Navigating the Next Step in Your Education
Although the arms of the Bard Network are physically distant, please know that we in Annandale are committed to providing you with as much support and transparency as possible as you navigate the next steps of your educational journey and to helping ensure that you will always have a home at Bard. To that end, we are sharing a few updates and opportunities:
- 100 percent of college credits transfer seamlessly, without a need to advocate or navigate bureaucracy.
- Bard Early College students can accelerate their BA timeline and graduate in two years. Some (due to their major program or personal preferences) graduate in three years.
- Bard Early College students have access to the socially enriching aspects of the first-year program (such as the Language and Thinking program), which allow for a smooth transition to the residential college experience, while also being able to bypass first-year academic requirements, including First-Year Seminar and introductory courses.
- Individualized academic advising and dynamic, personalized, collaborative learning focused on the creation of professional, original work.
- A 1,000-acre Hudson Valley campus, two hours north of New York City by train, that supports a vibrant, active, globally diverse student body of 1,900.
- The continual benefits of the Bard Network and the Center for Civic Engagement.
Early College Students
In recognition of the synergy between academic programs in the Bard Early College (BEC) network, and to create a smooth transition from the early colleges to the BA program, BEC students have Preferred Admission, which includes curricular counseling and preregistration for classes. Applicants who demonstrate significant financial need may also apply for the Equity and Inclusion Scholarship for students applying for the Early College Opportunity (ECO) Program.
The Equity and Inclusion Scholarship
The Equity and Inclusion Scholarship is exclusively available to students from the Bard Early College network. Like other opportunity programs, it works to serve students from backgrounds historically underrepresented in higher education, including first-generation college students, students from low-income families, and students of color. The Equity and Inclusion Scholarship provides a full-tuition scholarship, supplemental financial support for expenses beyond tuition, a summer bridge program, specialized advising, and peer mentorship as well as access to all other resources offered by Bard’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Students apply for the Equity and Inclusion Scholarship alongside their Regular Decision application to Annandale via the Equity and Inclusion Scholarship form. We interview all candidates for the Equity and Inclusion Scholarship.
Preferred Admission
Early College Orientation
Early college students begin with a three-day orientation in the tradition of the Writing and Thinking program in August and complete Citizen Science in January. They are not required to take First-Year Seminar.
Dates and Deadlines
| Early Applications Due: Early Action, Early Decision I, Immediate Decision Plan, Bard Entrance Exam | November 1 |
| Bard College Scholarship Applications Due (optional and if applicable) | November 1 |
| Financial Aid Application Due for Immediate Decision Plan (IDP) Applicants*: The College Board's College Scholarship Service Profile (CSS Profile) must be filed by this date in order for eligible students to receive a financial aid package alongside their admission decision. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed as soon as it becomes available in December, and no later than February 1, 2024. International students applying via the Immediate Decision Plan must submit the Bard International Student Financial Aid Application (BISFAA) | November 1 |
| International students applying for Financial Aid via Early Applications*: The Bard International Student Financial Aid Application Form (BISFAA) must be filed by this date in order for eligible students to receive a financial aid package alongside their admission decision. | November 1 |
| U.S Citizens Applying for Financial Aid via Early Applications*: The College Board's College Scholarship Service Profile (CSS Profile) must be filed by this date in order for eligible students to receive a financial aid package alongside their admission decision. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed as soon as it becomes available in December, and no later than February 1, 2024. | December 1 |
| Decision Notification for Early Applications: | December 4 (Financial aid notification to follow) |
| Deposit Due: Early Decision (Including IDP registrants via this method) | Within a month after receipt of decision and/or financial aid package |
| Deposit Due: Early Action, (Including IDP registrants via this method), Bard Entrance Exam | May 1 |
| Early Decision II and Regular Decision Application Due: | January 1 |
| Bard College Scholarship Applications Due (optional and if applicable) Equity and Inclusion Scholarship form Due (for students applying for the Early College Opportunity (ECO) Program Scholarship): | January 1 |
| International students applying for Financial Aid via Early Applications*: The Bard International Student Financial Aid Application Form (BISFAA) must be filed by this date in order for eligible students to receive a financial aid package alongside their admission decision. | January 1 |
| Financial Aid Forms for US Citizens (FAFSA and CSS Profile): | February 1 |
| Decision Notification for Early Decision II | February |
| Decision Notification for Regular Decision | March 6 |
| Deposit Due for Early Decision II | Within a month after receipt of decision and/or financial aid package |
| Deposit Due for Regular Decision | Late March |
*For information about submitting financial aid documents for DACA/Undocumented students, please visit the DACA/Undocumented page.
Bard allows students admitted via the Early Decision binding process to take one gap year. Students may make this selection by responding to their offer of admission on their Bard portal. Students must still withdraw their applications from other institutions should they be admitted to Bard via the ED application.
Interview Options and Requirements
Application Checklist
Required Materials
- Apply using the Common Application or Coalition with Scoir.
- For convenience, students apply to Annandale as first-year applicants. We manually flag your early college transfer status in the Admission Office.
- Teacher recommendations: We prefer that one recommendation come from an English or humanities instructor and one from a math or science instructor.
- Guidance counselor recommendation
- School Report
- High School transcript (Include mid-year senior grades if available at the time you apply.)
- Portfolios and Awards: Supplemental materials are not required for admission to Bard; however, if a portfolio is included in an application, students who submit their application by the application deadline have a grace period of 5 days from the deadline to submit supplemental materials such as portfolio materials or to encourage teachers and counselors to submit their recommendation letters.
Optional Materials
- Bard College has been test-optional for over 50 years. You do not need to take the SAT or ACT to apply to Bard.
- SAT and ACT scores should only be submitted if a student feels that their scores are an accurate reflection of their academic abilities. Submitted SAT and ACT scores are only used to inform our review process in a very small fraction of applications that include SAT or ACT scores. Students who do not submit their SAT or ACT scores are not penalized in any way during the application review process. While not required, students may self-report scores by including their scores in the Testing section of their Common Application, Coalition with Scoir, or by uploading a copy of their score report to their Bard portal (Bard's CEEB code is 2037). For more information about our test optional policy, please reach out to the Office of Admission at [email protected] or 845- 758-7472.
- Portfolios and Awards: Supplemental materials are not required for admission to Bard; however, if a portfolio is included in an application, students who submit their application by the application deadline have a grace period of 5 days from the deadline to submit supplemental materials such as portfolio materials or to encourage teachers and counselors to submit their recommendation letters.
MUST READ: Bard Portal Information
Once you submit your Common Application or Coalition with Scoir, it may take 24 to 48 hours for us to confirm receipt of your application. Once we receive your application, you will be emailed a confirmation which includes the credentials to access your Bard Portal.
If you submit your application on the deadline date but still have required materials to submit, please note that you will have time to upload those application materials after that deadline date as long as your application has been submitted. It is important, however, that you submit those final materials as soon as possible after the deadline has passed as the admission committee cannot read incomplete applications.
Please do not mail or email any materials directly to the Admission Office unless instructed to do so. Use your Bard Portal and go to your Application Tab to upload and view submitted materials.
Please make a habit of visiting your Bard portal frequently to view your application and financial aid checklists and confirm that we have received all of the materials required to complete your application. We will also be posting information on your portal throughout the admission cycle so it is important to check your portal regularly.