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.
