<p>I haven’t had the chance to visit, although I like what I’ve heard and read about Bard and I’m thinking of applying. Some questions:</p>
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<li><p>I know that Bard are very strong in the arts. But how are their science offerings? What about economics? Citizen science seems to me like an easy summer course to fulfil requirements…</p></li>
<li><p>Multiple posters on CC I’ve read have noted that there is “very little interaction between people of different colours and races” at Bard. Students and alumni, how true is this? I’m an international student from a very diverse background, so this is a concern for me. I understand that the student body is predominantly white, and that’s totally fine, but I would think that at a LAC like Bard, people would be accepting of various colours/cultures etc…</p></li>
<li><p>Would any students or alumni care to elaborate what it is that drew them to Bard in the first place? And have these expectations been fulfilled? What are some positives or negatives that you’ve experienced?</p></li>
<li><p>To me, Bard seems like a very distinctive environment that attracts a very specific type of student. I consider myself to be “artsy” but I also enjoy sports, and slightly quirky but not overly eccentric. The typical Bard student described to me seems extremely liberal, extremely hipster, and the student body homogeneous. Any thoughts on this?</p></li>
<li><p>How big is alcohol and drug use on campus? Is this ever an issue?</p></li>
<li><p>What is there to do on campus on a given weekend? What is there to do from nearby towns? Do students go on road trips often?</p></li>
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<p>THANK YOU so much for reading through all of this. </p>
<p>Have you watched this hour long youtube video with questions and answers with current students? I think it might answer a lot of your questions. <a href=“Bard College Student Webcast- Q & A Session - YouTube”>Bard College Student Webcast- Q & A Session - YouTube;
<p>As for economics - the Levy Institute is based at Bard - and it is one of the most prestigious economic think tanks in the world. And Citizen Science is not something that can be fulfilled through a summer program - that’s not the point of it - which is to bring together students of all interests to focus on a single scientific issue - bringing all their different perspectives to the table.</p>
<p>Thank you @spiritmanager for the video and your response. I’ve read many of your responses around here, they have been very informative! </p>
<p>Hopefully that answered many of your questions. I’ll tackle a few of your questions as well. I’m a current Bard senior and science major.</p>
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<li><p>I’ve found the biology program to be very strong as far as rigor and there’s a large emphasis in being able to read and write science very well. The required 200-level courses require a fair amount of science writing and everyone meets with a writing fellow (trained peer) to talk about improving their writing. I think most of what you lack in Science is options, so if you have a very specific interest there may not be a professor who’s studying it. I know a number of people in econ who really like it. One advantage I think you’ll find at Bard is that the types of economics that profs study is somewhat diverse and there’s an ecological economist, a Marxist economist, Keynesians, etc. </p></li>
<li><p>I’ll tackle the race question. I’m a white American and can definitely not tell you what it’s like to be a POC at Bard but here are a few observations. I think there’s definitely some truth that friend groups are frequently separated based on race which is more about comfort than vehement racial prejudice. I’m sure there are plenty of assumptions and stupid things that white people say that make people of color less interested in being friends with them. I realized sophomore year most of my friends were white and made more of an effort to reach out to some POC I thought were cool and am now friends/acquaintances with more POC. I think international students frequently don’t relate to the race relations of the US and are more likely to be integrated into social groups not based on race although there are definitely international students who are mainly friends with people from their home country. Bard students are predominantly liberal so yes people are accepting, you wouldn’t have to deal with nasty comments just thoughtless generalizations people make in class when they don’t actually know what they’re talking about. </p></li>
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<p>@101mutts thank you, that was very helpful. How do you rate your experience at Bard, looking back as a senior? </p>
<p>Oh that’s hard to answer since I haven’t attended anywhere else. 7.5?</p>