Bard Immediate Decision Plan

The Immediate Decision Plan (IDP) is recommended for the accomplished student for whom Bard is a top choice.*
The Immediate Decision Plan (IDP) is designed to help students develop a more informed opinion of the College and to accelerate the admission process during a daylong session. This early application process can be binding or non-binding. On the Common Application, if you choose Early Action II - Immediate Decision, the decision will be non-binding and you have until May 1 to let us know your decision. If you choose Early Decision II - Immediate Decision, the decision will be binding, which means that you will make your decision within a month after receipt of our acceptance and/or financial aid package. Regardless of your choice, you’ll receive our decision the next business day after your IDP appointment. 

If you apply Early Decision II - Immediate Decision, you cannot apply Early Decision to another institution. Please complete the Early Decision Agreement Form, available on the Common Application website. If you apply Early Action II - Immediate Decision, we recommend that you do not apply Early Decision to another institution.

* Transfer students are not eligible to participate in IDP, with the exception of those from Bard High School Early College.
IDP REGISTRATION

IDP REGISTRATION

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2019 IDP dates will be posted in September 2019

IDP registrants must do the readings listed below, before their IDP date. 

Due by November 1: Your completed application (through Common Application) must be submitted to the Admission Office in order to be considered for IDP.  Please select one of the two choices, on the Common Application, as your admission plan:
  • Early Action II - Immediate Decision (non-binding)
  • Early Decision II - Immediate Decision (binding)​

Scroll down to view the two IDP 2018 readings:
+ "A Report to An Academy " by Franz Kafka
+ A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (Dedication, Introduction, and Chapter 1) by Mary Wollstonecraft

Who should apply for IDP?

We expect applicants to have pursued a rigorous course of study including honors and/or advanced classes if offered at their secondary school. In addition, a well-balanced program of study is considered the best preparation for succeeding at Bard. Such a program should include, if possible, a full four-year sequence in English, social sciences, and mathematics; study of at least one foreign language for three, preferably four years; and three to four years of study in the laboratory sciences. The Admission Committee is interested in the entire high school record, with junior and senior year courses being especially important.

The committee also considers achievement, motivation, and intellectual ambition outside of school; appraises the standards of the secondary school curriculum; and carefully reads the application essay and recommendations. We suggest that recommendations be from both an English teacher and a math or science teacher from the junior or senior years. Students are advised to contact the Admission Office, or have their college counselor call to speak with an admission counselor if they have any questions about whether IDP is appropriate for them. Please note that transfer students are not eligible to participate in IDP, with the exception of those from Bard High School Early College. 

The Immediate Decision Process