<p>S1 goes to Skidmore and I couldn't be happier. He spent his first semester in London and in my opinion, came home a world class thinker. He currently is back on campus and loves it. He is an Economics major and loves his classes, the campus and all there is to do there. He and his roommate head down to the gym every night to play basketball. They are always busy. As far as double majors, Skidmore wants kids to be as well rounded as possible and open their schedules so students can be double majors. Again, I am very happy with Skidmore!</p>
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The one aspect that struck my daughter (negatively) is that Bard's location is very remote, very rural. You need a car to get anywhere, but there's nowhere to go anyway. Oh, and we had lunch at what we were assured was the best eating spot on campus--the food was vile.
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<p>"You don't need a car to get anywhere." FALSE. Bard has shuttles that go to the three neighboring towns, plus local malls. Schedules are posted.</p>
<p>"but there's nowhere to go anyway". FALSE. There's a town called New York City which is around a 90 minute train ride away. I hear there are a few things to do there. Moreover, what is this constant need to go away from campus all the time? There is so much to do on the Bard campus in terms of concerts, theatre, and art that most people I know have a hard time tapping in to even half of it.</p>
<p>"best eating spot on campus--the food was vile". TRUE. You may want to find a college that more closely resembles a restaurant if that's up there on your list.</p>
<p>Vassar is also a great place, actually very similar to Bard in its strong emphasis on liberal arts. I've seen both schools on a couple of occasions, and I did not get the impression that either is a granola-type place.</p>
<p>I think Skidmore is considered more of a safety (or a lower match) for those who are interested in both Vassar and Bard but need a safety net.</p>
<p>And as far as Bard's "weird lingo" of Moderation and Senior Project go, Moderation is basically declaring your major (with substantiation --- yeah, they actually make you do work), and Senior Project is a culmination of the works in your major, basically a senior thesis. GASP!! I thought college was supposed to be a cake walk. How dare they?</p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>I would strongly recommend taking a look at the financial picture of all three schools you are considering, including measures such as per student endowment, the style of fiscal management, bond ratings, debt load, cash flow. These are always important measures with a direct bearing on the day to day campus experience. They are vitally important factors going into a period of financial stress that will persist through the college careers of current applicants.</p>
<p>Here are the latest available year end financial statements along wit the most recent Moody's credit rating and outlook for future ratings.</p>
<p>Vassar: (Moody's Aa2 stable outlook)
<a href="http://financeandadministration.vassar.edu/assets/docs/financialfacts0708.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://financeandadministration.vassar.edu/assets/docs/financialfacts0708.pdf</a></p>
<p>Skidmore (Moody's A1 stable outlook):
<a href="http://cms.skidmore.edu/financial_services/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&pageID=322803%5B/url%5D">http://cms.skidmore.edu/financial_services/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&pageID=322803</a></p>
<p>Bard (Moody's A3 negative outlook)</p>
<p>Has he considered Ithaca College or Oberlin?</p>
<p>Or Sarah Lawrence (on commuter train to NYC)? In suburban Bronxville, on the corner of Yonkers. Historically known for their writing program, as for their science program, all I know is that a lot of kids go on to med school from SLC. Because one concentrates in a field but doesn't major, there are many opportunities for say, a dancer to take anthropology courses etc.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your thoughts but this is an old thread and my S has already applied to his college choices.
I'm sure others will benefit from this discussion though.</p>
<p>mark knopfler v. meryl streep</p>
<p>I loved the academic aspects of Bard, but agreed with my son that it was way too small, too isolated and too rural. The kids we saw (not many on a Friday) looked very down to earth, not arty, didn't see anyone smoking. My son liked Vassar a lot. Even though Poughkeepsie is kind of a gritty small city, he liked that Vassar was in a town. He liked that it's campus feels like a campus, not like buildings in the woods. I haven't visited Skidmore, but have been to Saratoga and thought it was a charming town. Absolutely gorgeous in the fall.</p>
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mark knopfler v. meryl streep
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<p>I think you mean Donald Fagen v. Meryl Streep. Or Chevy Chase v. Lisa Kudrow. ;)</p>
<p>I also wondered a lot about not seeing a whole lot of students at Bard, and then I did the math......there are, what, 2,000 students and the campus is, what, around 700 acres? That's fewer than 3 students per acre!</p>
<p>A couple of times we were there in the morning, and just like other campuses, there weren't many students hanging out in the morning. Then again, when we visited in the afternoon, there were plenty more students around, at least in the places students are apt to congregate. I didn't find this to be any different at Vasssar, or Wesleyan, or Bates, or a host of other places....except maybe Columbia. But that's a whole different ball of wax.</p>
<p>Vassar has a lovely campus, and how about that golf course?! Poughkeepsie's just 'eh', but again, who is leaving campus that much?</p>
<p>Maybe I should start another thread and ask students how often they leave campus (other than to go home) for entertainment.....</p>
<p>How do Bard and Skidmore deal with matriculating students who may discover they have trouble academically due to gaps in their high school education, learning issues, etc.? Is the bar for academic achievement set at one height for all or according to each individual’s capabilities (no student left behind)?</p>
<p>groco, can’t speak for Skidmore, but Bard has all Freshman take an intensive writing course three weeks before the regular classes begin. The idea is that everyone starts off on a level playing field and your advisers have time to get to know you. You should probably address specific concerns to the school, but I’d guess that Bard would meet the needs of such a student pretty well.</p>
<p>Thanks mathmom. I plan to speak to each school; getting info from there is easy. It’s the “been there, done that” perspective I was hoping to get.</p>
<p>To emphasize what I wrote in #23 about the importance of looking at the finanial picture at each school, Moody’s downgraded Bard’s bond rating last week from A3 to Baa1 and continued to offer a “negative outlook” for future ratings.</p>
<p>My antenna go up when a college does not make its financial statements, or even summary financial data, available on their websites in this day and age. It is especially unusual for a college to not participate in the annual NACUBO survey of college endowments.</p>
<p>I agree that checking the financials for Bard might be worthwhile. They have some new buildings that are gorgeous, but I was really appalled by the state of the sidewalks. They were not doing nearly enough shoveling. There was a lot of ice, and we saw a student slip and land on her back while we were there.</p>
<p>Someone said there was no train line between Bard and NYC. The train goes from Rhinebeck (a short drive away) to NYC very frequently. I think the college provides shuttle service, and also it’s easy to find someone to give you a ride.</p>
<p>Although it is in a rural area, Bard doesn’t really feel like other rural campuses I’ve seen. Maybe it’s the general cosmopolitan nature of the students, not to mention the unbelievably world class faculty, especially in English, writing, and the arts. Also, their calendar is jampacked with all kinds of events, especially now they have the Gehry designed performing arts center. I am more familiar with their graduate programs than undergrad—their curatorial program, for example, is probably one of the top programs in the country (and they have a truly cutting edge museum). </p>
<p>It does have a very distinctive feel though, not for everybody, but is definitely worth looking into even if you think you don’t want “rural”.</p>
<p>Addressing the science major issue: my sister did a master’s in ecology there (went back to school) and the program is great. Her son recently dropped out of Skidmore…</p>
<p>I think they’re both small New England private LACs. Lots of money involved. To my eye, Bard has the better science. </p>
<p>As for the location… my daughter got into Reed and Bard. She chose Reed: “Portland in the city vs. Bard in the country? Easy decision.”</p>