The college was originally founded under the name St. Stephen's, in association with the Episcopal church of New York City, and changed its name to Bard in 1934 in honor of its founder, John Bard. While the college remains affiliated with the church, it pursues a far more secular mission today. Between 1928 and 1944, Bard/St. Stephen's operated as an undergraduate
school of Columbia University. Bard/St. Stephen's ties with Columbia were severed when Bard became a fully coeducational college.
By the 1930s, Bard had become atypical
among US colleges in that it had begun to place a heavy academic emphasis on the performing and fine arts. During that
time, a substantive examination
period was introduced for students in their second year, as well as what the dean at the
time called the "final demonstration." These two periods would come to be known as Moderation and Senior Project, respectively.
For the class of
2012, 25% of applicants were accepted, while the median SAT and ACT scores for matriculating students were 1330 (math plus verbal) and 30, respectively. Fifty-four percent of matriculating students ranked in the top 10% of their
high school class out of 44% of students who reported their ranking.The Princeton Review rated Bard a 96 out of 99 in its selectivity rating, and US News & World Report categorized Bard as "most selective."The class of 2011 represent 38 states and 46 different countries.
However, Bard has a
high hipster population.
