Bard College Top Questions

What is the stereotype of students at your school?

Ryan

That everyone is a major stoner, that everyone is a dirty hippie, that everyone is a preening hipster, that nobody is good at math and science and those programs are complete jokes, that there are no Republicans, that everyone is somewhere to the left of Che Guevara, that nobody goes on to a successful career.

Rachel

Less academic than Oberlin and Wesleyan.

Travis

Bard students are stereotyped as being hipsters, primarily white upper middle class kids.

Brian

We're that clove-smoking little hippie school that's slowly becoming more sharp and well-rounded ... as the school broadens its horizons to diversity and focuses more on thorough education.

Abbie

Druggies, hippies, hipsters, smokers, alternative views, liberal, artsy, flower children, etc.

Jerry

I think we're in the top few on the Princeton Review for clove-smoking, birk wearing hippies. Additionally, I've heard rumors about the kinds of drug use at Bard, cliques, hipsters, the dull campus life on account of the fact that we live in the middle of the woods . . . Mostly, people just haven't heard of Bard. If they have, it's because of Leon Botstein and the Gehry building.

Kelly

Bard is assumed to be rife with overly artistic and elitist undergraduates who are amply supported by their parents' money and/or trust funds. There is thought to be a very good likelihood that any person you meet from Bard will be a quote-unquote hipster. The school's population is thought to be composed mainly of New York and Los Angeles residents who have converged at the rural and isolated campus for its proximity to Manhattan and the presence of like-minded individuals. Many prospective applicants assume a high percentage of gay or queer students as well as widespread left-wing political involvement.

Harper

The Bard student is typically hyper sensitive to stereotypes and tries not to fall into any one category but one stereotype that students seem to gravitate towards is that of the self hating, Jewish anti-zionist. Another might be the introverted type that smokes too much, makes sarcastic comments as a way to avoid actual conversation and invariably winds up denouncing the United States' imperialist agenda, regardless of discussionary relevence.

Sara

There's an idea that we're all a bunch of aloof hipsters.

John

they're smart, motivated, and politically conscious

Harper

1. "Everyone does lots of drugs." 2. "It's super clique-y." 3. "They're all hipsters." 4. "It's a rich school."

Lane

that they are artsy, creative, and hip, all of them smoke

Brett

Bard students are radical hyper-intellectual philosophers/artists who are too hip for their own good and can frequently be found dragging on cigarettes in ironic tshirts and skin tight jeans, discussing Hegel with their equally hip friends who are majoring in Studio Arts, Political Studies, Photography, Literature, and Anthropology, the "only" majors at Bard.

Max

That we're pathetic when it comes to athletics, that we're big on drugs and parties, most people think of us as the more artsy cousin of our neighbors, Vassar, and that we're extremely liberal.

Tate

Bard students are often self-stereotyped as socially awkward, intelligent kids who smoke a lot of cigarettes. Some are often referred to as "hipsters," most claim to hate "hipsters," many like experimental music, and many are very shy. I think that they are stereotyped as drug-addicted "weirdos" or super hip kids depending on where you're from: while I know that many kids from LA and New York City thought of Bard kids as very hip, sophisticated art snobs, the impression given to me, living in the suburbs of New Jersey, was that the kids here are drug-addicted "weirdos."

Blake

That we are all pot smoking hippies

Morgan

We are incredibly pretentious liberal hipster druggies, albeit total geniuses.

Bethany

The students are artsy, crazy, creepy, pretty much all the creative types mashed together. And there sure are hipsters. Everyone's a pothead.

Kristin

Many people believe Bard is full of hipster scum and fashionistas.

Becca

Stereotypes are that Bard is a very big pot-smoking school full of pretentious artsy students and weirdos.

Mike

Bard is thought to be a school full of hipsters and hippies, where all the students do drugs and don't really work too hard.

Quinn

Many people think that Bard is a stoner school and that most students are hippies and that couldn't be farther from the truth. Most students are artistically minded and liberal and are incredibly motivated.

Kendall

All Bard kids are hipsters who sit in their room doing coke while listening to old Pavement B-Sides and counting their parents' money.

Tristan

The few people who have heard of Bard, most of whom reside in the tri-state area, seem to perceive our student body as communist, pot-smoking, affluent, Caucasian, outcast artists. We're supposedly a blend of hipsters and hippies.

Winnie

It's a hipster haven where the smart but too cool for school kids go. No jocks allowed. Self-motivated learners thrive here. It's where people go to get away from it all, really.

John

That bard students are very liberal, almost to the point where it is obscene.

Megan

Bard is thought of as an off-beat, but fairly respected liberal arts college with srong arts programs and a unique atmosphere.