dadinator

Can anyone shed some light on why Bard's sophmore retention rate is only 83%?

That seems very low for a school of this quality.

morvoren

My guess is that Bard has many artists and musicians and that they tend to have a lower retention rate than regular academic types. They have other options to play, perform, experience, etc. Secondly, Bard is a lot less loosey goosey than some people think, and a few people may wake up one morning and realize that the Freshman seminiar is actually hard.

N8Ma

Hi,

I bounced this one around the office. We lose ~10% after the first year, which is below the standard attrition rate of small liberal arts colleges. Social factors, the location, etc. play a role in this I'm sure. The other ~10% are a result of moderation--as other schools typically "cull" students just once--at the time of admission into the college--this second process by which someone needs to demonstrate motivation and achievement in a particular discipline can lead to some disappointment. My understanding is that, for instance, photography or the fiction and poetry majors are not cake-walks when you try to moderate in to them. And so if someone is bent on photography and is not successful at moderation, s/he may then opt to pursue photography elsewhere.

I don't have hard numbers, but these are at least two factors.

Or they could drop out to form bands, like Steely Dan?

heyalb

Good one!

I don't want to hijack the thread, but of the many times I've heard Botstein do Q & A, I've always wanted to ask him (but have been afraid to do so):

How instrumental were you in successfully getting Donald Fagen to go back to his old school?

ctParent2006

My son suggests that academics at Bard turn out to be a bit harder than some entering students may think by its generally laid back atmosphere. Things can sneak up on kids a bit if they are not careful. I don't know about that myself and suspect that the somewhat isolated location may be large factor as well.

Bard is great for thinking and studying "out in the woods" but that may not be what some incoming students were expecting.

heyalb

I've heard this repeatedly, and although the College pretty much makes that case up front, many don't believe it till they experience it.

lilygraces

So true. As a current freshman, within the first week I felt overwhelmed by the amount of work I had to do. But the professors are all incredibly understanding and try to make every experience a learning experience and the best possible situation for each individual student.

In other words: While the amount of work is a LOT and the readings are dense and halfway through my first semester 5 page papers are no longer nearly as frightening as they used to be, the academics are amazing, the professors are amazing and understanding, the overall package is amazing. The college truly is what is best for each individual student.