The primary mission of Vassar College, to furnish “the means of a thorough, well-proportioned, and liberal education,”1 was articulated in The First Annual Catalogue and has remained constant throughout its history. Founded in 1861 to provide young women an education equal to that once available only to young men, the college has since 1969 opened its doors to both women and men on terms of equality. Encouragement of excellence and respect for diversity are hallmarks of Vassar’s character as an institution. The independence of mind and the diverse intellectual interests of students are fostered by providing them a range of ways to meet our curricular expectations. The structure of the residential experience, in which students in all four classes live in the residence halls, obliges students to master the art of living cooperatively in a diverse community. Diversity of perspective is honored as well in the college’s system of shared governance among all the constituencies of the institution.
< CollapseVassar College is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college situated in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, USA. Founded as a women's college in 1861, it became coeducational in 1969. It is ranked #11 among liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report.
Originally a women's college, Vassar is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States. It was founded by its namesake, brewer Matthew Vassar, in 1861 in the Hudson Valley, about 70 mi (115 km) north of New York City. The first person appointed to the Vassar faculty was the astronomer Maria Mitchell, in 1865. Vassar adopted coeducation in 1969 after declining an offer to merge with Yale University. However, immediately following World War II, Vassar accepted a very small number of male students on the G.I. Bill. Because Vassar's charter prohibited male matriculants, the graduates were given diplomas via the University of the State of New York. These were reissued under the Vassar title after the school formally became co-ed.
Vassar's campus, also an arboretum, is 1,000 acres (4 km²) marked by period and modern buildings. The great majority of students live on campus. The renovated library has unusually large holdings for a college of its size. It includes special collections of Albert Einstein, Mary McCarthy, and Elizabeth Bishop.
In its early years, Vassar was associated with the social elite of the Protestant establishment. E. Digby Baltzell writes that "upper-class WASP families ... educated their children at ... colleges such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Vassar, and Smith among other elite colleges." Before becoming President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a Trustee.
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| Percent of Students International: | 5% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 91% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | No |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Basketball (Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association) Baseball (Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association) Track (Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Published Tuition and Fees: |
$ 33,800 | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 33,310 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 490 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 4,165 | 10% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 1,917 | 13% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 17,956 | 47% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 3,057 | 43% | |
Any Aid: |
57% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 29% (Most Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 93% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 660, Math: 650 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 740, Math: 720 |
| Application Fee: | $ 60.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Required |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Recommended |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
College Advice
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I've been accepted at Vassar College. What would it take for a school like them to withdraw their acceptance of me? I'm talking about second semester grades. How bad would I have to do to not go to college next year?
I'm talking about possibly blowing an AP class in the last quarter. Maybe getting a C.
19 months ago
Best Answer
I don't think getting a C in an AP class would get you kicked out. In my senior year, although my grades were maintained, I scored a 3 on my AP calculus and chemistry tests. Cornell University still took me in. I just didn't get any AP credit for Chemistry, and only a semester for calculus.
Of course, the fact that I had scored so low was a good predictor of the fact that I was not prepared to handle an Ivy league school at that point, and I really got my butt kicked in all of my classes there.
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Best Answer
Vassar is slightly more prestigious, and the academic standards are slightly more rigorous, if that makes any difference to you.
Tufts has more required courses than Vassar does (as in course distribution). Tufts has more politically conservative students on campus than Vassar does. Tufts has more men on campus than Vassar does (but not by all that much, really). Tufts has more sports than Vassar does. Vassar has slightly more international students than Tufts does. Vassar is more "artsy" than Tufts, Tufts is more "preppy" than Vassar.
Both are very good schools. Both have very good academic programs in the humanities, social sciences`and hard sciences. In order to make a good decision, you should really visit both campuses and see which feels more comfortable to you.
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I'm currently a freshmen at the University of Vermont. I made a stupid mistake and got an "F" in a class last semester, but am on my way to getting an A in it this semester. Other than that, I recieved an A+, A, A-, and B-. This semester I'm working very heard to achieve all As.
I'm involved in 3 different activities on campus and hold a high position in one of them.
My dream school is VASSAR! I got rejected when I applied last year, though I seriously think that I ALMOST got in because the Dean of Students called my guidance counselor for a specific score on my ACTs. That could've been because he wouldn't review my application without it, or it was a deciding factor. Obviously, I didn't do so well on the exam.
I realize that your highschool record is considered and that the transfer pool is even more competitive than the regular one. What do you think? :)
22 months ago
Best Answer
good luck. vassar is impossible to get into. i really wanted to go there, and even had legacy, but was rejected after being deferred early. i got into schools of the same caliber, just nor vassar. also, they accept very few transfers, sometimes even none. so i don't think your chances are high, especially because of that f. good luck, i hope you get in!
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Question:
How come Vassar College is so awesome?
29 months ago
Best Answer
Vassar is awesome for over 2650 reasons.
(2400 students and over 250 faculty members.)
And just to correct the misinformation provided by an answerer above, Vassar is amazingly diverse as compared to other highly selective liberal arts colleges in the US. Here is some information illustrating the diversity of the 652 members of the class of 2009:
"The class of 2009 comes to Poughkeepsie from over 500 high schools in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and 27 foreign countries. Students of color comprise twenty-four percent of the class, and fifty-two incoming freshmen are international students with either foreign or dual citizenship. Sixty-five members of the class are bilingual or speak English as a second language, and their languages include Bengali, Bulgarian, Cantonese, French, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, SiSwati, Spanish, Tagalog, Ukranian, Urdu, and Vietnamese."
In addition, "55% of Vassar students are awarded financial aid, and the college aims to meet the full need of all domestic matriculants."
In other words, students with greater financial need have an excellent chance of receiving full financial support at Vassar. This practice attracts great numbers of students who require scholarships and grants in order to afford an education. I was one of those students myself.
Source: http://admissions.vassar.edu/about_statistics.html
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im an actor, sort of film maker, a poet, a writer and a graphic web designer
32 months ago
Best Answer
Vassar's theatre and film department is absolutely fantastic. So is their English department. The creative writing courses are extremely hard to get into, though. You have to submit a portfolio, and the professors choose the students with the most talent.
Hampshire differs in that it is very small and self-directed. At Hampshire, you are often doing independent study rather than attending formal classes. It's very interdisciplinary, though.
If you would benefit from a bit more structure, choose Vassar. But keep in mind that at Vassar, you can also design your own major, and do independent studies as you choose.
I went to Vassar, and recommend it without reservation. It was the best decision I could have made.
Oh, and quite a few of my Vassar classmates from '84 and '85 are now respected actors and filmmakers.
Here's the last bit of advice you'll need: Check out
http://www.collegeconfidential.com
and search for both Vassar and Hampshire. You'll find great discussion groups for both, and lots of current students willing to give advice.
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34 months ago
Best Answer
Vassar is a nice college. They have a very nice dining hall and the classrooms are very clean and new-looking. The dorms have (at least the ones I stayed in) a bed, closet, part dresser and part vanity (mirror with a medicine cabinet), and a desk.
I don't know about the other colleges.
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