<p>Please excuse my narcissism.</p>
<p>I am a Jewish Northeasterner who wants to study Creative Writing and political science. I enjoy a good hippie/hipster/alternative culture at any school, but was turned off by the extreme level of inwardness I found with the students at Wesleyan. I would like to go to college where students are genuinely engaged with their studies and will take stimulating/intellectual discussions outside of the classrooms. I appreciate diversity and even though I lean left politically, I am somewhat frustrated with an intense level of political correctness to the point where it becomes discriminatory. In regards to substances, I’m okay with drugs and alcohol around me but not to where I’m forced to do it by my peers.</p>
<p>Would I like Bard?</p>
<p>Short answer: Yes.</p>
<p>Bard seems to be everything you’re looking for. Students here are (almost, and only because I’m accounting for the very minor exceptions to this) ALWAYS engaged with their studies. If I got a quarter for every time I heard of/participated in a stimulating/intellectual discussion outside of the classroom, I’d be a rich college student.</p>
<p>Political correctness is also not something seen on campus all that often, but there’s also very little need for it.</p>
<p>Drugs/alcohol DEFINITELY prevalent, but no more than any other college. But unlike a lot of schools, people offer because they want to share their experience and have zero qualms with you if you don’t take them up; they even respect it.</p>
<p>If you have any questions about the creative writing program, I’m a Written Arts major here so hopefully I can help you out if you need.</p>