<p>I'm very confused right now...so any help would really be appreciated..
I am an international student and the costs for both schools are similar although I have asked both for more aid.
I am interested in subjects like; music, business, socioloogy, media studies...
I want a very liberal, free and flexible school, closely knit and easy interactions with teachers.
One question is that because I am from India, will the weather at Mac might be way too cold for me to handle...?
can anyone give me information regarding these schools?
-the partying life
-the area around the college
-the campus
-the dorms
-the teachers
-a regular day/weekend at the two colleges
-anything you think I should know...?</p>
<p>A friend’s son chose Mac over Bard, where he was originally waitlisted at Mac. I would personally choose Mac.
-The weather is not that different, both are cold.
-Mac is in a city, Bard is in the middle of nowhere.
-Bard has a large, pretty campus, ugly library and
beautiful natural surroundings
-Mac is small and in an urban setting
-Don’t know about the dorms
-Both have excellent teachers
-Bard is artier, students might be a bit more pretentious
-Mac has more internationals
-A student should comment about a regular day/WE at the schools.
-Both are very liberal and small</p>
<p>Bard’s curriculum is quite unique, very rigorously and elegantly structured. Courses are designed in a non-traditional way. You need to see whether you like those or not. I’d say Bard is similar to Reed but more artsy. Bard also has a lot of internationals, 10% if I remember it right.</p>
<p>What I find impressive about Bard is the faculty. I don’t know much about Mac professors but I’ve been comparing Bard and Bowdoin, and find Bard professors’ resume to be more impressive. Especially in the Humanities and Social Studies.</p>
<p>Macalester is great if you want to be able to walk off campus, jump on a bus, and go to an art museum, or walk across the street to coffee shops, or take a bus to internships through the Twin Cities. The school does a lot to facilitate those internships.</p>
<p>Bard has nothing right around it. There are fabulous performance spaces at Bard but the students often are shut out of them; they use them for the amazing performers who come to campus. A lot of music and art faculty at Bard are part time and are not on campus that much.</p>