Bard College at Simon’s Rock
Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Simon’s Rock is an Early College. This means that students who are rising 11th and 12th graders can apply and attend college directly instead of staying in a traditional high school. The average age of students there is 16 and students as young as 11 have attended. Don’t be fooled. This isn’t a community college or a prep school program. It’s college, real college, at a terrific liberal arts school, Bard College, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
Here at ACPS we offer an Early Scholars Program for students who want to challenge themselves by graduating with a diploma and an Associates Degree. We also offer many Advanced Placement courses and Dual Enrollment courses that students can take advantage of without being in the Early College Scholars Program.
Simon’s Rock is not this. While the students at Simon’s Rock are brilliant, they may not have met with a lot of academic success in their high schools. Though many have stellar grades and choose to attend because they have outgrown their high school experience, for some students, Simon’s Rock is where they go to get the educational experience they could not find in high school.
I have had students attend Simon’s Rock in the past and it was transformational for them. They were not successful in a regular school setting and were very much ready for the rigor, engagement, and passion the students who attend Simon’s Rock bring with them. For one student in particular, Simon’s Rock may literally have saved her life. It was there that she found her people, success, challenge, and was able to develop into the amazing woman she is now. What every one of my students who have attended Simon’s Rock have in common is that they were eager to learn, curious about the world, and ready to be serious about their academics at a higher level than what is provided in high schools.
Famous alumni of Simon’s Rock include the Coen Brothers (O Brother Where Art Thou?, Raising Arizona), Alison Bechdel (of the Bechdel test, and Fun Home), and Ronan Farrow, along with other distinguished activists, authors, and business people. Seventy-eight percent of recent graduates have gone on to graduate study at places like Oxford, Berkeley, MIT, Yale, Harvard, and the London School of Economics.
Faculty at Simon’s Rock understands that talented students may be asynchronous in their development. While a student may be able to understand and conceptualize advanced physics on a par with any college student, she might also only be 16, and still needs structure and support. They are extremely successful at building community amongst students, supporting student needs, and also helping students develop the skills they need to be independent. The goal is to create an environment that fosters healthy students and happy lives. To do this, the Dean of Students oversees the residence life office, wellness center, and the ACE requirements.
ACE is the Active Community Engagement program and it supports students outside of the classroom. Students can receive credit for ACE projects and participation. ACE includes health and wellness, athletics and recreational activities, community service, and participation in clubs and activities. Students will have 30 credits in this area and are required to complete them to graduate. One popular ACE program is Rock the Community, an event that brings Simon’s Rock students to various community groups and gets them involved in service projects.
Academically, Bard College (be on the lookout for an article on them as well!) is well up to challenging students here. Because students who attend Simon’s Rock are ready to steer their own academic ships, the options for courses and the chance to learn is a priority for them. Faculty at Simon’s Rock and Bard take students seriously and engage with them in small (average is 11) classes.
The academic experience at Simon’s Rock includes several areas. All incoming students are expected to take an intensive one week long writing course designed to help students express themselves cogently and coherently. Critical thinking is emphasized in this course and in all of the courses students will take. Students will take a series of Core seminars that explore issues like what it means to be human or an introduction to the concept of the modern. The rest of the classes students take are electives. Students can choose their electives based on what they think they want to do in their future lives (music production, particle physics, creative writing, Spanish), what they are highly interested in (anthropology, coding, poetry, chemistry), or what they don’t even know they are interested in (brain studies, sociology, big data, material sciences, Francophone Studies). The idea is to let students explore widely while giving them a shared vocabulary and background knowledge.
Simon’s Rock has a partnership with both Columbia’s Engineering and Dartmouth’s and students can take advantage of this to explore their interests in Engineering. They also have study abroad opportunities that range from Theater Studies at Moscow Art Theater School, to immersion Chinese in Beijing, to Ecology and Sustainability Studies in Montserrat. Students can also do a dual degree in Environmental Law and Policy at UVM. Students from Simon’s Rock can also enter a dual degree program with SUNY Upstate Medical University and graduate with a BA/MD from that program. There are many many options for students to explore at Simon’s Rock.
Because students at Simon’s Rock are younger than most college students, the academic support for them is rich. Academic advising isn’t a one and done but an ongoing process as students learn, grow, and change. Peer tutors are available to help with academics and like our peer tutoring system, these students have had the classes they tutor others in. Librarians often get to know the students (there are only 450) well and can suggest books and materials that students will enjoy as well as helping them in their research. While there is plenty of freedom at Simon’s Rock (it is college after all), it’s hard to go missing at the same time. Flying under the radar just doesn’t happen.
Being bored at Simon’s Rock is anathema. Visiting lecturers, arts events, conferences, and social events pack the schedule. Students can participate in all of it. The llamas (their mascot) play basketball, soccer, and swim, providing a competitive environment for student athletes. Water polo, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee are also popular activities. Join the snowboarding club, boffing club (fighting with boffer weapons) or fence. You can get involved with their rescue squad by becoming an EMT, or become active in the film society. There are support groups for students with Autism, students of color, and for students who are LGBTQIA+. Clubs for students who are pre-med, love French, fight for human rights, or who want to practice random acts of kindness are available to students. If students want to start a new club, they are welcome to.
Simon’s Rock is home to several important traditions. The Zombies v. Humans war is waged yearly. May Fest is a chance for students to blow off some steam during finals month. For four days there are performances, food, celebrations, and of course carnival games. And a bounce house. All seniors complete a senior thesis so the year would not be complete without a Senior Thesis Prank. Seniors must turn their work in by noon on the given day. But it’s not specified how that work has to be turned in, so getting the theses of seniors involves some impish antics on the part of students.
Students live in dorms that are reasonably small, with a max room capacity of 36 rooms. Compare this to some schools that have 36 rooms on a single floor and you get a sense of how small and supportive the housing is. Students can live in triples, doubles, or singles. All students at Simon’s Rock are on a full meal plan of 19 meals a week (3/day week days and brunch and dinner on the weekends). Food options include vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free. Students also have access to kitchens in their dorms in case it’s necessary to make brownies at 2:00am. Which it sometimes is.
Is Simon’s Rock for you? Students with a passion for learning and meaningful upper level work are pretty happy here. This is definitely a school for unusual people. If you’re a lover of Greek Life and D1 athletics, this is not your cup of tea. But for many students who are ready for college early, Simon’s Rock is a small slice of heaven.
Pros:
Cons:
Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Simon’s Rock is an Early College. This means that students who are rising 11th and 12th graders can apply and attend college directly instead of staying in a traditional high school. The average age of students there is 16 and students as young as 11 have attended. Don’t be fooled. This isn’t a community college or a prep school program. It’s college, real college, at a terrific liberal arts school, Bard College, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
Here at ACPS we offer an Early Scholars Program for students who want to challenge themselves by graduating with a diploma and an Associates Degree. We also offer many Advanced Placement courses and Dual Enrollment courses that students can take advantage of without being in the Early College Scholars Program.
Simon’s Rock is not this. While the students at Simon’s Rock are brilliant, they may not have met with a lot of academic success in their high schools. Though many have stellar grades and choose to attend because they have outgrown their high school experience, for some students, Simon’s Rock is where they go to get the educational experience they could not find in high school.
I have had students attend Simon’s Rock in the past and it was transformational for them. They were not successful in a regular school setting and were very much ready for the rigor, engagement, and passion the students who attend Simon’s Rock bring with them. For one student in particular, Simon’s Rock may literally have saved her life. It was there that she found her people, success, challenge, and was able to develop into the amazing woman she is now. What every one of my students who have attended Simon’s Rock have in common is that they were eager to learn, curious about the world, and ready to be serious about their academics at a higher level than what is provided in high schools.
Famous alumni of Simon’s Rock include the Coen Brothers (O Brother Where Art Thou?, Raising Arizona), Alison Bechdel (of the Bechdel test, and Fun Home), and Ronan Farrow, along with other distinguished activists, authors, and business people. Seventy-eight percent of recent graduates have gone on to graduate study at places like Oxford, Berkeley, MIT, Yale, Harvard, and the London School of Economics.
Faculty at Simon’s Rock understands that talented students may be asynchronous in their development. While a student may be able to understand and conceptualize advanced physics on a par with any college student, she might also only be 16, and still needs structure and support. They are extremely successful at building community amongst students, supporting student needs, and also helping students develop the skills they need to be independent. The goal is to create an environment that fosters healthy students and happy lives. To do this, the Dean of Students oversees the residence life office, wellness center, and the ACE requirements.
ACE is the Active Community Engagement program and it supports students outside of the classroom. Students can receive credit for ACE projects and participation. ACE includes health and wellness, athletics and recreational activities, community service, and participation in clubs and activities. Students will have 30 credits in this area and are required to complete them to graduate. One popular ACE program is Rock the Community, an event that brings Simon’s Rock students to various community groups and gets them involved in service projects.
Academically, Bard College (be on the lookout for an article on them as well!) is well up to challenging students here. Because students who attend Simon’s Rock are ready to steer their own academic ships, the options for courses and the chance to learn is a priority for them. Faculty at Simon’s Rock and Bard take students seriously and engage with them in small (average is 11) classes.
The academic experience at Simon’s Rock includes several areas. All incoming students are expected to take an intensive one week long writing course designed to help students express themselves cogently and coherently. Critical thinking is emphasized in this course and in all of the courses students will take. Students will take a series of Core seminars that explore issues like what it means to be human or an introduction to the concept of the modern. The rest of the classes students take are electives. Students can choose their electives based on what they think they want to do in their future lives (music production, particle physics, creative writing, Spanish), what they are highly interested in (anthropology, coding, poetry, chemistry), or what they don’t even know they are interested in (brain studies, sociology, big data, material sciences, Francophone Studies). The idea is to let students explore widely while giving them a shared vocabulary and background knowledge.
Simon’s Rock has a partnership with both Columbia’s Engineering and Dartmouth’s and students can take advantage of this to explore their interests in Engineering. They also have study abroad opportunities that range from Theater Studies at Moscow Art Theater School, to immersion Chinese in Beijing, to Ecology and Sustainability Studies in Montserrat. Students can also do a dual degree in Environmental Law and Policy at UVM. Students from Simon’s Rock can also enter a dual degree program with SUNY Upstate Medical University and graduate with a BA/MD from that program. There are many many options for students to explore at Simon’s Rock.
Because students at Simon’s Rock are younger than most college students, the academic support for them is rich. Academic advising isn’t a one and done but an ongoing process as students learn, grow, and change. Peer tutors are available to help with academics and like our peer tutoring system, these students have had the classes they tutor others in. Librarians often get to know the students (there are only 450) well and can suggest books and materials that students will enjoy as well as helping them in their research. While there is plenty of freedom at Simon’s Rock (it is college after all), it’s hard to go missing at the same time. Flying under the radar just doesn’t happen.
Being bored at Simon’s Rock is anathema. Visiting lecturers, arts events, conferences, and social events pack the schedule. Students can participate in all of it. The llamas (their mascot) play basketball, soccer, and swim, providing a competitive environment for student athletes. Water polo, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee are also popular activities. Join the snowboarding club, boffing club (fighting with boffer weapons) or fence. You can get involved with their rescue squad by becoming an EMT, or become active in the film society. There are support groups for students with Autism, students of color, and for students who are LGBTQIA+. Clubs for students who are pre-med, love French, fight for human rights, or who want to practice random acts of kindness are available to students. If students want to start a new club, they are welcome to.
Simon’s Rock is home to several important traditions. The Zombies v. Humans war is waged yearly. May Fest is a chance for students to blow off some steam during finals month. For four days there are performances, food, celebrations, and of course carnival games. And a bounce house. All seniors complete a senior thesis so the year would not be complete without a Senior Thesis Prank. Seniors must turn their work in by noon on the given day. But it’s not specified how that work has to be turned in, so getting the theses of seniors involves some impish antics on the part of students.
Students live in dorms that are reasonably small, with a max room capacity of 36 rooms. Compare this to some schools that have 36 rooms on a single floor and you get a sense of how small and supportive the housing is. Students can live in triples, doubles, or singles. All students at Simon’s Rock are on a full meal plan of 19 meals a week (3/day week days and brunch and dinner on the weekends). Food options include vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free. Students also have access to kitchens in their dorms in case it’s necessary to make brownies at 2:00am. Which it sometimes is.
Is Simon’s Rock for you? Students with a passion for learning and meaningful upper level work are pretty happy here. This is definitely a school for unusual people. If you’re a lover of Greek Life and D1 athletics, this is not your cup of tea. But for many students who are ready for college early, Simon’s Rock is a small slice of heaven.
Pros:
- Active, engaged, and brilliant students
- Plenty of support for young people
- Rigorous academics
- Small community supports young people
Cons:
- Folks here are young
- It’s small, less than ½ the size of WAHS
- There isn’t a lot of variety to the sports
- Private means $$$