My kid picked Vassar over several top 30 universities and top 15 LACs and couldn’t be happier. I think that especially with LACs the rankings are ridiculous. Ranking West Point, Washington and Lee, and the Naval Academy alongside Vassar and Wesleyan makes very little sense. ALL are fantastic schools, but clearly suited for different types of students. Within the “top tier” of these schools, it really should be about fit and location way more than ranking.
Vassar is an outstanding liberal arts college, I’d say one of the “best” at what it does. That’s good enough for me.