My S27 loves Vassar. We just visited. Loves the campus and the feel. His hesitation is the girl-boy ratio. The recent #s we have are 62-38. Is this still accurate? I went back through old posts, but would love to hear from anyone who has a boy there now who isn’t a recruited athlete. Are they finding their people? Is the ratio awkwardly noticeable or is it a perk of the school? We tried to ask the tour guide, but that question was never really answered, and to her credit, since she was a girl, she couldn’t really address it anyway.
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I have a D22 at Vassar. I can’t answer how it feels for a boy obviously but she’s been very happy there. She did have a boyfriend for a good part of her time there, who was not a recruited athlete. He’s still part of her friend group. We also know another boy from our area who went there (he’s a couple years younger) and seems very happy there. Also not an athlete.
According to the most recent common data set, male enrollment = 37%. Similar numbers at Conn College. Both are former all-women’s colleges. Keep in mind that the national male:female ratio is 43:57.
A few of other factors come into play. First, there are more females than males in the population in general. Second, a higher percentage of females go onto college after high school than males. Third, a higher percentage of male college students attend public colleges than males, leaving fewer for a private college like Vassar. Finally, a vastly higher percent of engineering students are male than female (78:22). Business schools are also more heavily male than female. So, with males gravitating toward engineering and business, there are going to be that many fewer for a liberal arts college like Vassar.
Here’s a 10-year old article on the subject, but you can find current comments that say the same thing:
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There’s a huge admissions advantage for men at Vassar if you check the common data set. They are always trying to move that number as close to 50/50 as it can get, but according to their admissions director, the further away from equal they get, the harder it is to recruit men. It’s also a campus that’s very friendly to LGBT* and nonbinary students butyou probably already know that. It’s a wonderful school for all the people!
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I would have thought so too, but I’m seeing a 20.4% acceptance rate for males and 17.6% for females. Some advantage but not that significant. Without knowing the grades I’d one group vs the other, it’s not possible to say definitively, but it’s not there in the acceptance rate numbers.
If we’re looking for trends, the difference was a little more pronounced last year - 21.6% for males and 15.8% for females,
All helpful information for admissions! Thank you! I’m hoping someone with a boy who is there can weigh in on boy culture. My S27 is not LGBTQ+ (although would consider himself a strong ally) nor is he a recruited athlete nor is he an artist. He wants to study History and Pol Sci. Is there a place for him? Will he find a group at Vassar? He loves the location and the campus! It’s just so hard to get a read on the people.
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Your D27 or your S27? I think that’s a typo in your OP. (Thanks for clarifying)
Vassar has hd male students for a while now. One former poster on this forum really liked his time at the school. We know a male graduate from about 12 years ago…who also really liked the school.
If your so feels great about Vassar, I say…go for it.
We do have other graduates of Vassar who post here…hoping they will chime in.
Son! Its a boy. Sorry. I’m getting used to the terminology. Thx for correcting me.
I know a recent male grad who is gay. Had a great experience, wonderful friends, and on to med school.
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Vassar grad here. Neither new nor male, but there have been men at Vassar for over 50 years now, and IMO this “vibe” concern is a non-issue. Really no different than being any minority. Plenty of opportunity to find your people. And sometime your future spouse too.
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For 2023 it was 15.7% for women and 26 % for men which I think is pretty significant. I am glad that it is not as extreme currently.
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My son graduated in May from Vassar - so not there at this moment, but as close as you could get otherwise 
He was not an athlete. He had a great experience, with a great mixed-gender friend group, including a very serious girlfriend. He also was a social science student. From what he has told us, he did not find the ratio awkward. I think it was just not much of a thing? Already in public high school he was used to the high achieving students in his classes being disproportionally female, so it was not a big change.
For what it’s worth, certain majors tend to be more gender balanced than others. There are lots of men majoring in history, international studies, and political science at Vassar. Feel free to reach out to me if you have other questions.
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Thank you so much for this reply! This is truly helpful. Mine would also be a social sciences major.
I had one more question. I know that Vassar puts students from all grades in dorms together. I am used to a different model where freshman have designated housing just for them. I know your son graduated already – but do you remember how this experience was for him? Did your son like this? I don’t have a quiet kid, but he’s not super extroverted, so I wonder how he finds his people if they aren’t all living on a hall together and he isn’t a recruited athlete. Thx!
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Please take a few deep breaths. These are non issues. Really. There are great benefits to meeting members of several classes. And some of the upperclassmen/women may live in the Townhouses or terrace apartments on/near campus or the Ferry house Co-op. It has not a male/female or class issue really. The beauty of a small school is to have the opportunity to meet many in a somewhat smaller community. Many of my closest friends were a year or two ahead of me. I was sad when they graduated.
Gosh, I hope I’m not coming off as panicked? Far from it. I think that dorm life is pretty important for a first year so I’m just really interested how it has worked out for others. My oldest needed a first-year only dorm at her SLAC when she entered college, even though the college was small. She needed a built-in group to kick off her freshman year. My second didn’t have a choice – her school only put freshman together. I have no idea how #3 is going to integrate when he starts college. He’s such a different kid. But the mixing of grades at Vassar was definitely something we had not encountered before, so I’m trying to get a read on this system. Sounds like you loved it, though, which is great to hear!
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Everyone is welcoming and friendly. And there are house fellows (faculty families) in the dorms. All good.
You know your son best. What you think he needs should receive high priority in making your decision. If you think he needs an all-freshman door for a smooth entry, then you should look for a college with an all-freshman dorm.
I’ve seen so many kids coming home and transferring after freshman year that it has raised my antennas to this situation. What these various students had in common has overwhelmingly been “fit”. I think that you are very wise to look for the conditions that will be right for him.
I don’t think you are coming across as panicked at all - these are all good questions My D22 is also introverted and I was worried how she’d make friends - Vassar actually does a fabulous job of this - the freshman arrive a full week before the upper classes and they are bonded into groups with others on their hall for this week with student fellows from upper grades leading various activities (and culminating into house games at the end of the week). Some of my daughter’s closest friends are still from that group she met that first week. Vassar does make it difficult to change dorms - where you are assigned that first year is likely where you’ll stay for the next 2-3 years - which has some downsides, but I don’t think the mixing of grades is one of them.
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When we took our kids to look at colleges, we may have had some similar thoughts, but we let them figure out what was best for them, and they did just fine. One of my s’s is quieter and more shy, but you would be surprised (well probably not) how they blossom in college. My shy one went to a school where all four classes were housed together (of course his roommate was also a freshman when he was) and my more outgoing son was in an all freshman dorm (he turned down the honors dorm b/c he wanted the “true freshman experience“!). Although I am neither a recent Vassar grad nor a male, I can say that sports was not an issue and between gatherings in the parlors/living rooms, clubs, etc, friendships were found and made. I know there are events for the incoming freshmen/women but I cannot recall what they currently are.
**eta just answered above!
I have had two children, both at small LACs. One had an all freshman dorm, the other was Vassar. I like Vassar’s system better, to my surprise. My Vassar child’s residence hall had 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year students living in it - the majority of 3rd years were living in singles, and some of the 2nd years. The 1st year students all lived in discrete sections of the halls where they were surrounded by other 1st year students. The upper-class students included residence hall “officers” who arranged social events and activities that all students in the residence hall participated in, though it seemed that many were more 1st years than anyone else. There was also a faculty family living in the residence hall.
Upshot is that the Vassar dorm was more socially “healthy” - upper-class students were there in the social rooms and spaces as mentors, friends, as people who could answer questions about Vassar, while there was still a strong freshman community in the dorm (the orientation groups were also the students living right next to each other, so there were multiple opportunities to get to know them).
The 1st year orientation worked very well to develop both a “residence hall” community, and a cross-campus class based community, so that my child’s friend group included some people that he lived with, and others that he did not.
I think people who have not been in a small LAC might underestimate how important cross-class friendships are in small schools, and Vassar facilitates this.
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