Bard College Simon's Rock

Date: May 12 2013
Major: Sociology (This Major's Salary over time)
Simon's Rock is what you make of it. Chances are, if you're looking on this page, your high school experience has not been satisfactory. Neither was mine. Unlike many of the students here I had a good group of friends in high school, but I disliked the memorization and the factory learning that was taking place in my high school. So, I looked elsewhere, and came across Simon's Rock.

Academically, Simon's Rock is excellent. Where to begin? The faculty are amazing. They almost all have PHDs and actively do research, but unlike at many large universities the faculty don't let their research get in the way of student interactions. The faculty are super accessible and if you want to meet with one of the professors outside of class you won't have any problems. All students are assigned a faculty advisor at the beginning of freshman year whom you meet with once a week for the first semester, so you'll have at least one faculty member who you talk to on a regular basis. You are free to switch advisors if you don't like them.

As for classes themselves they are top notch. The class sizes are small; I've had a class with as little as 6 people, and my largest class has been 14. This allows for great class discussions. For the most part, at least in the social sciences (I can't speak for the hard sciences or math) courses are not lecture based, and instead the emphasis is on student discussion and exploration of the texts. It's a vastly different way of learning than in high school. Forms of assessment vary; there are exams, but also papers. Improvement of writing is stressed, and although I've been here only one year so far I've noticed that my writing has greatly improved. You'll be working harder than in high school but the work is almost all valuable to your learning; there is not any busy work.

The one down side academically is that the size of the school means there aren't many course selections in a particular field. I am planning on majoring in Sociology, but there is only one professor of sociology so I most likely will have to transfer after next year. Most people do transfer after two years. Students have gone on to Yale, Stanford, Columbia, and University of Chicago (obviously not everyone but the top universities have heard of Simon's Rock). I plan on transferring to the main Bard campus in New York because I prefer a small school with smaller classes, but going to Simon's Rock won't limit your options if you want to transfer elsewhere.

Socially, I'm not a fan of the school. Many students drink and smoke, and the isolation of the campus (3 hours from NY and Boston) means that it's difficult to go elsewhere. But, chances are you will find a group of friends to hang out with and while it's not great it is at least manageable for me.

I highly recommend this school for anyone interested in furthering their education. You won't regret coming here.