Hello, I’m a current high school senior thinking about applying early decision to Vassar College. Obviously it’s a great school, and I recently toured and loved the campus, but I was curious about the student perspective. Do you like Vassar? How do you feel about the social scene? Any Pros and cons?
I graduated Vassar in 1992: So, it was a very long time ago. I was a little atypical there since I majored in Biochemistry while everyone else was there for Art History and English. Everyone there knew how to write well. So, even as a science major, my writing improved a lot which helped me throughout my career. I did manage to go to the grad level program probably due to me coming from Vassar ( a rare Biochemistry major).
Everyone there was very helpful (eg. librarians). When I needed one more class to graduate on time (not my fault), the school made a separate class for me. It was a class of 4 students.
Socially, I can’t comment much since I pretty much lived in Music Department and Science buildings. Good luck!
Current student – just a comment in response to Missvassar1 – Vassar has shifted quite a bit over the last 30 years. Biochem was our 5th most popular major in 2023 (39 majors), above English (37) and Art History (12) (page 10 of attached link). Not that we’re a “science” focused school or anything – 281/755 degrees were in natural sciences in 2023, or 37% (page 12). Agree that Vassar still emphasizes writing.
More info here: https://offices.vassar.edu/institutional-research/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Fact-Book-2023-24-1.pdf
Hi, I’m a senior at Vassar. Sorry if I’m too late here, but maybe this will be helpful to someone else even if not to you.
Social scene stuff is pretty subjective and it depends on what you’re looking for. Any specific questions?
Are you asking about how friendly people are? I’ve found that most people are nice and it isn’t hard to make friends. There are chill people and quirky people; you can find your crowd and it’s hard to generalize culture. People are generally nice though, and Vassar is super noncompetitive. There are lots of robust orgs (clubs) that offer lots to do on campus, which I think is impacted by Vassar students taking time to do things they enjoy outside of classwork. A lot more music and theater options than my friends at other schools. Always lots and lots of events going on. Poughkeepsie is a cool little city with stuff happening, good food, and lots of opportunities to be involved in community work and social justice work, but is limited by its size and limited public transit. Most Vassar students don’t leave campus much, and many will tell you it’s because nothing is happening, but I think this is more so a reflection of their failure to look. Kinda a cultural issue at Vassar, in my opinion. But also reflects how lots of people are from NYC or other cities, which obviously have a lot more going on than Poughkeepsie.
By asking about social scene are you asking about parties? Almost everyone lives on campus, but most seniors and some juniors live on the edge of campus in apartment-style housing. The Terrace Apartment I’m in is super nice for a four person apartment, and we’ve been able to host a lot of friends and stuff for small parties and gatherings – but 20-30 people becomes a crowd if you’re all hanging out. People will move their furniture out and can jam maybe 75 people inside, but they aren’t huge parties. No frats obviously, which is a pro to most but a con to a few. A lot of people prefer to hang out with friends over the weekends, watch movies or have their own little gatherings and smoke. But there are also a lot that enjoy going out to the different apartment parties. There are a few off campus houses that host parties, and a few bars nearby that host college nights you can walk to (or go on non college nights). It’s not a party school but there are options. Sunday is mostly a work day, but the vast majority of people don’t work/study on Friday or Saturday afternoon or night (some will get a little done on Saturday morning during the busier parts of the year).
Lots of opportunities to do stuff off campus too. The ticket fund can pay for you to see Broadway plays, and dorms schedule things like trips to see Cirque du Soleil or go to Apple orchards. And there’s so much in NYC, which is very easy to get to with the metro north. Lots of concerts, museums, events, protests, etc. (definitely chances to get involved in activism here too).
I like Vassar though! As reflected from all of this, there are a lot of opportunities here. Profs are super accessible and helpful (especially in the social sciences). Classes are impactful and there are always so many more than I have time to take. I’ve met so many wonderful and interesting people with incredible stories. I have my gripes with admin, but they’ve all made time to meet with me personally when I’ve asked to, which is more than most schools, and they listen.
4 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. If you’d like to reply, please flag the thread for moderator attention.