Thanks!
@ collegemom3717 “does D2 not care to do 60/hours a week?”
Right! D2 is a good student, but not as determined as D1. D2 loves competition and sports. She would swim for Vassar. She would want to balance academics, sports and social life. She would not spend 40 hours on homework every week. She would on an important week, but not every non-test week.
I had the sense that Vassar students are a bit stressed, which is good, but not distressed, which is bad. It seems like there is a decent balance from what I can tell.
Don’t you love how much sisters can vary, @much2learn? I believe the Vassar swim team is a very happy gang.
As for the work, mine works a lot, but she enjoys most of it so much that (except for temporary stresses, like exams) she doesn’t feel overworked. And as many posters have noted, the students are collaborative with each other academically: it is a place where people (mostly!) enjoy their studies, not suffer through them.
The Vassar swim team is a really awesome group and very supportive of each other. We have attended many swim meets and at championships they were the only school who ‘made a hand tent’ honoring their seniors when they were parading out for the senior recognition. The Vassar team also has between 5-7 singers who are swimmers that sing a four part harmony traditional version of the National Anthem at every home meet. It is so ‘Vassar’. If you like that, you will like Vassar for sure! Swimming does take time, but they all seem to balance it well and make it work.
Do students bring refrigerators? If in a double or a triple, is there room for more than one refrigerator? What’s a typical scenario with regard to refrigerators? Thanks.
- Yep.
- It depends (some help, eh?), but in Main, only one per room/suite is allowed. (Not sure why you’d want more, though).
- It seems to be one of the more important points of discussion between new roommates during the summer.
Helpful link: http://residentiallife.vassar.edu/first-year/
Which dorms have Wellness floors? What is life like on a Wellness floor? Is it boring?
It’s just a floor (or a section) dedicated to substance free and no loud noise. It’s ok to socialize and chat and have good time!! It’s not like you are segregated by locked gates. You can freely go in and out of your hall and visit different floor if you want to party with the loud bunch!
Thanks HiToWaMom, I figured that, sounds much like the quiet, substance free floors at my alma mater. I was mostly curious to know if every dorm has a Wellness floor, or if it’s only some of them, and if so, which ones…
I’m just curious because it sounds like the perfect choice for my D should she be lucky enough to get into Vassar next year. She’s a junior now.
I think (not 100% sure) every dorm has wellness corridors. Good luck to your D!
except for Strong (all female) you don’t get to choose your house for your first year, but if you put down that you want a wellness hall you are pretty certain to get it. As HiToWaMom says, the Wellness halls are not segregated, and there is a lot of cross-socializing with people on other floors/halls.
Our D attended the Focus on Vassar weekender a few weeks ago and stayed on a Wellness floor. She loved it and will ask to be placed on one for the fall. She met students that were" nerdy and cool." She went to other floors and hug out with high schoolers and current students. She isn’t into drugs or alcohol by choice, but doesn’t judge others for their choices. She liked the fact that the Wellness floor didn’t smell like weed. I can’t comment on whether she is exaggerating this point or not.
What is the experience of science majors at Vassar?
DD2 is currently thinking about majoring in engineer, but Vassar does not have that so she might major in Chemistry with a math minor, or something like that. I see that there is a new Science building under construction, so it looks like they are investing in that area. Does anyone know whether the Chemistry department will be housed in that building, or how the Chemistry major experience is in general?
Chemistry is scheduled to move to the new ‘Bridge’ building this winter.
Don’t know any chem majors but do know physics & math majors, all of whom are very happy with their experience so far (end of 2nd year). I know that the college gives great support- my D2 is doing physics and got an URSI research grant for summer after 1st year, was sent to the national conference (paid by the school) where their work was presented, and already has a publication in a peer-reviewed journal . She is spending this summer at an REU doing (paid) physics research at UChicago. She is getting great grad school advice as well.
The feedback on the 3+2 with Dartmouth (D2 looked at doing it, but decided not to, though she may do engineering in grad school) is that there is a bit of having to prove yourself with the Dartmouth boys in the program when you first arrive (esp if you are female)- but that the profs are great and the experience is good overall.
S is a bio major but has really enjoyed his chem profs and classes (but says he’ll miss the “mad scientist” feel of the old chem labs). Vassar is indeed investing heavily in the sciences. In addition to adding the new Bridge Building, the bio and physics buildings also just received significant renovations. Like collegemom’s D, S is also spending this summer doing a paid REU, but at a UCalifornia, where he was told by the program’s director that he was picked over the other applicants specifically because of Vassar’s reputation.
Back with more questions! Talked with DD2 this morning, about her likes and concerns related to her top three schools. Related to Vassar, she said. She loved the Coach, students and curriculum. Her concerns were:
1.Concerned that outside of her sport, there isn’t much to do because there is no Greek life, Poughkeepsie looked boring, and the campus is small. She is wondering what else students do for fun.
- Also, her friends told her that Vassar is very liberal. We are progressive, but she doesn't smoke, or drink (even when we try to give her a drink) and she does eat meat. She is concerned that it is so liberal that all of the dorms will be generally covered in a grey haze of second-hand pot smoke, and that she won't be able to get a chicken sandwich or eat a piece of bacon without being harrassed and called a murderer by other students.
I didn’t comment because I haven’t been to Vassar, but I am hoping someone can tell me that these aren’t valid concern?
LOL- no. My meat-eating, teetotal D confirms that none of those pieces are true! The 'liberal’ness is more political and very much of a live-and-let-live variety.
However: if your D is attracted to the idea of Greek life, she may very well not enjoy the social life at Vassar. Poughkeepsie is indeed boring, but my D only goes into NY (a city she enjoys & comfortable in) a couple times a year- b/c there is so much to do on campus. Same reason she is not doing study abroad- she doesn’t want to miss all that is going on. BUT- she is not your D, and that’s what matters. There is a lot to do- including corners of the campus with drinking/partying- but Vassar is (imo) a ‘fit’ school. Have her go, spend the night on campus and sit in on a class. Remind her that the specific people she stays with may not be her cup of tea (the place is not homogenous), but to look for how the place ‘feels’ to her.
@collegemom3717 Thanks college mom. Yes, exactly. DD2 is the live-and-let live variety progressive.
I didn’t think that’s what was meant by “very liberal,” but I thought I better ask before I told her that. Yes, exactly. DD2 is the live-and-let live variety progressive. I am assuming that smoking and drinking in the dorms is not allowed? At least not openly?
I think that she is less concerned about greek life per se, and more concerned about having friends, fun, and social activities outside of her sport. In high school, she has been very sociable with a fairly large friend group that does fun things on evenings and weekends. I think she is wondering whether she will be able to establish a similar situation at Vassar. How does your D like the social life? Can you tell me more about “There is a lot to do?”
@Much2learn, I don’t know how much you can infer from one student to another: the social life suits D2 to a T- but it would not suit D1 at all! Also, the things I know about are the things my one is interested in- but I know that there are a lot of things that she pays no attention to, b/c she isn’t interested in them. I do know that they sometimes use the Zip cars (fantastic invention- no need to keep a car on campus herself) to go on outings- movies, Target runs, an apple-picking place, etc. I know that there are a lot of performance-based things on campus, and the usual run of college clubs / societies. I know that she (uncharacteristically) enjoys the intra-house competitions. But again- your D may not, or may like totally different things. Really, book her in for an overnight, so she can get an idea for herself.
No, drinking and smoking (of anything) are not allowed in the dorms, and yes, all happen on campus. However, the school seems to thread a good balance between being realistic and keeping a focus on being healthy and responsible.
Since when “liberal” means pot-smoking vegitarians??? My D is a non-smoking meat-eating Junior at Vassar. She cannot choose which event to go to on the weekend because there are just so much!