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Bard Early College in New Orleans is founded in the belief that the opportunities for critical inquiry offered by the best colleges in the country should be available to younger students who have the ambition to learn and the curiosity to engage difficult questions.
We act on this belief by offering 11th and 12th graders a unique opportunity: Bard Early College students spend the second half of every school day as undergraduates of Bard College, completing the first year of a Bard College education during the last two years of high school. BECNO runs two half-day college campuses in partnership with the Louisiana Department of Education, enrolling over 100 students from public high schools across New Orleans. BECNO campuses are among the most rigorous and inclusive early colleges in the country.

How it Works

Bard Early College works in partnership with high schools across the city to embed an undergraduate college within a public high school system. Bard Early College operates autonomously on two satellite Bard campuses, provided by the Louisiana Department of Education. Bard Early College courses are dually accredited, allowing students to move ahead in college without falling behind in high school.

Academics

Bard Early College courses are held to the high academic standards that define the rigor and quality of a Bard education. Program faculty are active and accomplished in their fields, and all have extensive university teaching experience.

Admission

Students are admitted not through testing but rather through an interview and audition process, culminating in a one-day “trial” seminar on the Bard Early College campus.