I’m going to be attending Bard College this fall as a transfer student, and I’ll be entering as a sophomore. Although I’m exempt from the first-year program, I was told that I also have the option to participate if I want to.
Here are my questions: is the program important with regards to making connections with other students? Do most social groups emerge during this program? Even if I’ll be a year older than most of the other students, would it be more beneficial if I participated in the program?
The school I’m transferring from wasn’t a suitable fit for me at all, and I want to partake in every possible opportunity to make connections with others when I transfer to Bard.
I’d greatly appreciate if any current or former students could provide some feedback. Thank you in advance! 
The Language and Thinking Program is an important part of the Bard experience. If you have the option to attend it, I would recommend that you do. If you’re only one year ahead - you’ll actually find many students your own age - as a gap year is common after high school for many Bard students.
The L&T experience varies for everyone - depending on the professor of one’s group, to the group of students. For my own son, the professor has helped shape his life in significant ways both at Bard, as well as beyond the immediate college experience, even now after graduation. But I’d say his friendships were formed foremost in his freshman dorm.
My daugher attended this year’s L&T. To be honest she wasn’t that thrilled with the content. It really does matter who you get as a prof, and she had a lot of this stuff, in high school. (Same is true for the Freshman Seminar so far - she had classics in her private HS so a lot is re-reading stuff.) BUT she made a group of friends in her dorm, got to know the campus and the area and was ready to work, really work, when school started. So she feels that it was worth giving up A MONTH’S SALARY - she had to leave her summer job early - to attend.