vassar vs. boston college

DJC211
Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:00:52 +0000

I completely agree with cwmpenn09. I live halfway between Vassar and BC and have had many friends and family attend BC. Have spent time on campus and, if you are looking for a “Rah Rah” sports school with a very homogenous student body, then BC would be for you. If you fit in, it’s a wonderful place. Academically, it can’t compare to Vassar. Reputation wise, Vassar is considered near Ivy League and BC is definitely one tier below that, which is still highly selective. BC is a VERY good school; it’s just not at the level of a Vassar. It’s selectivity has increased a great deal over the past many years because it draws from the very large upper middle class Catholic population in the northeast. Many kids that fit this group in this area choose BC as their top school when applying. While the academics are very good, I believe the selectivity ratings are misleading because of the popularity among the specific demographic I mentioned.

I just spent the day at Vassar yesterday, as my son will be attending Vassar in the fall. It was our third visit and it was an entire day with students and faculty. The students at Vassar are definitely an eclectic group. ALL of the students we met were incredibly friendly, confident, and very well spoken. Definitely an artsy feel to many of the students but also many students of just about every stereotype. To be superficial for a moment, I was also surprised that it was such a good-looking group of students in an eclectic, sometimes exotic kind of way. Definitely NOT the “strange” student body sometimes rumored on these discussion threads.

I was surprised to learn that there are multiple student produced theater productions and concerts every weekend to choose from at Vassar and all are free to students. Meeting with the professors was also very informative. The classes are small and the vast majority are discussion based. Further, the lack of a core curriculum creates an environment in each class where students are there because they have real interest in the subject. This leads to an atmosphere of real intellectual curiosity in every class. All of the Catholic colleges and universities in the northeast are heavy into core curriculum. While I do not know the specifics of BC’s core requirements, the general formula among these types of schools are that students spend their first two years fulfilling the majority of their core requirements and the last two years concentrating on their major. The lack of a core curriculum at Vassar allows many students to take courses in a variety of disciplines and many come out with double majors. Often, completely unrelated, such as Astronomy and Women’s Studies or Art and Math.

Good luck with your choice. Both are very good schools and it depends on what you’re looking for.