Hi All,
Ds was accepted into both Lawrence and Bard for their double-degree program. Wondering if anyone can speak to either of these programs, one over the other and reasons why. He’s also considering St.Olaf but so far Bard and Lawrence are the top contenders. FA from Bard is almost double what Lawrence is offering. Bard’s stats are hard to decipher so I’m curious about what anyone has to share re their experience with these two schools.
TIA
Are you saying the cost for you at Lawrence will be twice Bard or just that the merit offer is twice from Bard? Bard is a magnet for quirky artsy out of the box students. They also have lots of quirky out of the box programs which can be great. Financially they’ve been kind of hand to mouth for quite a few years, sort of famously living off the fundraising prowess of a charismatic president. Which is not to say that won’t continue. It’s one of the few campuses we saw pre-covid where we saw actual 21st century college kids smoking actual 20th century cigarettes. Brought back memories.
My son '21 has decided on St. Olaf. He’s probably as left politically as most Bard students but wants to be in a place with more diverse views than the progressive bubble he grew up in. I can’t speak to the trade off in the double degree program.
Hi,
Thanks for your response and congrats on your son’s various acceptances. Bard offered him a scholarship that is almost full tuition. Lawrence offered him a very generous aid package, scholarships, grants and a few other things. The difference will be about 5k. St. Olaf also offered him a generous aid package, comparable to Lawrence. He really liked St. Olaf but I think it’s going to come down to Bard or Lawrence.
It’s hard to find much on Bard. A lot comes up about their precarious financial situation but tbh it doesn’t seem any more precarious than other smaller LACs and I do know they received a $100 million grant recently. Like your son mine has grown up in a progressive bubble, though he is more moderate than his parents lol. He wants diversity in his political sphere as well, actively seeks out those with different views to learn more. He’s def not the typical artsy student, in fact artsy is not an adjective I’d ascribe to him despite his dance and musical background. In addition to voice, his other degree will be math with a possible minor in philosophy.
I have been super impressed by Lawrence’s involvement in our process right from the get-go. It’s going to be a tough decision. Thanks again for responding.
It’s better to have many good choices but still difficult. Good luck. Sounds like you can’t lose.
@tablamom What did your son decide? We are looking closely at both schools for S22 who is a musician. Would you also be willing to elaborate on the aid package he received at Bard? It says on their website they offer NO merit aid so I’m wondering if that really means full freight if he decides not to go the con route.
I too would be interested in what your son decided and how it turns out.
@murray93 @hifidelity In the end he decided on St. Olaf. Of the three schools it was strongest in math which is the other portion of his double degree. He also made a very strong connection with the voice coach at St. Olaf and he enjoyed his convo with the math chair as well. Honestly I don’t think he could have gone wrong with any of these schools but St. Olaf had a few extra things that the other two didn’t. In terms of the FA packages, all of them offered us very generous packages. In fact Bard was the most generous at almost a full ride. But St. Olaf was next and theirs was extremely generous as well. He got their main music scholarship as well as the president’s scholarship and a bunch of other grants that made it doable.
Sounds wonderful! I hope he has an amazing experience.
Congratulations and good luck! Thanks for letting us know how it turned out.
Congrats! My D16 had a fantastic experience in the math department. 2020 math major.
In response to Bard’s no merit aid policy…it is confusing. They say they only give need based aid, but they must have their own calculation of need above FAFSA/CSS as our child’s offer was much more than we “need” based on FAFSA. (Thank goodness or she couldn’t have afforded to go).
Bard’s offer was a much better offer than many schools were she got top merit awards and grants. Go figure.
They do say scholarships are based on need and potential. My personal feeling is that they take achievements into consideration along with need and seem to provide more than just amount to meet EFC (as long as there is some need there). If there isn’t any need, I have heard of kids who didn’t get scholarship and were full pay.
I think they don’t do automatic merit scholarships as it isn’t equitable to underserved students. They are want to provide scholarships for those who truly need it. It is explained on their website better than what I am saying.
There are also some scholarships that can be applied for at Bard, but mine was offered almost full tuition without any extra application. We have found them to be very very generous.
Quite impressed so far.
Thank you for that insight on tuition. It sounds like one won’t know until they apply… And since it’s a free application, why not?