Attended Bard--Happy to Answer Questions

<p>I might also add that you see what you want/need to see. I went to check out the Free Press to see if it was such a big downer…and was thrilled by the story about the success of the Bard Farm and it’s barn raising, saw that the endowment story was really about Bard’s freedom from a consevative alumni group controlling the school’s direction, and liked what I read. Yes, there was an article about the dangers for artistic types with existential problems…and I think that is actually a truth. But the way my daughter and her friends read it is that the Bard kids are awake to what’s going on in the world instead of mindlessly ploughing on through.</p>

<p>I recently visited Bard with my wife and eleven-month-old son (I’m going back to school), and we were struck by how little the students smiled. I tried interacting with some of the students to get a feel for what kind of people attend Bard, but those that spoke to me were withdrawn and laconic. </p>

<p>That said, I was impressed by the breadth of Bard’s course offerings. I just wish all of the students didn’t look like extras from a Woody Allen movie! Kidding. OP was right about the whole “obscure french film” interest thing, though; students totally eat that stuff up. If only they discussed such things without an air of pretension! </p>

<p>Again, this is based on my experience and the things I saw while visiting Bard. Please do not take it as being matter-of-fact.</p>

<p>danceclass, atidrep—Yes, there are colleges where people smile at their classmates and acquaintances on the path. Most people don’t greet strangers, but I would find that pleasantly surprising, rather than weird. I guess we can agree to disagree on this.
I just went to visit a campus where I might be going in the fall, and it was unbelievably friendly. Every student, professor, and administrator I met started a conversation with me and seemed genuinely pleased to meet me. I felt so welcome. I did not get the sense that anyone thought they were cooler than me, even though I was a mere “prospie.” And no, their warmth did not seem fake. People there actually just seemed to value community and human connection. It could not have been more different from Bard. There is neither “genuine open-heartedness” nor even fake open-heartedness at Bard. I understand that your daughters and their friends are friendly people, and that they are happy at Bard. I am not denying that, and I am glad for them. I don’t believe that everyone at Bard is horrible—keep in mind, I have a lot of really dear friends at Bard. Nor is everyone unhappy. But the fact is, the overall culture at Bard is one that is unfriendly and unhappy, and I think people need to be aware of that culture before deciding to go to Bard. Of course, you are welcome to disagree with me, but that is my personal experience of a culture that I have been immersed in for nearly two years.
Also—I don’t presume to know anything about your relationships with your children, but I have to agree with morganhil, in that I do think that generally, attending a school allows a person a greater perspective on that school than having a child attend a school does. I know that my mother was extremely surprised to receive a phone call from me this past fall explaining that I was thinking of transferring. I had managed to conceal my unhappiness from her very well up until that point. If she had been posting on this board before that phone call, I think she would have been eagerly defending Bard as well.</p>

<p>I’m sorry that you are so unhappy, but I don’t think that blaming Bard for your troubles is helpful or fair to others. You can’t run away from your problems, but I hope that your next school is a better fit.</p>

<p>Wow, what a low blow. My jaw is on the floor. You are going to attack the character of someone you don’t even know in order to try to defend your argument? Unbelievable. </p>

<p>For the record, I’m not at all unhappy. I was unhappy at Bard, so I left, and now I am quite happy. Funny how that works! Why don’t you check out Bard’s retention rate and then think again about whether the problem was me, or Bard. ;)</p>

<p>I don’t blame Bard for every problem I ever had while I was a student there. That would be ridiculous. I do, however, maintain that Bard is a very difficult environment in which to live. Many others on this thread have already backed me up on this. If you disagree, that’s great. But please don’t try to paint me as some troubled kid who is just looking for someone to blame. That’s not even remotely accurate, and I really don’t appreciate it.</p>

<p>As a parent of a student who ALMOST chose to attend Bard in the fall, I find Bard parent DanceClass’s comments about ex-Bard student bananapplecat very inappropriate. A careful reader of this thread who has also read The Bard News references I cited above will know that the claims bananapplecat makes about Bard’s current campus climate are repeated by other Bard students, both here as well as on their campus newspaper. To personalize bananapplecat’s comments in the way DanceClass does in defense of her child’s college reminds me of Shakespeare’s wise observation in Hamlet, “Methinks the Lady doth protest too much.”</p>

<p>I don’t know anything about bananapplecat, and her pain, as expressed seems genuine. But one notes that she has only made 6 posts on CC, all of them with the express purpose of discouraging others from going to Bard. Although I believe that she is honestly and eloquently expressing her opinion, she does also clearly have a single agenda. I wish her the best and hope she finds what she is looking for.</p>

<p>I can’t believe some of the stuff I’m reading on this thread.</p>

<p>I don’t smile much, and I’m one of the friendliest people on the planet. My Bard daughter, quite reserved, has a bounty of friends there. In her major (math) and out of her major. In her dorm, and out of her dorm. Friends galore.</p>

<p>Lots of students suicidal? And the administration doesn’t take note? C’mon. Friend’s son broke up with his girlfriend, and President Leon Botstein sat down with the young man on a couple of occasions and helped him gain some perspective.</p>

<p><em>The President</em>.</p>

<p>All this does is contribute to The Bard Myth, Mystique, and Aura. Don’t get me wrong ---- the mystique and aura are there. That’s a good thing.</p>

<p>The myth carries on over the years, over the decades. Which is <em>precisely</em> what makes it an amazing college. “My Old School”, indeed.</p>

<p>My daughter is a math major, and her twin brother is also a math major (at a top-10, ridiculously competitive university). They took the same courses. They speak the same math language. Yet my daughter’s classes at Bard were small and discussion-oriented, with non-stop professor help at all hours, all days of the week.</p>

<p>And as far as the “out in the middle of nowhere” concept? It’s in rural upstate New York. Don’t go there if you’re hell-bent on city life. That’s what the brain should tell you, if it’s working correctly.</p>

<p>My son just made the choice to attend Bard this fall. This thread is making me worry just a little bit. Can we have more input from Bardians here?</p>

<p>eyeball, if your son evaluated and likes Bard then it is most likely right for him. Don’t let other kids choices undermine your trust in your kid’s choice.
Consider that what some of us have posted are IMPRESSIONS of Bard made by kids who chose NOT to go to Bard because they did not feel it was right for them. And as for transfers, for each student transferring out there are many more staying and this is true at every school.
Also kids can get tired of a school, so that’s why they offer Jr year abroad/domestic exchanges (kids that tire by end of sophomore year, change scenery for a term or year and return to fall in love all over again with the place during senior year). Others tire sooner or just find no fit. Not so uncommon.
In my child’s case there was no question around the quality or strength of academics at Bard, truly just one of not being sure of social environment fit.
Hope your son is already getting connected to the class of 2017 and other Bardians via Facebook and so forth.
Good luck!</p>

<p>Yo, glassharmonica, actually, it is not true that every post I’ve made has been about Bard. Anyone can easily see that I’ve posted about another school as well if they click on my profile. Protip: make sure things are true before you say them.</p>

<p>Also: Although it may seem hard to believe, I did NOT start this thread to discourage people from attending Bard. I started this thread offering to answer questions about Bard, as someone who’s actually attended the school (unlike most people posting here!). The only question anyone ever asked me was “Why did you transfer?”–so I answered it. Answering that question brought up negative aspects of Bard. Duh. If someone had asked me why I went to Bard in the first place, or what I loved about Bard, etc, etc, they would have gotten a different answer. For me, the negatives of Bard outweigh the positives, which is why I chose to leave Bard. That doesn’t mean there aren’t positives or that Bard isn’t a good choice for some people. </p>

<p>If I were considering going to Bard, I would highly value the perspective of someone who had gone there. I am simply offering information, in the form of my personal experience, to whoever might find it helpful. So, again, if anyone has further questions about any aspect of Bard life, I’m happy to answer them.</p>

<p>bananapplecat, on April 23 you made your first post, a six-word sentence announcing that you have been admitted to Colorado College. The following day, April 24, you started this thread. The rest of your posts (6 more, to date) have been expansive essays about why you are unhappy at Bard. About you, I wrote diplomatically, and in the 3rd person. Your response is rude. “Pro tip”: don’t address me, or any stranger so disrespectfully. You don’t know who I am. The world is smaller than you might imagine. </p>

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<p>Dear Eyeball,
If your son would like to talk to some current Freshman, a diverse group, all of whom regularly come over to my house with my daughter and are having rich, rewarding times at the school, let me know. Bard is a unique school but the right one for certain kinds of artistic, intelletual, freethinking, nature-loving kids. My concern with this thread has been that one or two people for whom Bard is clearly not right have decided that because it is not right for them no one is happy there. Not true. And I say this as a parent, yes, but one who spends a lot of time with these kids. They are much too busy to be on collegeconfidential, but I am happy to arrange for your son to speak with them.</p>

<p>atidrep, the only reason I’ve visited this corner of CC lately is that my niece was admitted to Bard (and, in fact, will be attending in the fall!) My youngest daughter considered Bard seriously last year (we made several visits) but ultimately chose another program. Her reasons had to do with the specifics of her major, not the atmosphere of the college. I was dismayed to see this tread, titled “Happy to Answer Questions”, with its one-sided, negative slant. I did show the thread to my sister, in the interest of transparency (because I was the one who suggested Bard to her daughter in the first place.) They are from California (not Southern California, like the OP), but my sister, after reading this thread, was not concerned. </p>

<p>I hope it works out for the OP.</p>

<p>thank you antidrep.</p>

<p>glassharmonica, for the second time, you are characterizing me inaccurately. The rest of my posts have not been "expansive essays about why I am unhappy at Bard."In fact, I clearly state in one of them that A. I no longer go to Bard and B. I am not unhappy. Issues with tense notwithstanding, that phrase still doesn’t represent the content of all of my posts–again, something that anyone can easily see if they actually read the thread. </p>

<p>I am sorry that you found my response rude. That was not my intention. I found your original post, and your second post, to be ruder, and condescending to boot. I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree about who’s rude, etc.</p>

<p>I wish we could also agree to disagree about Bard without you resorting to trying to discredit my point of view or misrepresent my intentions. </p>

<hr>

<p>Also, I just explained in my last post that the reason this thread seems negative, although it started out as me being “happy to answer questions” was because the only question I was ever asked concerned my reasons for transferring. I have acknowledged repeatedly that there are some people who are happy at Bard.</p>

<p>If you are going to respond to my posts, please respond to what I’ve actually said, not what you imagine me to have said.</p>

<p>Bananapplecat, since you’re offering, we’d be happy to hear what you did like about Bard, btw and what drew you to the school in the first place. And what you’ll miss as you move on.</p>

<p>im having troubles in school currently and im needing a 3.5 gpa or higher but I only have a 2.9 gpa and with only 1 month left I need to get to that point. does anyone have any suggestions?</p>

<p>I can reiterate bananapplecat’s posts, since she seems to be getting singled out here. I’m a current Bard student that is in the process of transferring.</p>

<p>Obviously, Bard is right for some people. Unfortunately I have yet to meet any student that particularly loves Bard. </p>

<p>As someone who also hails from Southern California, it was not a good fit for me either.</p>

<p>I’m sorry you guys have had such an unhappy experience, but, on the bright side, it is empowering to know that when a situation is not working out, you can change it. One of my daughters was unhappy with her college. The situation grew worse throughout her second year, and at the last minute she decided to make applications for transfer. She did transfer-- it was a scary leap into a new situation. She worried that she would have trouble integrating into the new school as a new 3rd year. But it’s turned out great-- every time I talk to her she expresses how glad she is to have made the decision to transfer.</p>

<p>I teach at a university, and I frequently meet students who have transferred in. Some are on their 3rd school, after a bumpy road. I often ask them them about the experience, and it’s generally positive. The only regret is spending less time at the new institution-- college years go by so quickly. So good luck to both of you.</p>

<p>I did a lot of research and polling about Bard last year, when my daughter was seriously considering the school. I know a number of students who have attended or do attend Bard, all of whom really love Bard (it may be no coincidence that most are musicians, although not all were in the conservatory.) I also talked to a colleague whose son had a dismal experience there, worse than what zackt147 and bananapple describe. He’s transferred to a completely different environment and is now thriving. </p>

<p>Sometimes I’m surprised at how low transfer rates are at colleges, given how hard it is to know what you want when you’re 17 or 18-- and even harder to make an informed selection of a college that you’ve only seen once or twice (if at all).</p>