vassar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again. I think what DC included Colgate not because of the social scene (Greek life, of which there is little interest) but size of school, what the campus looks like, class size, professors, etc.

I think the final list will morph as time goes on. We are not Va residents but W&M will be on the list or mid-sized schools. Maybe Tufts?

I foresee Colgate, Conn College, and Furman dropping off the list, but I could be wrong. Kenyon is a good one for DC to check out.

Parent of the Vassar junior back here, OP. Kenyon was on DC's list as well. Had a great visit there -- see if you can go on the fall day when they host student panels, faculty panels, special (interest-based) tours, etc. etc. Many colleges have these (we did them at Oberlin, Bard and Sarah Lawrence too). You have to sign up in advance and these days do fill up but are well worth it as your student will see a LOT more and get to talk to admissions officers, students, etc. Yes, these days are definitely designed to sell the schools to prospective applicants! But they're worthwhile, or were for DC and for us parents too. I should note-- these are NOT "accepted student days" which are for those already accepted and usually are in spring of senior HS year for the student. These are for students who haven't yet applied and who frankly manage to get into the limited space. I'm sure colleges stopped these due to Covid but we'll see if they do them again this fall. Huge help for us seeing the four schools where we did them. And yes, if Kenyon goes on the list as a contender, visit, because the location can be a plus or a minus depending on the student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again. I think what DC included Colgate not because of the social scene (Greek life, of which there is little interest) but size of school, what the campus looks like, class size, professors, etc.

I think the final list will morph as time goes on. We are not Va residents but W&M will be on the list or mid-sized schools. Maybe Tufts?

Very familiar with both Tufts and Vassar. Both are great schools but offer experiences that are quite different. Tufts is a small university. Intro classes at Tufts can be large (100-300 students), whereas at Vassar they are all under 20 or 30. First-year students at Tufts are more likely to interact with a TA than with a professor. At Vassar students interact with the professor from the get-go and are more likely to get to know professors well over their four years there. Tufts only guarantees housing for two years, after that you are on your own. At Vassar, the vast majority of students live on campus. Not surprisingly, Vassar is a much closer-knit community.

Tufts has a wider range of course offerings (including engineering) and a larger pool of students among which to find friends. Tufts is an urban campus--Somerville (Davis Square) is buzzing; soon there will be a T stop on campus. Tufts over-enrolled last year and that has caused some problems (doubles becoming triples, some freshmen housed in a hotel, etc.), hopefully, they will do better at preventing this in the future.

Tufts has become a "hot" school. The acceptance rate last year was 11% IIRC. Much easier to get in ED than RD (as is often true).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. I think what DC included Colgate not because of the social scene (Greek life, of which there is little interest) but size of school, what the campus looks like, class size, professors, etc.

I think the final list will morph as time goes on. We are not Va residents but W&M will be on the list or mid-sized schools. Maybe Tufts?

Very familiar with both Tufts and Vassar. Both are great schools but offer experiences that are quite different. Tufts is a small university. Intro classes at Tufts can be large (100-300 students), whereas at Vassar they are all under 20 or 30. First-year students at Tufts are more likely to interact with a TA than with a professor. At Vassar students interact with the professor from the get-go and are more likely to get to know professors well over their four years there. Tufts only guarantees housing for two years, after that you are on your own. At Vassar, the vast majority of students live on campus. Not surprisingly, Vassar is a much closer-knit community.

Tufts has a wider range of course offerings (including engineering) and a larger pool of students among which to find friends. Tufts is an urban campus--Somerville (Davis Square) is buzzing; soon there will be a T stop on campus. Tufts over-enrolled last year and that has caused some problems (doubles becoming triples, some freshmen housed in a hotel, etc.), hopefully, they will do better at preventing this in the future.

Tufts has become a "hot" school. The acceptance rate last year was 11% IIRC. Much easier to get in ED than RD (as is often true).

"Mid-sized" is tricky. There are a ton of great mid-sized schools at the tippity top. And there are a range of Catholic options. But if you're looking for "mid-sized, secular, and accessible but strong," good luck. Add artsy and non-fratty, and it's a really small pool. Definitely keep W&M on that list!

I know your DD isn't looking for the Tailgate U experience, but an honors college/program at a UMN, UWashington, UOregon, etc. might actually be a better fit than the mythical mid-sized university. She'd find her people, no doubt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really? Not Middlebury or Dartmouth?

I would think they are significantly more difficult to get into than Vassar.

OP's kid seems to be all over the map re college personalities. Colgate and Vassar are quite different.

It did occur to me that a school that can be described as a marriage of Colgate and Vassar is Kenyon, which can possibly be treated as a safety or a more likely admit.

in terms of difficulty, DC's college office ranked Dartmouth, Middlebury, Vassar (there were some other schools also thrown into this list, but Dartmouth, in their eyes, def more difficult than Middlebury).

Do Dartmouth and Vassar really appeal to the same student? Vassar is much closer to major metropolitan area and the Greek scene is not as important.

Mine is applying to both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reputation is that it's for very artsy and dare I say, somewhat nerdy, girls and gay boys. It seems absolutely lovely for the right studens, but that isn't the vibe for everyone.

It's a fantastic school. If your, dare I say, unartsy, somewhat unlearned, girls and boys are looking for a less sophisticated vibe, that's fine.

Well, my kid is just frankly not weird enough for Vassar, is what it really comes down to, since you're going to be a jerk about it. But they do go to what most people around her consider to be a very rigorous independent school and will very likely be an athlete at a top 20 unversity, because they are also super smart and a great student. So, "unlearned?" Nope. Just cool and normal. I was trying to be nice, but really, that's why no to Vassar (who was also recruiting them).

You would have had all of us supporting you if you had simply ignored the troll, but you joined them on the low road. You might want to make a different choice next time, if you care.[/quote

+1. Exactly this. How sad that adults cannot recognize it and just step away from the keyboard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. I think what DC included Colgate not because of the social scene (Greek life, of which there is little interest) but size of school, what the campus looks like, class size, professors, etc.

I think the final list will morph as time goes on. We are not Va residents but W&M will be on the list or mid-sized schools. Maybe Tufts?

Very familiar with both Tufts and Vassar. Both are great schools but offer experiences that are quite different. Tufts is a small university. Intro classes at Tufts can be large (100-300 students), whereas at Vassar they are all under 20 or 30. First-year students at Tufts are more likely to interact with a TA than with a professor. At Vassar students interact with the professor from the get-go and are more likely to get to know professors well over their four years there. Tufts only guarantees housing for two years, after that you are on your own. At Vassar, the vast majority of students live on campus. Not surprisingly, Vassar is a much closer-knit community.

Tufts has a wider range of course offerings (including engineering) and a larger pool of students among which to find friends. Tufts is an urban campus--Somerville (Davis Square) is buzzing; soon there will be a T stop on campus. Tufts over-enrolled last year and that has caused some problems (doubles becoming triples, some freshmen housed in a hotel, etc.), hopefully, they will do better at preventing this in the future.

Tufts has become a "hot" school. The acceptance rate last year was 11% IIRC. Much easier to get in ED than RD (as is often true).

"Mid-sized" is tricky. There are a ton of great mid-sized schools at the tippity top. And there are a range of Catholic options. But if you're looking for "mid-sized, secular, and accessible but strong," good luck. Add artsy and non-fratty, and it's a really small pool. Definitely keep W&M on that list!

I know your DD isn't looking for the Tailgate U experience, but an honors college/program at a UMN, UWashington, UOregon, etc. might actually be a better fit than the mythical mid-sized university. She'd find her people, no doubt.

Funny you should say it that way (“mythical mid-sized”) because after searching around, she declared it a unicorn other than W&M and Tufts, or schools that are too much of a reach. She is really only looking as an exercise because the counselor said to. She is pretty set on a smaller place. I’ll mention the honors programs at the state schools and ask her to mention to her counselor. I was tinkering around online and some of them do look great. I think she might be overwhelmed by the sheer campus sizes and throngs of people. I want her to keep her options open and to keep exploring. Her counselor is doing some of this, but we don’t have direct contact with him so I don’t really know how much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. I think what DC included Colgate not because of the social scene (Greek life, of which there is little interest) but size of school, what the campus looks like, class size, professors, etc.

I think the final list will morph as time goes on. We are not Va residents but W&M will be on the list or mid-sized schools. Maybe Tufts?

Very familiar with both Tufts and Vassar. Both are great schools but offer experiences that are quite different. Tufts is a small university. Intro classes at Tufts can be large (100-300 students), whereas at Vassar they are all under 20 or 30. First-year students at Tufts are more likely to interact with a TA than with a professor. At Vassar students interact with the professor from the get-go and are more likely to get to know professors well over their four years there. Tufts only guarantees housing for two years, after that you are on your own. At Vassar, the vast majority of students live on campus. Not surprisingly, Vassar is a much closer-knit community.

Tufts has a wider range of course offerings (including engineering) and a larger pool of students among which to find friends. Tufts is an urban campus--Somerville (Davis Square) is buzzing; soon there will be a T stop on campus. Tufts over-enrolled last year and that has caused some problems (doubles becoming triples, some freshmen housed in a hotel, etc.), hopefully, they will do better at preventing this in the future.

Tufts has become a "hot" school. The acceptance rate last year was 11% IIRC. Much easier to get in ED than RD (as is often true).

"Mid-sized" is tricky. There are a ton of great mid-sized schools at the tippity top. And there are a range of Catholic options. But if you're looking for "mid-sized, secular, and accessible but strong," good luck. Add artsy and non-fratty, and it's a really small pool. Definitely keep W&M on that list!

I know your DD isn't looking for the Tailgate U experience, but an honors college/program at a UMN, UWashington, UOregon, etc. might actually be a better fit than the mythical mid-sized university. She'd find her people, no doubt.

Funny you should say it that way (“mythical mid-sized”) because after searching around, she declared it a unicorn other than W&M and Tufts, or schools that are too much of a reach. She is really only looking as an exercise because the counselor said to. She is pretty set on a smaller place. I’ll mention the honors programs at the state schools and ask her to mention to her counselor. I was tinkering around online and some of them do look great. I think she might be overwhelmed by the sheer campus sizes and throngs of people. I want her to keep her options open and to keep exploring. Her counselor is doing some of this, but we don’t have direct contact with him so I don’t really know how much.

Wake Forest is about 1250 a class undergrad. Just a bit smaller than W&M.

[Anonymous]

My niece attends Vassar and is a senior this year. She describes students as fitting into one of two categories - sporty or quirky. She's enjoyed her time there immensely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really? Not Middlebury or Dartmouth?

I would think they are significantly more difficult to get into than Vassar.

OP's kid seems to be all over the map re college personalities. Colgate and Vassar are quite different.

It did occur to me that a school that can be described as a marriage of Colgate and Vassar is Kenyon, which can possibly be treated as a safety or a more likely admit.

DC1 is at Oberlin, and Vassar was the school we visited that similar— except with uniform architecture. Oberlin is more of a hodgepodge. Wesleyan also has a lot of overlap with Vassar. Going a step down rigor wise, St. Olaf has a lot in common with Vassar.

I currently attend Oberlin but I was considering Vassar as well once my acceptances came in. I never got a chance to visit but it sounds like a beautiful campus with a diverse and unique student body!

[Anonymous]

Ugh, my SIL went to Vassar and she is the most insufferable woke lesbian I've ever met.