<p>I would love for you to look at my past thread and evaluate my chances at getting in. I am planning on applying EDI, but I am worried that my lack of highschool opportunities has caused me to appear pretty dry. Please let me know what you think or how to improve! Appreciate it :)</p>
<p>Haha A bit of help?
I can’t come to a conclusion about which meal plan I’ll need.
I’m not a heavy eater but I’m a swimmer so I tend to eat my fair share.
Any tips? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I am an international student and I’m very interested in Vassar
Can anyone enlighten me about the type of student Vassar attracts? The qualities embodied by the Vassar student body? And what is unique about this college?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance</p>
<p>For meal plans, I would suggest enhanced. I don’t do any sports, but as a big eater it’s exactly what I need. Most people get the standard plan and have some meal swipes left over (one meal at the dining hall), so even if you don’t do enhanced you can use your friends’ swipes and they won’t care at all, they’ll throw them out otherwise. I’d say for the first semester, try enhanced to see how it is. Then change from there as you see fit. Hope to see you around campus =)</p>
<p>Questions about the typical student at any college are difficult because the range of personalities and student backgrounds varies so much. Overall though, I’d say <em>everyone</em> who comes to Vassar is intellectually curious, and usually about several fields. I haven’t met anyone I wouldn’t call smart in some sense, often in surprising ways. Unique things are hard to pin point because I don’t know every college out there, but there’s a lot of unusual things that I probably don’t even know are unusual because I’m so used to them. For one thing, undergraduate research is huge. Also, professor-student relationships can get very close, even freshman year I spend easily 45 minutes in office hours talking about classes, world events, or just life in general whenever I visit a professor or advisor of mine. They can give you a lot of great advice that you won’t find elsewhere. Another thing is just the campus culture, which is what originally drew me to the school; there’s a great balance between academics and activities outside of class. Most people aren’t dying of work 7 days a week, there’s always enough time left to spend with friends and maintain your sanity. The teaching is excellent so you don’t necessarily need to study as much as some university students because you get more out of your class time, especially since those small questions you spend hours racking your brain over after class you can just ask in class because you’ll only have 14 students in a class on average. I could go on forever <_< message me if you have any other questions, or find me on fb</p>
<p>Hmm thanks a lot KGB1337
Since I am an international I am looking for schools that gives good aid plus has a relaxed diverse atmosphere and Vassar seems to fit the bill</p>
<p>BTW Another Question: How good is the Computer Sci Dept of Vassar?</p>
<p>No problem. Our computer science dept is excellent, although definitely on the theoretical side. It will help to have some experience with programming, but at the beginning they won’t emphasize programming languages so much as laying a strong theoretical foundation for the higher level courses. Double majoring in comp sci and cognitive science is relatively common, or at least taking classes in the other if majoring in one of them. The courses related to artificial intelligence are very strong and as the comp sci major trains you to think creatively it’s great for going into work on new things in the field. Recently, Watson (the robot who competed on Jeopardy), was a big center of attention for the dept as several profs (past and current) along with ex-students (two past Vassar comp sci/cog sci double majors were essentially leading of the project) were spearheading the whole project. As Watson was an IBM project, it should be mentioned that IBM was traditionally pumped a lot of money into Vassar’s comp sci dept as there used to be a massive IBM office in Poughkeepsie with 50,000 employees up until the 80s, but the strong connections stay until this day and many Vassar students get internships there.</p>
<p>How important are SAT IIs? And on another note…how strong is the arts program?</p>
<p>SAT IIs are definitely important, possibly moreso than your SAT I. I don’t remember if we ask for 2 or 3 SAT IIs, but if you have a 3rd score and it’s good, it definitely won’t hurt to send it.
As for arts, they’re extremely strong. I’m not sure which arts you’re specifically talking about (fine arts, drama, film, etc.), but all of those are excellent and are the 2nd most popular grouping of majors on campus after the social sciences.</p>
<p>What is the athletic culture like? Is it on the rise? Also, how are facilities?</p>
<p>The athletic culture is surprisingly similar to many larger schools, although sporting events aren’t nearly as important on campus. In terms of culture within the teams, athletes get very close and train intensely when not studying. We may be division III, but it still takes up a lot of time to participate in sports. Apparently though, the athletes are still somewhat different from ones at, say, Michigan or Ohio State. I think a lot of that may be because we don’t recruit and not everyone came from a sports culture back home. Personally, I don’t know much on the subject =</p>
<p>Hi, I’m planning to major in English, and I was wondering how strong the English program is at Vassar.
Also, how easy/difficult is it to change majors?
Thanks in advance :)</p>
<p>It’s pretty easy to change majors. I have a friend who declared Drama, then dropped it in favor of Urban Studies the next week!</p>
<p>The English department is fantastic, from what I hear, and really brilliant professors. Coming in as a freshman, you’re required to take Freshman Writing Seminars, courses geared specifically to prepare you for writing at a college level. This fall, the English department has a wide variety of FWSs to choose from, so I’d suggest picking one of those so you can get a feel for the department!</p>
<p>A question:</p>
<p>I notice that some sports classes are available for credit, such as weight training. (1/2 course credit). Nothing is said about prerequisites or any other requirements to get into these. Can you just sign up for one of these as if it were an actual academic subject, or (a) is there a catch? or (b) am I just being a snob, and weight training, beginning volleyball, etc. <em>are</em> actually academic subjects?</p>
<p>TO DMelanogaster, I believe that you can sign up for these like the academic classes. The only limitation that I am aware of is that the maximum you can take is 2 credits that will count toward your 34 credits for graduation. Any credits beyond this will not count. The exceptions to this rule are 1 credit courses. (Read the Physical Education section of the Freshman Handbook or talk to your Advisor to learn more.)</p>
<p>thanks! much appreciated. And is another, more specialized, question: I see that you have to audition to take piano lessons. Some people are allowed to take lessons for credit (1/2 per semester) and some are not. What determines this? How well you play?</p>
<p>How about if you want to switch to piano so your audition might not be on a semi-professional level but you declare yourself a music major?</p>
<p>thank you!</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me about the Political Science and Greek & Roman Studies programs? I’ve looked at both pages on the Vassar website and the courses seem pretty interesting, but I’m not sure how strong the programs are as a whole or what kind of reputation they have within the Vassar community. Are there a lot of students within the majors (specifically for G&RS… I’m going to guess Political Science is usually a pretty popular major wherever you look)? Any information at all would be greatly appreciated!</p>
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<p>Donald Foster certainly is exceptional.</p>
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<p>[News</a> from The Associated Press](<a href=“http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_BIBLE_ALGORITHM?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-06-29-12-46-09]News”>http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_BIBLE_ALGORITHM?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-06-29-12-46-09)</p>
<p>The political science dept is amazingly strong, I hear rave reviews about professors from it all the time. It’s one of the most popular majors, and a tough one, employers know it as being exceptionally strong/one of the best in the country. Greek and Roman Studies is a very tight-knit department and everyone I know who’s taken a class in it loves it. A friend of mine took one class, tried another, and is now going to have it be his 2nd major. It’s also very strong and has a long tradition of being so.</p>
<p>Can anyone answer what the finaid is like for returning students? As an entering freshman, my family was pretty dependent on Vassar finaid in order for me to attend. Not so much so as our contribution is still in the 27-30K range, but we had to appeal once to get down to that from an original 40K. Can I expect pretty much the same contribution next year? A little more is probably ok but too much more and I might have to undergo drastic measures like dropping out because it’s too expensive. Thanks!</p>
<p>Sent from my SPH-D700 using CC App</p>
<p>Thank you so much KGB1337! That’s so great to hear.</p>
<p>Another quick question… what exactly is the surrounding area like? I’ve looked around online and have heard both good and things about it. Are there a lot of shops/restaurants/etc within walking distance? How secluded is the campus from the rest of Poughkeepsie? Are there any general safety issues with the surrounding area? Thanks!</p>