Bard College

Bard College incoming freshman academic profile

Average high school GPA

Not reported

SAT composite middle score

1,5102024-25 CDS · Source

ACT composite middle score

342024-25 CDS · Source

Average GPA of enrolled freshmen (scale may be weighted or unweighted). SAT/ACT are median scores of students who submitted them — not scholarship cutoffs.

Freshman financial need & merit gifts

2025-26 financial-aid profile · CollegeData source

Average freshman need met

84%

Average undergraduate need met

84%

These groups use different denominators and should not be added together. Need met is an average share of assessed financial need—not a share of tuition or an aid guarantee.

Bard College net price by family income

Historical average cost after all grants and scholarships — not need-based aid eligibility. 2024–25 academic year.

Families earning $150,000+ should not assume they'll get need-based grants; the "Over $110K" group mixes very different incomes.

At what family income does financial aid stop at Bard College?

There's no universal cutoff. Need-based aid depends on income, assets, family size and college rules; merit scholarships are based on grades and scores, so high income doesn't rule them out. Use Bard College's net price calculator for a personal estimate, and the federal aid estimator for federal aid.

Graduation, earnings & student debt

6-year graduation

69.3%Fall 2019 / 2019–20 entering cohort

First-year retention

84.6%Fall 2023 entering cohort; return in fall 2024

Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry

$54,5552011–12 and 2012–13 entering cohorts; earnings in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars

Median federal debt

$22,500Federal fiscal years 2024 and 2025, pooled

Historical group figures, not individual predictions. Debt excludes private and Parent PLUS loans. Source: College Scorecard (ID 189088).

Colleges with acceptance rates similar to Bard College

Bard College accepts about 9% of applicants. These colleges have the closest reported acceptance rates.

• The Juilliard School · New York, NY9% acceptance
• United States Naval Academy · Annapolis, MD9% acceptance
• Amherst College · Amherst, MA9% acceptance
• New York University · New York, NY9% acceptance
• Williams College · Williamstown, MA9% acceptance
• Cornell University · Ithaca, NY8% acceptance
• University of Notre Dame · Notre Dame, IN9% acceptance
• University of California-Los Angeles · Los Angeles, CA9% acceptance
• Claremont McKenna College · Claremont, CA9% acceptance
• Rice University · Houston, TX8% acceptance

Colleges with merit aid similar to Bard College

Bard College's average merit aid is not reported, so similar award amounts cannot be identified. Missing data does not mean the college offers no merit aid.