Vassar Biology

VasssarGrad
Sun, 04 Apr 2010 21:31:25 +0000

1) You cannot get a BS. Vassar only gives BA degrees because you are getting a well rounded liberal arts education. Tracking students would be weird. The fact that Vassar only gives BAs will have no impact on your admissibility to graduate school or your future career. At all.

2) Every faculty member does research and takes a hand full of students to work with them. You can do this as a work study job (where you may be doing more washing glassware) or as credited research. Every student will have their own project within the lab. They will not be competing with graduate students/post docs/anyone else for lab work to do, so you are likely to be taking on a LARGER role in research at a small LAC than you would at a large university. There is also the summer URSI program (the undergraduate research summer institute), where you are paid to do research full time over the summer. URSI is very intensive research projects, and these students often continue through the school year as well. They almost always publish as first or second author.

3) the faculty is great. more importantly, class size, even in the sciences, are small. you will never be in a giant lecture class with a TA answering all your questions/grading your tests/teaching your study sessions. You will be 100% of the time with a TEACHING faculty member, who came to vassar because they love teaching, and not because they want to spend all day in the lab and wish they didn’t have to come out a few hours a day to say something to the silly undergrads.

4) why on earth is everyone so caught up with reputation? go to a college because you love it and because you will get a great education. If you really want to know - vassar students are well regarded in ALL disciplines no matter what field they are going into. Work hard. Do well. You will be able to do anything you want in life.