We are inviting high-achieving high school juniors to apply to Bard College, from May 1 to June 1, through Bard's Entrance Exam for Early Admission. Students offered admission to Bard will be admitted as Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Advanced Achievement Scholars and will be welcomed to start college courses at Bard beginning with our distinctive Language and Thinking program in August.
Bard's Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Advanced Achievement Scholars will earn college credits and, if they desire, may complete the New York State high school diploma requirements to the greatest extent possible. If travel and public health regulations allow, students will be offered the opportunity to live on campus. Those living within 50 miles of campus will have the option to attend Bard as commuter students.
This program is named for Bard's neighbors, the Roosevelts of Hyde Park. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt frequented the campus and Franklin D. Roosevelt was a trustee of the College. It was at the urging of the Roosevelts that Bard (then St. Stephens College) became part of Columbia University, a relationship that only ended when Bard advocated for the admission of women in 1944 (Columbia followed suit four decades later in 1983).
Workshops Offered Introducing Students to Primary Materials Referenced in Entrance Exam Questions
These Workshops Are Taught by Bard Faculty Throughout the Month of May
There will be four online workshops, and each one will be cover one of the four questions on the Bard Entrance Exam. When you register for one of the workshops, you will be notified of the required reading, listening or observing that you will need to do prior to the workshop.
These workshops are offered on a first-come-first-served basis. Students can only register for one of the four workshops.
Workshop 1
May 8
3:30 - 5:00pm EDT
Register here
Required reading/listening before the workshop corresponds to Question 1 on the Bard Entrance Exam: two Dickinson poems and two links to Copland pieces.
(Links to the sources are on registration form and will be also be emailed to you when you register.)
Workshop 2
May 12
4:00 - 5:30 pm EDT
Register here
Required reading before the workshop corresponds to Question 2 in the Bard Entrance Exam: US Constitution, Federalist Papers.
(Links to the sources are on registration form and will be also be emailed to you when you register.)
Workshop 3
May 14
4:00 - 5:30 pm EDT
Register here
Required observing before the workshop corresponds to Question 3 in the Bard Entrance Exam: four images (three paintings, one photograph).
(Links to the images are on registration form and will be also be emailed to you when you register.)
Workshop 4
May 19
4:00 - 5:30 pm EDT
Register here
Required reading before the workshop is an excerpt in Question 4 in the Bard Entrance Exam.
(Excerpt is on the registration form and will also be emailed to you when you register.)
Bard is Uniquely Positioned to Support High School-Aged Students Who Enter College Early
As a pioneer in early college programs, Bard believes in the ability of younger students to engage with rigorous college coursework and currently enrolls 3,000 early college students in a network of eight Bard High School Early Colleges across the United States. Research has demonstrated that taking college courses during high school, and participating in an early college high school specifically, significantly increases students’ likelihood of enrolling in postsecondary education and completing degrees.
We appreciate that the rapid switch to online learning has brought unprecedented challenges for high school students and has caused many to lose valuable time in their high school education this spring. With growing concerns that rising seniors will face similar circumstances at their high schools in the fall, Bard is uniquely positioned to support these students in pursuing their college experience on an earlier timeline, in place of the senior year of high school.
Note About COVID-19 and Remote Learning
At this time, Bard is planning to begin our Fall semester on campus. We are also planning for the possibility of starting the academic year with blended or remote learning.
This spring Bard has been able to transition to online platforms more readily than most. Through our global network, we regularly host joint classes between Annandale and our international partners. Bard’s Debate Union, for example, regularly hosts public debates across the Bard Network, and our theater students have created extraordinary productions remotely and entirely online.
Bard College faculty are already working to make important adjustments to their fall courses and to our academic advising systems to ensure our individualized collaboration and mentorship, a hallmark of Bard learning, remains uncompromised. Our faculty are also designing new interdisciplinary courses aimed at helping students to engage meaningfully with our changing environment, and to prepare for a new career landscape after graduation.