<p>Anyone have an opinion? Loves english, philosophy and dances alot.</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence has a great dance program.</p>
<p>S was admitted to both last year and now attends SLC. He is really happy with his choice. He is a theatre major who felt that Bronxville was just closer to the NYC-scene than Annandale. Agree with earlier poster who noted strength of SLC dance programs. SLC academic model is pretty different than the Bard model. (I liked Bard more, but I wasn't going to college this time around!)</p>
<p>Thank you for your responses. Sarah Lawrence it is!!</p>
<p>Ask me next year; I'll have one at each!</p>
<p>Would love an update on this, particularly from Proud Dad. My daughter was accepted toward both, but is leaning toward Bard. Loves theater, dance, creative writing, psychology.</p>
<p>My S is finishing his second year at SLC and is a Theatre major. S is planning to fashion a career in that field and believes that SLC is giving him the contacts and skills to succeed. He really enjoys SLC...he has good friends and is extremely busy with school work and theatre projects of every description (acting, directing, writing, dance, comedy, sound, lighting, improv). He'll be off to rehearsals at 10 PM on a Sunday night, loving the busy-ness of it all.</p>
<p>IMO, he is getting an intense education, but not necessarily a well-rounded one. SLC students take only three courses a semester. While his work products have been well-researched and well-written, I wonder whether or not he is touching enough areas. His response is that he wants to study theatre and that is what he is doing.</p>
<p>S did not find Bard's rural setting on the Hudson River particularly appealing, although I thought it was terrific. I thought the new Gehry-designed theatre at Bard was amazing; S thought the facilities inside were 'nothing special'. Although he visited Bard twice, it never really came down to Bard versus Sarah Lawrence for him. In his case, because theatre was so important, it was SLC versus Kenyon and he choose proximity to NYC.</p>
<p>Hope this helps. S loves SLC and has no regrets at this point.</p>
<p>would love an update from Proud Dad as well. My S admitted to both schools - SLC and Bard - and we are still undecided. Thanks!</p>
<p>Hi. I have to say my daughter was in the same dilemma. She chose SLC because of the proximity to NYC. She loves it. I loved the rural setting of Bard, but she is so happy and so engaged with the arts in the city. I think she made the right choice for HER, but I think it comes down to a very personal gut feeling about where your son can see himself thriving. I also disagree with the poster below about SLC not offering a well rounded education. I cannot imagine a more well rounded approach to education. My D has taken the most interesting courses and is fully engaged. My suggestion to you is to ask your son where he can see himself being happy and then go with it. Some are city mice, some country mice. :)</p>
<p>Thanks for your input! He actually sees himself happy at either school - which I guess is a good thing. We live in NYC and he is very much a city kid. My feeling is since he will most likely live in NYC for the rest of his life, it would be nice to experience something different (and of course if he wants to come home, he can do it in under 2 hours) At SLC, I’m wondering if S will come home all the time and not have the away-at-school experience? Does your daughter ever complain about SLC clearing out on the weekends? I’ve heard both yes and no to this one.</p>
<p>My daughter does not complain at all about the college emptying out on weekends. Really, how could it when a vast majority of students are from out of state? She has a small group of friends and they go into the city usually on Friday or Saturday nights. I will say that there are a lot more females than males at SLC and that may be a factor for your son. When it comes to this decision, I decided right from the start to stay out of the process. I provided the transportation to visit each school and then, the rest was all up to her. I didn’t want to interject my own personality into her first big decision. I told her that I would support whatever she decided. We live in a more rural area and I had some trepidation about her in the city, but it was her decision and she really loves it! Trust me, if she didn’t I would be hearing all the details of what was wrong with it ad nauseum.</p>
<p>SLC on the weekends</p>
<p>As a first year student my son was on campus virtually all of the time; there was lots to do. As a sophmore and junior he spent increasing amounts of weekend time in NYC, in part because he had friends who graduated and moved to Brooklyn, in part because he wanted to do thinks in NYC. He would often go to NYC in the morning and return to campus on the last train at night. I never had a sense of the campus emptying out on the weekends.</p>
<p>To my surprise he is living on campus for his senior year, after returning from a semester abroad. He says he wants to really enjoy his last year at SLC.</p>
<p>Now with one graduated from SLC and one finishing the second year at Bard, I can truly say they are both fantastic schools. My SLC child spent lots of time in NYC and now lives and works there. The Bard child visits the city but loves being at Bard and has plenty to do on campus, in the theater, etc. The SLC kid found the classes amazing and the professors approachable, challenging, and they treated their kids as peers. The Bard child takes an amazing assortment of classes and has had opportunities in her interests I don’t think she’d have had at any other school. Both are artistic, neither are involved in much hard science, but they thrive on the humanities, and have enjoyed exploring psychology, philosophy and religion courses. The leadership of both schools is exceptional though there is only one Leon Botstein! Both schools are academically challenging enough for even the smartest of kids (mine, of course) but Bard really has a very demanding academic schedule and requirements, with incoming L&T, moderation, etc. But my Bard student wouldn’t change it for anything. If you’re into liberal arts, are looking for small conference-style classes and a close association with professors, both schools do that as well as any I’ve seen. Similar but very different. If you can’t choose one over the other after a visit to both, you must not know what you’re looking for! ;)</p>