The Two Bards

[m-ttl]

I'm sure this must seem like a silly question, but as I understand it Bard (upstate) has a Curatorial Studies program, and Bard Graduate Center is focused on Design, Dec. Arts, and Material Culture. I'm particularly interested in the BGC and find a lot of their methods, means, and ideas etc appeal to me. I've mostly been looking at BGC, and browsed their Financial Aid pages. 

 

"Does the Bard Graduate Center offer financial aid?

Yes, the BGC has a generous amount of aid to offer students at both MA and PhD levels. All students who wish to be considered for aid must file a FAFSA online by January 15, 2013. Aid at the BGC is based on need and merit, and scholarships range from three credits to full tuition coverage."

 

Which seems great, but the Curatorial Program at the "mothership" warns: 

 

"The graduate program is able to provide limited financial assistance, in the form of scholarships and fellowships, to students whose personal financial resources are insufficient to meet the expenses of graduate study. Funds for scholarships and fellowships are limited, and awards typically will meet only a small part of a student’s expenses. Financial aid is administered by the Bard College Office of Financial Aid. "

 

They both report to the same Financial Aid departments for funding; in fact BGC states that the aid packages are determined upstate. Is the difference really that big from "department" to "department" or from school to school in this case? Is this perhaps because BGC is a much smaller program? They're both being funded by the same place so does this just mean BGC has a bigger chunk to deal with financially? I don't mean to over think this too much, but I suppose I got confused when checking out CCS Bard.

Edited February 5, 2013 by m-ttl

[mrb1145]

Hm-- the only thing I can think of is that there are funds earmarked specifically for BGC that other parts of the college doesn't have access to.  Maybe a large donation made specifically to that program...?

[Pictureit24]

I actually applied to the MA program at BGC and interviewed last week and this is how they explained funding (and their relationship with Bard College): 

 

-The funding for BGC (scholarships and grants) has nothing to do with Bard College. This funding comes from BGC and is distributed among accepted students based on merit. 

-Financial aid IS dealt with at Bard College. The college examines the FAFSA information and how much federal aid a student will be able to get and then passes that information along to the BGC. 

-The BGC is otherwise a separate entity (or at least that is how they consider themselves).  

[m-ttl]

Thanks Pictureit24, that actually makes a lot more sense. I'm hesitant in general just because the City is so expensive, and Bard itself is so expensive, but I'm still interested, if nothing else. 

[ArtHistoryandMuseum]

Hello m-ttl. I looked into Bard, too. I'm hugely interested in decorative arts, American furniture, and design. For the financial and geographic reasons you list, I decided not to apply. This is despite knowing an acquaintance who matriculated there and a curator I respect deeply who encouraged me to check it out.

 

However, should you be available, you could apply for a (funded) summer program to get a taste of it! Here are the details: http://bgc.bard.edu/neh-institute

 

The application is due early March. I hope this is of some help!

Edited February 13, 2013 by ArtHistoryandMuseum

[m-ttl]

Hello m-ttl. I looked into Bard, too. I'm hugely interested in decorative arts, American furniture, and design. For the financial and geographic reasons you list, I decided not to apply. This is despite knowing an acquaintance who matriculated there and a curator I respect deeply who encouraged me to check it out.

 

However, should you be available, you could apply for a (funded) summer program to get a taste of it! Here are the details: http://bgc.bard.edu/neh-institute

 

The application is due early March. I hope this is of some help!

 

Ah, I'm in my junior year of my BA. While it seems like a lovely program, it also seems to be designed for graduate students, not undergrads? I have a friend who is already working in the field with Dec Arts and who has an MA and this seems to be more targeted towards her? I would love it, but I'm afraid I'm not what they're looking for, necessarily. They state there's only two spaces for qualified Graduate students, which I unfortunately, am not yet. 

 

Thank you though! I'll keep it in mind, just in case for the following years. 

 

I'm starting to think of Bard as the "long shot" school, not for acceptance means, but for viability of finances. 

Edited February 13, 2013 by m-ttl

[Pictureit24]

I wouldn't get too discouraged! I was accepted to the MA program at BGC with a generous amount of funding. The director basically explained that it was distributed based on merit, so if your GPA coming out of undergrad is good you'll be in a better position for funding if you're accepted.

[m-ttl]

I wouldn't get too discouraged! I was accepted to the MA program at BGC with a generous amount of funding. The director basically explained that it was distributed based on merit, so if your GPA coming out of undergrad is good you'll be in a better position for funding if you're accepted.

 

It's hard for me to say, I think my GPA is fine, but...it's hard to tell when there's so much "4.0 or nothing!" attitudes I get. Do you know if it's overall GPA or major GPA?

 

I spoke with a curator recently at a museum I interned with and she encouraged my looking at the dec arts field in general, and certain programs including Bard, but it all essentially comes down to money. It's hard to relate to "Well they're [Dec Arts] expensive programs but I think they're great!" no matter how well respected the curator is, or the director, etc, when what will inevitably happen is I will take whatever option is cheapest. I don't have money of my own to fund my schooling with, and I presume I'll be paying off my undergrad loans well into my 40s...so I'm not so much discouraged as I am trying to be realistic. I probably can't afford most schools, so my apps are an exercise in the funding lottery. I've mostly found that others I speak with don't have the same debt I do, or have other back up finances/sources and so on, so I tend to be a little more wary of my chances. 

[Pictureit24]

I'm pretty sure funding is based on overall GPA, but I can't be positive. And money is important, but you have to weigh the advantages and the disadvantages. Are you going to be able to get where you want to be in your career without the education? Unless you're fortunate enough to get into the Winterthur program, or you head right into a fully funded PhD program, you can't get this kind of education without incurring some amount of debt. You just need to ask yourself if the payoff is worth it to you. 

[m-ttl]

I'm pretty sure funding is based on overall GPA, but I can't be positive. And money is important, but you have to weigh the advantages and the disadvantages. Are you going to be able to get where you want to be in your career without the education? Unless you're fortunate enough to get into the Winterthur program, or you head right into a fully funded PhD program, you can't get this kind of education without incurring some amount of debt. You just need to ask yourself if the payoff is worth it to you. 

 

I won't know until I apply. I had to say no to my ED undergrad choice because they wanted me to incur $160,000 in debt, so I'm not particularly invested in the idea that I will get a lot of money from people, and I'm not writing out the possibility that it's simply not feasible for me to afford this career. There's a difference to me between some debt, and $54,000 a year in straight loans, you know? It's not a matter of how passionate I am about the field, it's really honestly a matter of "Will I be able to eat?", "Can I afford a place to sleep?", "Is this going to give me over $100,000 in student loan debt for a field which I will never be able to pay this back in?". 

 

I'm sure there are some people who can make that choice without worrying about it, and good for them. But I honestly won't know if the payoff is worth it until I'm holding offers in hand. I think that's fair...a little harsh, but it's going to keep me from being "surprised". People won't always hire curatorial assistants or curators. I can get a job as a temp, however. I could just not get enough money period, and do teach for America. There's a lot of other options if I simply can't afford it. It will suck, I will not be happy about it, but I don't think the overall happiness of my life will be dictated by whether or not I can afford a master's degree right away. The overall comfort of my life, however, might be crimped by drowning in student loans. :/ 

 

It is what it is. I'm really grateful for the information, but I'm afraid I'm just a little less optimistic than most.