Bard regularly receives applications from students who have been homeschooled for some or all of their education. Since their experiences and curriculum vary tremendously our requirements for homeschooled applicants differ somewhat from our requirements for traditional high school students.
Application Checklist
While it is challenging to standardize these requirements, and we are willing to work with you to tailor the admission process, we ask that homeschooled students provide the following:
Transcripts for any classes taken at an accredited high school or college.
The full syllabus of any class not taken at an accredited high school or college, including: name of class and instructor; goal of class; list of books read and indication of other experiences used to cover the curriculum; method of assessment.
Results of any educational testing.
Standardized test scores (not required, but recommended.)
An analytic paper.
Academic recommendations from non-parent adults who have worked with you: two required; we prefer that one recommendation come from an English or humanities instructor and one from a math or science instructor.
An essay explaining why you chose homeschooling and your experience with your choice (unless this is already covered in your application.)
We strongly recommend a personal interview. Online interviews are available.
MUST READ: Bard Portal Information
Please do not mail or email any application materials directly to the Admissions office unless instructed to do so. Use your Bard Portal and go to your Application Tab to upload and view submitted materials.
HERE'S HOW TO USE YOUR BARD PORTAL
Submit your application materials to Bard College:
As an applicant, you will receive a login and a link to your Bard Portal. That portal gives you access to many tabs, one of which is your Application Tab where you will see your Application Checklist. Review your Application Checklist periodically to see if there are missing application materials. Upload all materials, including any supplemental materials you wish to share with us, to your Bard Portal. To submit documents through your Bard Portal, please upload a Word document, PDF or scanned image file.
Transcripts and recommendations submitted by your counselors and teachers will eventually appear with a green checkmark on your Application Checklist as they are received. If your transcripts and recommendations do not appear in your Application Checklist after you've requested them to be sent to Bard, please follow-up with your counselor, teachers and/or your school office. We will also notify you, via email, if there are any missing materials.
Check your financial aid materials:
If you are applying for financial aid, once you've submitted all the required materials, go to the Financial Aid Tab in your portal to confirm that they have been received and to see if there are any missing materials.
View admission decisions and notifications:
You will receive an email from Admission stating that there has been an update to your Bard Portal. Log in to your portal and click on your Dashboard Tab where all decision letters and correspondences from the College are displayed.
Offers of Admission can be accepted, declined, or deferred, within the Bard portal. Enrollment deposits can be made using a credit card, or you can indicate that your payment is forthcoming via a check or money order.
View events:
Any events hosted by the Office of Admission will be displayed in an Event Tab on your portal.
Here's what displays on your portal after you enroll at Bard:
Once your enrollment deposit is processed, within a week, your Bard Portal will display new tabs. The Enrollment Tab will display your personalized enrollment checklist. There will also be a Special Admitted Events Tab.