<p>What about Geraldine Layborne, the CEO of Oxygen Media, Lisa Kudrow and Meryl Streep? I don’t think Wesleyan is doing anything that Vassar isn’t. To say that Vassar reached its peak 60 years ago, or to say that Vassar lies at the bottom of a continuum underneath Wesleyan and Brown is, quite frankly, a little bit offensive, and more than a little bit untrue. </p>
<p>Wesleyan may well be very different as far as the whole “hothouse” topic is concerned, but I’ll tell you a little about Vassar. I do not believe students regard the institution as a “hothouse,” but more as a platform from which they can reach their personal academic and extracurricular goals. I know many students here involved in numerous extracurriculars and varsity sports, who still manage to maintain a high GPA with five classes per semester. I also know students who would rather smoke pot and play Halo. The two hardest workers I know attend Yale and Rutgers, respectively. </p>
<p>Something, however, must answer for the fact that Wesleyan has approximately twice as many official student organizations as Vassar. I don’t think this reflects the budgeting of students’ time, but it does reflect their drive towards establishing themselves as motivated towards their own ends. “The Gatekeepers” discusses a meeting of Wesleyan’s “C*nt Club.” You must be your own guide in deciding if this fits your personality. Once all of that is said, Wesleyan is an incredible school, and although it is similar to Vassar in many regards, there are differences to be found. And these do not all lie within the 1% difference in acceptance rate.</p>