I recently received an email from a representative from Bard College at Simon’s Rock who said they would be visiting my country in the next month. As I live outside the United States (international), I thought this would be a great opportunity, especially if I got to go to college after being only a junior, as our family has many financial issues (my international school is kind of expensive).
However, when I showed this to my mom, she told me to reject the offer because this college isn’t in a very high ranking and she expects me to go to a top university and what not (asian expectations).
I was wondering how other people would feel about this, or how you guys feel about this college? Thank you! Any help is appreciated~
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It is a well known early college program. About half the student will transfer to traditional colleges for their upper division work. The students have a very good transfer rate to more high profile colleges. The school provides advising and preparation for that. They also make the list for the undergraduate origin of most English PhD’s, so the writing instruction will likely be especially fine, which is very valuable. Read everything on their website.
My daughter’s a “Rocker” and mostly loves it! You can show your mother the schools ratings in The Princeton Review… academically they are right up there with the top Ivies. Also, they have arrangements with Columbia and Dartmouth for seamless transfer in Engineering, I think the program is 2 + 3. Classes are very small and in seminar fashion… if you are a back-of-the-lecture hall type of person this is not the school for you. Also, if you need people to have heard of your school it is probably not the school for you, but those who know it highly respect it. If you are thinking of attending for two years and then transferring, which more do than not, be aware that some schools like Princeton pretty much don’t take transfers. That said Brown and Stanford in particular recognize the Simon’s Rock name. It might be easier to get into certain schools coming from the Rock then straight out of high school. Yet another quirk… a sizable number of students transfer after the two years when they have their AA, leave thinking they want to be somewhere larger and more prestigious, and then return because the academics at their new school don’t compare. If you stay for all four years you must write a senior thesis. Most of the faculty is talented and highly interested in you and yes, students really do address them by their first names. If my daughter were here she would tell you you will meet lots of very different very smart people, some of whom will make you feel talentless, (also some jerks) and I think she treasures this most of all. Apt description is “Island of Misfit Toys”. It is a very small school, everyone knows your business which is both good and bad.
Bard College at Simon’s Rock is a very well-regarded early college program - their students tend to transfer to top schools, as several people have already said.
However, if you are looking for financial aid, you should know that most schools give their best financial aid to freshman applicants. Even though you will be younger, you will still be a college transfer from Simon’s Rock, and so you should consider that.
What about the comments I have seen in some reviews, about the Simon’s Rock students being known for doing a lot of drugs and alcohol, which I have seen attributed to reasons such as there is little supervision and the younger than normal college students at Simon’s Rock have worse judgment upon realizing they are free to do drugs and alcohol and therefore tend to go wild with that, or there is little else to do for recreation so that’s why this happens at an extreme extent there ? Is there truth to this? It is something I am worried about. Can anyone comment?
I’m a Simon’s Rock graduate, and I worked in admissions. I remember being concerned when reading about the “drug scene” on campus, but it’s really not bad. I never felt pressured to do anything, and people mostly stay in their lanes. There’s certain spots that are known for being smoking ones, but they’re all out of the way, and easily avoidable. The only drug that is popular at SRC is marijuana, which you’ll find at most rural liberal arts schools - so yes, like you were wondering, it seems to be mostly driven by boredom and a lack of resources; specifically during the winter months. The students here tend to be more mature than any state school - you’d be shocked by their answers when you find out their ages, since they come off as very adult.
Regarding alcohol, the school is rather stringent with this, and crack down harder on it than they do drugs (I’m speaking mainly of weed here, which is harmless). Two incidents occurred with alcohol overdose while I was there, but they were with specific, depressed individuals. This is NOT a party school…more like “small gatherings that are occasionally accompanied by wine”. As long as your child is responsible, I would not worry.
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