Bard College

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every one of those other schools is *so much more* competitive in admissions, which means that in typical DCUM fashion this isn't really useful. For a kid who likely wouldn't get into Macalaster or Kenyon or Oberlin - schools that now have roughly 25% admission rates - any thoughts about merit versus nonmerit aid at actual competitor schools? Yes, all things being equal, I would prefer for my child to go to Oberlin over Bard. But if they don't get into Oberlin, and we're looking at Bard, what other schools and considerations should we be looking at?

I am looking for schools with less selective admissions too, but I still think Bard is too druggy and decadent to consider for my kid. I'm influenced, maybe more than I should be, by having visited as a college student and finding the culture and students very offputting. But my kid is pretty science-oriented, liberal but not artsy, and probably would not be happy in that environment.

Someplace like Muhlenberg has a similar admissions rate but is so culturally different from Bard.

Not a Bard grad, don't have a Bard student, but....you do know you're doing a great job of perpetuating stereotypes here, based on your own experience, what, at least 20 years ago?

I'm not saying Bard doesn't have drugs now. I'm saying you have zero recent, direct information on which to toss around your comments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I don't actually think Dickinson is fairly categorized as comparable in terms of admissions, but the others are super-helpful. Sadly, this confirms my own research that most of the other SLAC schools that are quirky and possible to get into and not crazy expensive are not in the northeast -- not a deal-breaker for me, but more logistically complicated to visit in these covid times. But they do seem like great schools.

Why is that "sadly"? Oberlin, for example, is not at all hard to visit. It's a six-hour drive from DC (and not on 95, woohoo!), or a quick Southwest flight to Cleveland.

It's much harder to get to e.g. Colby or Middlebury than it is to get to Oberlin.

Yeah. Oberlin is an easy, stress- free drive. And the Oberlin Hotel is so nice. Dc loves it, and we do too. Great education.

[Anonymous]

OP,, and yes, we had already visited Oberlin. Which is, indeed, a reasonable drive from DC (except if they close the entire freeway for construction, but that seems like a one-off).

It's the Wisconsin and Washington schools that seem harder to visit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,, and yes, we had already visited Oberlin. Which is, indeed, a reasonable drive from DC (except if they close the entire freeway for construction, but that seems like a one-off).

It's the Wisconsin and Washington schools that seem harder to visit

Just apply and visit later.

[Anonymous]

What about Ithaca College? Or providence College? Perhaps bigger than you are looking for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking for a small LAC which emphasizes discussion based/seminar style learning. Would Bard be a good fit?

My child was very turned off by Bard. Refused to apply. Thought it was isolated and cold and unwelcoming.