Bard College at Simon's Rock: the Early College

We Invented Early College. And We’ve Been Attracting Inventive Minds Ever Since.

Simon’s Rock is the best choice for students ready to make a deliberate break with the standard educational track. No one comes to Simon’s Rock because it’s what their parents expect them to do—or what all their friends are doing.

If you’re determined to find an unabashedly intellectual, proudly independent, fiercely creative college community as soon as possible, no other option comes close.

Average age of Simon’s Rock students when they enter.

16

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LEARNING, LIBERATED.

A Simon’s Rock education isn’t a series of isolated classes that never connect one idea to another. It’s not about teaching to a test.

You’ll wrestle with unfamiliar and complicated ideas, dream about improbable solutions, and find a new way to describe the human condition—your own way. You’ll do it at a seminar table, in the labs and studios, in the dining hall, while hiking through the woods, and in your friend’s room in the earliest hours of the morning.

Average class size.

11

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REAL COLLEGE, ONLY SOONER.

It’s not “sort-of” college. We bring you face-to-face with big ideas, essential texts, deep and high-spirited discussion, advanced research, and the latest scholarship with professors who are tops in their fields.

With 35+ concentrations (our version of majors), plus our many internships and off-campus programs, and access to the classes and resources of the Bard College Network, you’ll learn vast amounts about…well, everything: how to think, manage time and budgets, see big projects through to the very end, persuasively express your opinions, listen thoughtfully to others, and generally do what responsible, worldly people do.

Percentage of full-time faculty holding highest degree in their field.

95%

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BE SURROUNDED WITH PEOPLE WHO TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY.

Our professors choose Simon’s Rock because, like you, they want something more and different: they believe teaching can be a two-way process that happens both in and out of the classroom. You’ll know them on a first-name basis, and they’ll love sharing the important, ambitious scholarship they’re doing.

You’ll also meet every week with an advisor to talk about your work and your life. Our residence directors and trained student peer advocates are always around to talk and help. With all these people, regular meetings—formal and informal—are the norm.

Availability of our professional residence directors who live in each residence hall.

24/7

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A JUMP START THAT LASTS A LIFETIME.

Acceleration isn’t our goal, but with most of our students completing their BAs by age 20, a head start on life is inevitable. But it’s not just chronological age that sets Rockers apart. It’s their superior academic training, and the contacts they make through their internships, extended campus projects, study abroad experiences, conference presentations, and collaborative research.

You’ll be equipped to think comprehensively about your future (and we’ll give you plenty of support to do so).

Number of Simon’s Rock alumni in the first two annual Forbes “30 under 30” lists.

6

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YOUR PEOPLE ARE HERE.

You'll share a residential campus with about 400 uncommonly interesting, wildly different people your own age—people who want to talk about the things you want to talk about, who are in love with ideas and politics and culture and science and more.

You’ll always have the unmistakable feeling that you’ve found where you belong.

Number of full-time students. (90 percent live on campus.)

400

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ONCE A ROCKER, ALWAYS A ROCKER.

A lot of colleges and universities (and even many high schools) have die-hard alumni. But the affection and connection you’ll feel for Simon’s Rock once you graduate is different. This is an intense, life-changing experience, rooted in a bold, unconventional choice.

And that creates a bond for our community—the “Rockers”—that transcends academic interests, professional achievements, and graduation years. Rockers are just flat-out amazing people: visionaries, iconoclasts, pioneers, and leaders who are working for a better, smarter, saner world.

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