Bard College

The best way to prepare for graduate school from Bard physics is to take a summer/semester/both to do research at other institutions. (REU, SERS programs, etc.) Also, prepare and *study hard* for the physics GRE's- that type of exam is very, very different than what we usually had at Bard. Probably my single gripe about the department at Bard is that we were not notified that we should prepare for this- GRE's weren't even mentioned. And, most graduate schools DO require the subject GRE in physics. So, much more emphasis should be put on preparing for the GRE, since Bard is not as well known, and so graduate schools will pay attention to that number more than they might otherwise.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

My review of my education at Bard is very polarized. I think the department I was in, and the education I got, was absolutely stellar. Some of my senior level physics classes were two or even one person large! This type of education would have simply been impossible at a larger University. I was able to take *real* courses in english, arts, etc., even though I ended up taking a rediculously huge courseload, and that would have also been impossible elsewhere. So, as for the level of professors, and the level of academics, I rate this college extremely highly. It truly is the gold standard of academics. Professors were incredibly approachable, always helpful, and truly did care. There was the occasional "flakey" topic of study, where it was basically a joke, but I belive the college has tried to fix that problem.

However, the college infrastructure, safety, helpfulness, friendliness... I rate it as among the worst I've seen. There have been a series of rapes on the campus that the college (illegally) did not report, the student security was a *complete joke*, the dorms unspeakable. There may be new dorms there since I was there, but where we lived was literally dangerous. Sewage was dumped directly into the ravine, you could see the swamp gas actually exploding at night, raw sewage backed up into the bathtubs (just about the grossest thing ever), the boiler exploded and the dorm almost burnt down (!), etc. My "non smoking" dorm- which was the only one on campus, with all of 32 people in it- still had a high smoking rate, and even the *RA of the dorm* berated me about complaining about it in the public areas. The administration in terms of campus life and housing was extremely poor and totally clueless. And all of this for astoundingly huge housing costs! The food was also completely terrible, but that may have improved since then, I don't know.

I found the majority of the students to be snobby, unfriendly, arrogant, "look at me I'm so cool" smokers. I made a small number of very good friends, but basically could not stand everyone else. I was treated very poorly by peers in my department (except for one person), and that may have been due to some cultural issues. I find it amazing that most of the trouble I had being a woman in physics came from the student body of this tiny, supposedly liberal, liberal arts institution.

I don't want to give the impression that I didn't have any fun- sometimes I had an excellent time- but that was mostly from being rediculously drunk my freshman year. (Rules?! There were no rules.)

My advice to prospective students would be to look *very carefully* at where you will be living (not just what they show you), consider the surrounding area, and make sure you're comfortable with that situation. I like rural areas, and so that was okay for me- but it was dangerous (the unlighted path between the gym and the dorms in particular), and don't believe anyone who says it's only 90 minutes from NYC. There is a train, though. Finally, you'll need a car, or you will go completely insane. It's a good idea to go visit during a non-tour situation, and just wander around and see what it is like. If the security is as completely nonexistent as it was when I was there, you'll have no problem just going anywhere you want -including all of the dorms- to see what it is really like. Hopefully some of the situations I mentioned have improved, which would certainly help the student body get more out of the academics at this institution.

4th Year Female -- Class 1993

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Surrounding City: F