How to Write the Bard College Supplement 2019-2020 TKG

How to Write the Bard College Supplement 2019-2020 Bard College is a small liberal arts school in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Only 1,900 undergraduates attend the school and the student to faculty ratio is 10:1. All freshman participate in a common curriculum, and the school is big on civic engagement. Bard is test-optional, and the acceptance rate is around 58%. Bard is one of many schools this year that is hiding a writing supplement under the “general” tab of their application page on the common app website. Pro tip: triple check for this on your schools to avoid throwing together an essay the night before the application is due. While we don’t love that Bard snuck in a prompt, we do appreciate the fact that the question is completely straightforward and without unnecessary flowery language. “Why Bard?” â€" 250-word maximum. Bard is asking a standard “why us” question. You only have 250 words, which means that your response must be hyper-focused and well researched. To start the research process, find the followin g: Your intended major: Look at Bard’s majors and find a major that aligns with the classes that you’ve done well in during high school. If you already know what you want to major in, that’s great. If you don’t, spend some time looking through the offerings until you find something that piques your interest. Two upper-level classes that you want to take: Once you’ve figured out what you plan to study, look for one or two upper-level classes that you want to take. You can’t choose introductory level courses because those are offered everywhere and not specific to Bard. If you choose computer science and are well versed in Python and Ruby, you might write about your desire to take Computer Science 305: Design of Programming Languages. Whatever you choose, make sure that you’re making a case for yourself as to why you’re a good fit for the class. A vague interest in the subject matter isn’t enough, you should have at least a slight familiarity with the syllabus. A pro fessor that you’d like to work with: Bard is a very small school and students get to know their professors. This means that if you attend, it’s quite possible to form relationships with your teachers. Look at the professors on the homepage of your chosen major and do some research. What kind of work are the professors doing? Are they accepting research assistants? Pitch yourself! Tell Bard why you want to work with them and/or why you’re following the research of a certain professor.An extracurricular activity you plan to join:There are 150 clubs and student organizations on campus at Bard. Look through them until you find one that you’d like to join. The club that you choose does not have to be related to your major, but it should make sense within the context of the rest of your application. This means that you should already be a member of a similar club at your high school.  Something specific to Bard that has influenced your decision to apply there. Perhaps there’s s omething about the location of the school, the structure of the curriculum, or the center for civic engagement that initially drew you to Bard. But make sure it’s super specific. If what you’re writing about could technically apply to ANY other school, dig deeper. So now you’ve done the research. You should have a list of aspects about Bard that compelled you to apply. Your work isn’t done. You now need to tell a story about yourself using all of these details. Instead of simply listing out the entities sentence by sentence, find a way to frame a narrative around them. You might include a sentence or two about why you want to study what you want to study or tell them about a project or internship you did that awakened your academic senses. You should aim to include all five bolded points if possible, but it’s equally as important that you weave those points into a story about yourself with a beginning, middle, and end.  We help students navigate the application process. C ontact us here if you need help.