<p>I will admit that there was a part of me that tried to dissuade my very bright daughter from Bard. You can get into a “harder” school! Aren’t there a lot of drugs there? Well, it’s a good thing she didn’t listen to me because Bard has been an extraordinary choice for her. Her friends aren’t just good students they are intellectually voracious, they do the arts (music, painting, writing, theater) the way kids at the Ivies do sports, and there isn’t any frat scene drinking cutlure. Plenty of kids do drugs, but that’s true everywhere. I just think the Bard kids are less hypocritical to be perfectly honest, about lots of things. Finally, my daughter’s professors are on fire and she is getting real mentoring, as are her friends who I’ve spoken with. I can go on and on about Bard but Botstein is the real deal and he has created an academic community that truly lives up to its ideals and isn’t just churning out factory fodder for Wall Street. It’s a special place and reallly beautiful as well. I’m more rah-rah for the school than I am my own alma mater.</p>