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Vassar College Visit Report by morvoren
Visit to Vassar College in September 2008 by morvoren (Parent of Student, HS Class of 2008)
(Member since November 19 2008 with 64 posts)
9 of 9 people found this visit report helpful
Visit Activities:
Information Session: Yes
Campus Tour: Yes
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Campus Visit Notes for Vassar College
Visit Description:
Vassar College is a totally beautiful campus and we saw it on a totally beautiful day. The place is out of a fantasy with gorgeous trees and plantings. The students look great, basically down to earth and not too preppy. There was a real mix of people, reasonable diversity, guys with beards, an overweight girl who seemed happy. It seemed great.
The general info session was tough, their requirements are over the top, and it made you wonder if anyone who was not a perfect go getter and academic star with everything extra curricular in the world - anyone who was not a Hermione Granger type could get in. It seemed impossible for a normal bright kid. They want challenging courses, four years of everything, four years of science, four years of history,four years of language and very high median SATs. Didn't seem like a place for kids who are trying to figure out who they are.
In contrast, the tour was lovely, the two student guides were a guy who was blond and waspy and a pistol packing tiny, I would guess Jewish, girl with frizzy hair and fabulous sandals who seemed a pack of virbrant energy and was originally from Austin Tx. Their point of view was that the requirements were pretty broad and flexible; there were a lot of internship possibilities. The library was fabulous, light and airy, with a million volumes. It felt like it would be a wonderful place to study. It's a huge campus but the average class size is 20 in intro courses, and only 10 in higher level classes. All professors teach. There is no core curriculum, just a few requirements - forexample, everyone must take a writing class, a quantitative class and a foreign language. 25% of the students are in physical sciences. There's lots of study abroad. What's more, Vassar is part of a 12 college consortium, which includes Amherst, Williams, etc. and you can spend a semester at another institution.No frats and sororities.
We were told that an alumnai interview is very important. You can have a third letter of reference. There are two optional Vassar supplements, and one of them, called "my space" is a place to put original stuff and explore something. And here is a piece of news, 90 percent of the financial aid is grants not loans. This is a wonderful place, but if felt like there was only room for perfect fully formed people.