Do you want to attend a prestigious liberal arts college without putting yourself through a stressful, highly competitive admissions process? Then Bard College may be the school for you! While recent admissions data is hard to come by for Bard, including the statistics covering the recently admitted Class of 2030, the historical acceptance rate over time reveals that this Annandale-on-Hudson, NY-based liberal arts college routinely admits well over 50% of its applicants, making it somewhat of a rarity among liberal arts schools of its caliber. Let’s take a closer look at the data.

Bard College Acceptance Rate and Admissions Statistics (Classes of 2030 – 2021)

Bard College Class Year	Total Applications Received	Total Applications Accepted	Overall Acceptance Rate
Class of 2030	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
Class of 2029	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
Class of 2028	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published	Not Yet Published
Class of 2027	6,628	3,466	52.29%
Class of 2026	6,482	2,987	46.08%
Class of 2025	5,161	3,096	59.99%
Class of 2024	4,961	2,946	59.38%
Class of 2023	4,912	3,181	64.76%
Class of 2022	5,141	3,319	64.56%
Class of 2021	4,922	2,865	58.21%

Bard College’s Class of 2030 in Historical Perspective

As the data compiled above from Bard Common Data Sets plainly indicates, it’s not that difficult to secure admission to Bard College. The average acceptance rate over this period (from the Class of 2021 through the Class of 2027) has ranged from a low of 46.08% (for the Class of 2026, a historically competitive year across higher education due to Pandemic-related shifts in admissions trends) to a high of 64.76% (for the Class of 2023). The average acceptance rate during this period was 57.90%, placing Bard on the less competitive end of the elite college spectrum.

In terms of the number of applicants, that figure hovered around the 5,000 mark until the two most recent cycles for which we have data, in which 6,482 students applied to join the Class of 2026 and 6,628 students applied to join the Class of 2027, suggesting a recent upswing in popularity.

However, whether these trends have carried over into the most recent admissions cycles can only be verified with the publication of the latest Common Data Sets, something Bard College has not done in years! Ivy Coach calls on Bard admissions officers to do their due diligence and publish this data so prospective applicants aren’t left in the dark.

The Demographics of the Bard Class of 2030

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s not much we know about the Class of 2030’s admissions in terms of demographics. The same goes for the Classes of 2029 and 2028. As a matter of fact, we don’t even yet know how the Bard student body has shifted in the wake of the SCOTUS ruling that outlawed the use of race-based Affirmative Action all the way back in 2023! It’s quite possible that underrepresented minorities student numbers have significantly declined at Bard since this monumental shift in the legal landscape, and officials at this school have been withholding the data to avoid scrutiny. 

Well, guess what, Bard. We’re here to scrutinize you nonetheless. Publish your Common Data Sets!

Getting Started with Ivy Coach on the Bard College Waitlist

If you or your child were waitlisted for the Bard College Class of 2030, now is not the time to wallow in self-pity or throw in the towel! Instead, spring into action. Your future self will thank you!

If you’re interested in securing Ivy Coach’s help in securing admission to the Bard College waitlist to the Class of 2030, fill out our complimentary consultation form, indicate that Bard has waitlisted you or your child, and we’ll be in touch with an outline of our services led by our team of former elite college admissions officers.