<p>My daughter was planning on applying ED to Wes, but after a time spent at Bard and a second trip to Wes, she's decided Bard is her top choice. She's certainly got the grades/scores for Bard and Wes was a mild reach (her math could be better.) She felt the kids were more genuinely intellectual at Bard, less conventional, less safe, and that the writing classes she sat in on at Bard were more interesting than Wesleyan's. I'd love some feedback from both Bardians and Wesleyan folks. A number of people have told us stories about people switchign from Bard to Wes, but not vise-versa. Thoughts on both places would be appreciated. My daughter is a real intellectual, hates sports/frat culture...which is why Wes was on the list as her top choice initially. But then Bard won her heart.</p>
<p>I would say the biggest differences are in size, setting and scope. Wesleyan is in the middle of a large town; Bard is in the middle of a forest (though, within commuting distance of New York City). Bard’s strengths are in the arts and classical music, thanks largely to the leadership of Leon Botstein, who is probably the longest serving president of a major college in the United States. </p>
<p>Wesleyan is a NESCAC college which places it firmly in the world of small New England college academics and sports rivalries, the latter of which go back a century or more. Nearly half of Wesleyan graduates go into business immediately after graduation. A large number will go to graduate or professional school (about 85% after five years, according to one Wall Street Journal poll.) An unusually high number will also try their hand at making it in Hollywood, New York’s Silicon Alley, and the world of indie-rock which makes it a little bit different from the average NESCAC college.</p>
<p>Each school is different enough that, if after visiting both, DD has a special affinity for one over the other, I would go with her gut.</p>