How to Apply
Yes. If you’ve ever been to college before, even if you ended up withdrawing before you earned any credits, you have loans in default, your transcript is tied up in another school’s bureaucracy, you went to college in another country, or you can’t get your transcript right now for any other reason, you should apply to the BardBac using the Transfer Student option on the Common Application. You can report your previous college experience on the application now and submit the application by March 1, even without transcripts. We recommend beginning the process of trying to get your transcripts as soon as possible, though, because if you’re accepted, you’ll need to get the transcripts sent to Bard before you enroll.
You can get a letter from any person who knows you well, can speak to your ambitions and interests, and isn’t a member of your immediate family. Colleagues, mentors, current or former employers, or collaborators on community projects can all make good recommenders for BardBac applicants.
Some adult applicants feel like the Common App includes questions that don’t apply to them — questions about parents and teachers, in particular. If you feel like a question doesn’t apply to you, you can reach out to bac@bard.edu to talk it over, or just skip it; you’ll have a chance to explain your decision to skip a question later.
If you have questions as you’re filling out one of the two financial aid forms, please reach out to financial aid counselor Rupali Rifenburg at rrifenburg@bard.edu. She can talk through your specific questions with you.
There is no application fee to apply to Bard College.
There are no standardized tests required to apply to Bard College.
March 1, 2024.
Decision letters will be released through your Bard applicant portal by April 1, 2024. If you’re accepted, you’ll have until May 1, 2024 to decide whether to accept the offer of admission, decline the offer of admission, or defer your acceptance for one year.
BardBac students, like all incoming Bard College students, begin by taking an intensive introductory course called Language and Thinking, or L&T. That class will begin in mid-August. The Fall semester begins in early September.
Of course. The BardBac admits new students every spring for fall enrollment. Remember that if you’re not accepted to the BardBac this year, you may still be offered admission to Bard College as part of the Return to College Program, or RCP. RCP students are not guaranteed a full scholarship, but they’re offered financial aid packages like all other Bard College students.
Please do! The Bard College Admissions Office offers a number of virtual and in-person ways for prospective students to visit the campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. Take a look at their website here.
There’s more information about the program itself here. Feel free to reach out to bac@bard.edu with any questions you can’t find the answer to there or here.