<p>mommybird, my guess (I’m a parent of an accepted student) as to why your S was deferred may have been that Bard is trying to increase its non-arts oriented student body – not because it is limiting its offerings in that area, but because it wants to develop a more rounded student body and create a broader reputation. When we went to visit, the student information form asked what languages the student knows and what sports played. it did not ask any questions about the arts. </p>
<p>They probably wanted to see the whole pool of the arts-oriented kids before making decisions. Again, this is all just a guess on my part, but I would imagine that it is most competitive for the arts-oriented students and less so, perhaps, for the students whose focus is in other areas. </p>
<p>I don’t post stats, but I will say that my S had 750 - 800s on SAT I and II. Mixed transcript gradewise, but his whole application screamed out “passionate learner.” He got in IDP.</p>