Cost, debt & salary

Is Bard College worth it? What it costs, and what graduates earn

You would borrow a median $24,254 — about $276 a month for ten years. Graduates earn a median $46,543 ten years after starting, so the debt clears in roughly 3.5 years of the salary premium.

F

Is it worth the money?

Think hard. On these numbers the salary premium struggles to clear what students borrow.

You borrow $24,254 median federal debt at graduation
You repay $276/mo standard 10-year federal plan
You earn $46,543 median, 10 years after entry · beats 20%
Debt clears in 3.5 yrs ranked 731 of 810

What that feels like each month Repayment against the salary that has to cover it.

Gross monthly pay
$3,879
Loan repayment
$276
Share of your pay
7.1%
0%15% — the comfort line25%

Under roughly 15% of gross pay, repayment is generally considered manageable alongside rent and living costs.

Cut the debt before you borrow it

Every dollar you win is a dollar you never repay — and it moves the 3.5-year payback above. We list 1 scholarship tied to Bard College.

Master Program, Center for Human rights and the Arts 2023-24
See all 1 Bard College scholarships →

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How Bard College compares Against the 810 US universities we grade on payback.

The typical graded university clears its debt in 1.3 years on median earnings of $57,146 against $22,500 of debt. Bard College takes longer than that, and its graduates earn $7,023 a year more than a US worker with only a high-school diploma.

Nearby universityGradeDebtEarningsPayback
Marymount Manhattan College New York D $25,750 $49,131 2.7 yrs
The Culinary Institute of America New York D $15,750 $47,475 2 yrs
Sarah Lawrence College New York D $27,000 $53,603 1.9 yrs
Pratt Institute New York D $26,000 $54,295 1.8 yrs
Alfred University New York D $26,000 $54,897 1.7 yrs

Bard College — the money questions

How much do graduates of Bard College earn?
Median earnings are $46,543 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled — from tax records, not a survey. That is higher than 20% of the US universities we hold figures for.
How much debt will I have at Bard College?
The median graduate leaves with $24,254 of federal loans. On the standard ten-year plan that is about $276 a month — roughly 7.1% of the median graduate's monthly pay before tax.
How long does a degree from Bard College take to pay for itself?
About 3.5 years of the salary premium — the amount graduates earn above the $39,520 a US worker with only a high-school diploma makes. That ranks it 731 of 810 US universities we grade on payback.
Can scholarships reduce this debt?
Yes — we list 1 scholarship tied to Bard College. Each award you win comes straight off the borrowing above, and the payback figure falls with it.
Do these numbers apply to my subject?
No. The Department of Education publishes one figure per institution, so nursing, engineering and fine art students at Bard College all sit inside the same median. Treat it as the size of the financial risk, not a salary forecast for your course.
Bard College profile Programmes at Bard College Bard College scholarships Compare with Marymount Manhattan College Payback across New York What Bard College costs Student loan record SAT scores & admission Fastest-paying US degrees Lowest student debt How we calculate this

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard — earnings and debt cover students who received federal financial aid and blend every subject taught at the institution. Figures imported 28 Aug 2026. This page is information, not financial advice.