read all 14 answers Describe your favorite campus traditions.
We house the American symphony and have the youngest person to become a college president
Read all 10 answers What's unique about your campus?
not competive, beatuiful campus
Read all 10 answers What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?
not very diverse politically, ethnically, or socio-economically.
Read all 10 answers What kind of person should not attend this school?
Conservative Republicans
Read all 8 answers What's the most frustrating thing about your school?
People's inability to see beyond their own circumstances in order to better understand the ways in which another person was raised or grew up, or the situation that another person finds themself in that may differ from one's own. A lot of people are too wrapped up in their own lives and beliefs to begin to understand those of other people.
Read all 7 answers What kind of person should attend this school?
liberal crazies
Read all 6 answers What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?
I wish I had known that it's ok not to know what you want to study right off the bat.
Read all 5 answers What do you brag about most when you tell your friends about your school?
The small classes, the fantastic teachers, the exciting classes, the creativity and intelligence of all the students here, the beautiful campus, the wonderful academics, the great opportunities. It's a great school. X-men was created here and Steely Dan.
Read all 5 answers What is the stereotype of students at your school? Is this stereotype accurate?
Bard students are typically labeled as hipsters who smoke weed all the time. The two small towns arounds us (Redhook and Tivoli) like to call Bard students "Fairies in the forest" (not a compliment). The definition of a hipster is someone who follows trends. We wear clothes with holes, high waisted shorts, smoke cigarettes and drink out of mason jars. I don't see the rest of the world doing that.
Another stereotype of Bard students is that we're known for being very intellectual. We like having thought provoking conversations outside of class. We take time to talk with our professors outside of class about current world events that relate to their discipline. I can promise you that you'll never have a dull conversation.
Read all 1 answers