Bard College at Simon’s Rock

Bard College at Simon’s Rock is a private, residential liberal arts college located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and is the founding institution of the Early College movement in the United States. Its unique mission is to serve as a college for students who are ready to begin their higher education immediately after the 10th or 11th grade, bypassing the final years of high school. It offers a rigorous, interdisciplinary, discussion-based liberal arts and sciences curriculum designed for thoughtful, exceptionally motivated young scholars. The focus is not merely on acceleration, but on providing a challenging academic environment where students are taken seriously as active participants in serious intellectual work.

The college was officially founded in 1964 by Elizabeth Blodgett Hall, a former headmistress at Concord Academy, who believed that the last two years of high school were often redundant and limiting for many bright teenagers. The college opened its doors in 1966, initially offering a four-year program that combined high school and college, and was the only residential early college of its kind for decades. A major turning point occurred in 1979 when the college was acquired by Bard College. This partnership provided academic and financial strength, integrating core Bard intellectual traditions like the Writing and Thinking Workshops and the Senior Project into the college's unique early-entry model, ensuring its continued leadership in redefining the transition from high school to college.

This college stands as an unparalleled and highly effective educational pioneer, having invented and continuously championed the early college model. Its strength is derived from its willingness to challenge traditional educational timelines, providing a genuinely transformative and accelerated liberal arts experience. By placing highly motivated young students in an intensive, supportive, and intellectually liberated residential setting, the university ensures its graduates are not only chronologically ahead but possess superior academic training and critical thinking skills. Ultimately, this university is defined by its bold mission to treat young people as serious scholars, resulting in alumni who go on to achieve distinction in graduate studies and professional careers globally.