Bard College is a private liberal arts school in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. With gorgeous views of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains, this historic campus is a popular choice amongst those looking for a scenic, small college experience. While their admission rate seems to fluctuate from year to year, it usually lands in between 33-40%.
We called Bard to clarify and the representative could not give us more information. Bard has prided itself as being test-optional for over 40-years (as if to say they did it before it was cool) and has no application fee (which is actually very cool). There are two ways to apply to Bard: using the common app or using their direct application. In cases like this, we always suggest using the common app for your own sanity, but they do give the same weight to either.
Bard’s application really shines in its simplicity. They only ask one question and they don’t couch it in any weird quotes or fancy wording.
The entire supplement is “Why Bard? 250 words.”
The “why this college” question is probably the most common question to appear across supplements. When approaching this type of question the first step is always research.
You should start by choosing a major. If you aren’t sure what you want to study, that is fine. No one will hold you to it, but it makes these questions much easier to write and it makes you a better candidate for admission. After choosing a major, look into classes offered by that major. You should be aiming to find a couple of 300-400 level classes that seem interesting to you. Stay away from choosing anything that isn’t a high-level course. ‘101s’ are usually the same at most colleges. Choosing beginner classes says that you want to go to college and not that you want to go to this specific college.
For example, if you like writing, choosing to write about the Literature major is a good choice. When looking into the major, select classes like LIT 333 Innovative Contemporary Fiction and LIT 3048 Extraordinary Bodies: Disability in American Literature and Culture. If any specific professors jump out at you, you can also mention them by name.
You will also need to research some extracurriculars. Take a look at their student activities page and find a specific club that you could see yourself joining. Again, no one is going to force you to join it once you get to campus. The best choices for clubs are ones that build on what you are already doing. Did you write for your high school’s paper? Think about choosing to mention a club like Bard Free Press.
Once you have done the research it’s time to craft the essay. Start with an origin story of how you fell in love with the topic. This should be outside of a classroom. For example, if you are talking about literature maybe it was afternoons in the public library growing up. Intro your interest with your origin story quickly and then talk about how your interest will grow by taking the specific classes you found.
Your next point should be the extracurricular you found and how it builds on something you have already done. To wrap this up, say something about the location. It can be something about the town or the natural beauty around it but keep it specific. You should wrap this essay up with a conclusion that says something to the effect of “for all these reasons, Bard is the only school for me!” But in a non-cheesy way.
This question isn’t very long and there is a lot to pack in, so don’t worry too much about waxing poetic. You should state your interests and have them be specific. Other than that, the only trick to an essay like this is doing some research so you can speak to exactly what is offered by Bard.
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