Got a Question for a Current Student? (Ask it here!) - Page 2

sonjanicky29 · 04-02-2009, 11:36 PM

How would you describe the job/career counseling? Is there a lot of recruiting at Vassar?

MZ2009 · 04-02-2009, 11:45 PM

uhm...how about a printer? i first heard that you dont need one but then heard they break down and its better to have your own?

rr4life · 04-03-2009, 12:32 AM

How is the food at Vassar? Also, how are the pre-medical studies? Are the science classes strong at vassar?

dc89 · 04-03-2009, 01:09 AM

This is fun.

Heyduds: My schedule is like this:
Monday:
History 10:30-11:45
Dance 1-6 (half hour break somewhere in there)
Italian conversation hour 6-7

Tuesday:
English 10:30-11:45
Italian 12-1:15
Dance 3:10-4:25
More Dance 8-9

Wednesday:
History 10:30-11:45
Dance 1-8 (with one half-hour break and two fifteen-minute breaks)

Thursday:
English 10:30-11:45
Italian 12-1:15
Dance 3:10-8:20 (no break whatsoever)

Friday:
English Composition 10:30-12:30
Dance 1-3, sometimes an hour of rehearsal after, then again 5-6
I'm kind of an exception to the rule because I'm kind of hyperinvolved in my extracurriculars. But there you go.

faceinspace: Mac!!!

sonjanicky: Sorry, I can't say much about that...

mz: I have one and never use it. I wouldn't bother. There are enough printers on campus that if you're REALLY desperate, you can find one.

rr4life: Food is kind of gross, but edible. (And I'm picky. I kind of live on grilled cheese and salad. And brownies.) Can't say much about science, but people seem to like it...

nimby58 · 04-03-2009, 01:20 AM

Thanks to the both of you for your answers, they went right to the heart of what I wanted to know!

aplomb · 04-03-2009, 04:05 PM

hello! just a question about dorms - earlier in this thread someone said that juniors all get singles. Now, I haven't actually experienced dorm life, so it's quite possible that by junior year I would like a single. However, is there still the option to live in a double junior year?
thanks!

mafischl · 04-03-2009, 06:20 PM

To aplomb: My son was in a double as a freshman, got a single as a sophomore, and decided he wants a double again as a junior. He likes the company, plus the room is a lot bigger.

MZ2009 · 04-03-2009, 10:57 PM

I read a lot of articles from the miscellany news that were talking about the changes in the meal plan, and the papers that came from Vassar also mentioned this. I never really understood what the problem was though. What are the pros and cons of the new meal plan system and why do some students seem to be against it?

(oh and is the standard plan usually enough for an average student?)

dc89 · 04-04-2009, 11:02 AM

^ I HATE HATE HATE the new meal plan. It's absurdly restrictive for those of us who often can't eat dinner until after 8:30, because that's when ACDC (or, as you will quickly learn to call it when you come to Vassar, "the DC" - pronounced "Deece") closes, and that's the only place you can use your "meals." Otherwise, you have to use your declining balance points. I'm on the minimum meal plan because I did not want to buy a bunch of meals that I'm not going to use - I have, like, 50 left right now - and I keep having to replenish my declining balance points and it's a huge pain in the butt. It just really bothers me that I literally cannot use my meals because the dining hall ISN'T OPEN when I need to go and there's no meal equivalency at the Retreat or UpCDC.

Also, Aramark is terrible. I sometimes work with a volunteer organization called Operation Donation that donates tons of nonperishables to Dutchess Outreach, a local food pantry, and last year we were able to collect points (back when everything was points, not meals) and use them to purchase nonperishables directly from Aramark, which we would then donate. This year, not only can we no longer collect points, but Aramark jerks us around when it comes to what they're going to give us for the meals we collect. There was an incident last semester where we asked them to give us nonperishables in exchange for the meals we had collected, and they said no, but they would give us lasagnas, and we agreed because DO could freeze them. Then they jacked up the prices so much that we would have basically been paying $200 for a lasagna that fed 24 people. It's disgusting. When they were thinking about changing the meal plan last year, lots of people spoke out about how much they hate Aramark (to top all that, the food really isn't that good), yet the committee chose them again. I'm still annoyed about that.

Um, sorry for the novel...

littleathiest · 04-04-2009, 11:52 AM

@ sonjanicky... Unfortunately, I don't know all that much about job placement out of Vassar because I'm only a sophomore. I've been to the Career Counseling office before and can report that they're very nice and quite visible on-campus, but have little knowledge as to how good they are at helping people get good jobs.

@MZ2009... Like dc89, I really don't think you need a printer at Vassar. I had one my freshman year (until my roommate broke it) and, although it was a little more convenient than heading down to the printer room on the first floor of each dorm, it wasn't convenient enough to warrant the space and cost of ink and paper. The only exception to this is if you think you're going to want to print a lot of stuff in color (maybe for Art History)... the only color printers on campus are in the library. As to printers in the dorm breaking down, well, it happens every so often. Computer Information Services (CIS) is really good about getting them up and running soon though. Also, because there's a printer in every dorm and the library, it's not really all that hard to just go somewhere else.

@rr4life... I personally don't think the food is all that bad. I mean, it's not what I get at home, but it's not terrible. Options in the main cafeteria consist of a sandwich bar where you can get a sandwich made or opt for a pre-made sandwich, a bagel-toast station, two soups a day, a salad bar, a "home cooking" station with a meat/starch/vegetable that changes for each meal, two grill stations: one with a rotating special or omelets and one with burgers/fries/chicken/hotdogs, a wrap station, a pizza station, a Mediterranean station with salads and pasta options, a Vegan station, a stir fry station where students can make their own food (my favorite part of the cafeteria, hands down), and a dessert station. There's also the Retreat, which is more of a cafe style dining area and has sandwiches (hot and cold), burgers, breakfast specials, a salad bar, and pizza.

Pre-med isn't a major at Vassar, although, I believe that students interested in pre-med have a special advisory program they work with to make sure they have fulfilled all requirements. Usually, but not always, pre-med students choose to major in a science. I know pre-med students who are neuroscience, psychology, biology, biochemistry, and chemistry majors as well as one who is a Medieval & Renaissance studies major. Overall, the science program at Vassar is pretty strong, if less talked about than some of the humanities majors. Biology and psychology are two of our biggest departments and, as such, have a lot of different course offerings. I've taken biology and psychology courses and have had good experiences in both... overall, I would describe both departments as quite strong. The chemistry and physics departments are smaller, but still solidly good.

@aplomb... Juniors are guaranteed a single, however, they don't have to have one. The idea is that juniors pick their rooms before sophomores do, meaning that they get first dibs at which rooms they'd like. If a pair of juniors decided they'd rather have a double, they would certainly be allowed to choose one rather than go for a single. There's also a number of suites in two of the dorms (Main and Jewett) which sophomores, juniors, and seniors can all apply to live in. Usually, they're occupied by groups of four or five juniors and sophomores.

MZ2009 · 04-05-2009, 11:38 PM

Oh! Thanks dc89, i appreciate your novel, lol. I definitely get the problem then. I read that its 1$ per point when you buy extra but how much is that really, if you wanted like a snack or something would it be a lot of points? Oh and is there anywhere else apart from the DC where meal points are accepted?

And totally unrelated to that, i read that the college tries to put you with a roommate that matches, but is that true? How would they go about doing that?

littleathiest · 04-06-2009, 02:26 PM

@MZ2009... there are two different types of points on the meal plan. One type is specifically for the all-you-can-eat system at the ACDC. Basically, your card is swiped, and one meal (worth about $12, I think) is detracted from your card. The other type of point system is the 1$ per point one you've read about. It's used at the Retreat (and a couple coffee/drink places on-campus). Every time you decide to go there, you pay for things on an a la carte basis. Thus, you would probably go to the Retreat (or one of the coffee/drink places) if you wanted to get a snack, rather than waste an entire meal at the ACDC for, say, a piece of fruit).

Sometime in either May or June you'll get a survey which you take to match you up with a roommate. It asks 10-12 basic questions about things like how clean you'd like your room to be, what time you plan on going to bed, how often you'd like to hang out with friends in your room, and whether or not you smoke. The idea is that the college is trying to match you up with someone that you'll at least share similar living habits with. How well does it work out? Decently, for most, as far as I can tell. Keep in mind as well that because of the way in which freshmen are grouped into fellow groups of 6-16 other freshmen led by a sophomore or junior student fellow that all live in the same hall, it's not the end of the world if you and your roommate end up being just roommates and not friend. I had a rather unpleasant roommate situation my freshman year, but because I was friends with a couple of the people in my student fellow group who lived close to me, things worked out.

MZ2009 · 04-06-2009, 05:19 PM

Lol, a roommate survey, i like that. Thanks littleathiest, i think i can speak for everyone when i say that you're a huge help to have around =)

thisisreal · 04-07-2009, 11:46 PM

Are classes discussion based or lecture based?

thebigcheese121 · 04-08-2009, 05:22 AM

I've heard that Vassar is more of a humanties school, so how is econ and math at vassar ? Also how are the train services to New York City, I mean are they clean and how much do they cost ?(I'm an international and its not possible for me to visit, so the second question might sound wierd.)