Bard College | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Max

Class: Senior
Major: Literature
Gender: M

High School: Thetford Academy
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

The school is small, but it's good. There are certainly "cliques", which some complain about, and people may seem anti social at first, but don't let this fool you. Your average Bard kid may be a shoe gazer, but ask a question, start a conversation, and you should be able to find a lot of cool kids around. There are a lot of good concerts, mostly bands you've never heard of, and these are excellent times to meet other people with your tastes, start a band, or just drink a beer and chat with a stranger. With a few notable exceptions, the College and its faculty are really chill. Security will let you drink a beer in the open, but they might take a handle of whiskey away. They'll bust you for smoking in your room, but if you want to smoke a joint outside, they won't say anything. So many people smoke, but there's very little pressure to do so. In terms of a college town, this is a bubble. Campus is sweet, but some of the local towns are rather unfriendly towards Bard kids. The most frequent complaints are probably the food (which really is terrible, despite its large offering of vegetarian and vegan foods) and the cold. California kids (of which we have an abundance of) are normally ecstatic with the first snow, and miserable by the second. The winter can be really depressing, but it always leads to stronger bonds within dorms. Which, incidentally, is the reason that spring and fall are so much fun. Those are the times when you walk around the beautiful campus (the forests around here are amazing) and try and make new friends. Those are good times.

Academic Life

The majority of professors here are awesome. Bard's student body is growing, so some classes are a little bigger than when I was a freshman, but for the most part, they're small, intimate, and stimulating. Professors encourage their students to meet with them, some classes even make meetings mandatory, and these are normally fun. My advisor, who I've had since my freshman year, is now a good friend of mine. I actually look forward to our meetings, both for the help she offers me as well as the chance to swap stories, figure out what each other are reading, have a nice cup of tea... seriously, it's quite nice. I'm a literature student, and I encourage anyone interested in a quality education in any kind of literature to check out Bard. We've got an amazing faculty, but more importantly, a faculty with amazing connections. I've met a number of famous authors, all of whom come to our classes (Orhan Pamuk, recent Nobel prize winner, sat in on three of my classes). In terms of jobs, we've got a super nice group of ladies who will help you build a resume, get interviews, build connections and all of that. The only criticism I have is that a lot of the majors that Bard offers (studio art and photography being the notable ones) have very little to do with "real" jobs, and most people with these majors realize, upon graduating, that they have very few options.

Student Body

We are a bunch of atheists. We are extremely tolerant (for it's cool to be as liberal as possible here) but also tend to favor reason over faith. I feel as though I'm one of the few middle class students here. I work a job a few days a week and feel like I'm in the serious minority in doing so. There are a lot of young, affluent kids who seem to think the world is theirs for the taking, but an equal amount of rich kids who think that it's their job to save the world. It's a pretty funny mix of spoiled brats and activists, but it makes for an incredible educational experience, both socially and academically. No one talks about how much they'll earn unless they're trust fund babies. Most of us know that we're pursuing a liberal arts degree, which leads to either fame and fortune, or a starving artist kind of lifestyle. To be fair, most of the kids who choose to major in the arts have a rich daddy or mommy to fall back on. If that's you (and if your pride can take admitting it) then I encourage you to come here.