These are among my top options in my RD offers. I am interested in psychology, but I am doubtful about going into a career in psychology, and I’m not sure whether I will be going to graduate school (i.e. don’t have much of an idea for anything).
New here, not sure about the rules. If I said anything stupid please be tolerant. Thanks.
Even if you do not intend on graduate school or a career in psychology, you may still want to study in a department that offers instruction (either through full courses or course elements) in the major subfields of modern psychology: clinical, cognitive, developmental, social, personality, physiological/biological, educational and sensory. Vassar might be your best bet for this, and would offer you an intellectual environment in general, though consider other factors of importance to you as well.
Thank you for replying.
And also I forgot to say, I’m not confident that I would be sticking with psychology in college either.
Thank you for replying.
And also I forgot to say, I’m not confident that I would be sticking with psychology in college either.
You might want to pick your favorite from the two NESCACs, which are similar in some ways, and then compare that school to Vassar in order to make your final choice.
You know…I was struck by the original post by thinking “isn’t that what college is all about…figuring out what interests you”?
Pick the school where you feel like you belong. They’re all great schools…pick the one you want to spend 4 years. The academics will work themselves out.
Three amazing choices! Congratulations!
These three schools are more similar than different, in that each is a top small liberal arts college with the associated features: tight campus community, small classes, great research opportunities with professsors, interactions with professors out of class, etc. In addition, each has a very beautiful campus, and none has fraternities or sororities.
Here are some strengths of each:
Bowdoin: best college town of the three, polar bear mascot, its coastal Maine setting is great if you like proximity to both ocean and mountains, most selective of the three
Middlebury: campus of breathtaking beauty surrounded by mountains, best buildings/facilities of the three, world famous for language study
Vassar: great theatre opportunities for both viewing and participation and famous alumni in this field, the only of the three to be originally female resulting in a legacy of gender equity, a decidedly liberal bent, the least isolated of the three colleges in that is has the shortest journey to a world-class city (NYC) but still far enough away that most would only rarely visit the city on a weekend, gorgeous library and campus
I know two former psychology majors from Vassar. One is a clinical psychologist and the other is a college professor of psychology. Both loved the department at Vassar.
Really, you can’t go wrong here. Pick by “feel.” Which do you just plain like the most? If unsure, visit each if you can. If you cannot visit, read a bunch of college guides and online sites and maybe ask admissions if you can speak with a current student.
Congratulations on having incredible options.
Vibe-wise, Vassar is probably the odd one out. If you can revisit, do. Pick the one where you feel most comfortable. You can’t go wrong academically at any.
Yes probably so. But it’s easy to feel insecure surrounded by people seeming to know their path for life as HS seniors
Thank you! I feel very fortunate for having such nice choices. I will try to research more.
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These were all on DD’s list. All GREAT schools. Congratulations! you cannot go wrong. Don’t worry about uncertainty. Even your peers who “know” what they will be studying may very well change their minds. It’s a wonderful journey and these liberal arts schools are fabulous laboratories for discovery.
FWIW since I’ve been on all the campus’s:
Bowdoin has the quintessential college town right adjacent to campus.
Middlebury is also idyllic with proximity to mountains.
Vassar’s town, Poughkeepsie, doesn’t hold a candle to either.
Do you have a prefer mountains? Ocean? Do you anticipate staying on campus? Vassar is a gorgeous arboretum.
Vassar doesn’t have language tables or interest housing. They don’t even group housing by year. They resist self segregation by interest. This appealed to DD and seemed a novel approach; most schools we visited touted grouping by interest.
Good luck - well done!
@Cangeroo Great choices. Congratulations! A distinguishing difference among the three is that Vassar has a flexible curriculum.
https://admissions.vassar.edu/aap/docs/faq.pdf
OP: You have not shared enough information about your likes & dislikes to enable one to offer appropriate recommendations.
Choose Bowdoin!!! #goubears
Brunswick is a cute little town, close to Portland, and you can get to Boston fairly quickly if you want. Nice, down-to-earth and wicked smart students. Best food and dorms out of the three. Midd is in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know much about Vassar though.
While I agree with @sciencenerd123 that Bowdoin is in a cute town and a great location, I wouldn’t say Midd is in the middle of nowhere. While the town is small it is quintessential New England cute and Midd is also close to Burlington, a great college town. Now there are other schools truly in the middle of no where, but Midd isn’t one of them.
I would agree with doing research on your own. If you can visit the schools that would be best, if not there are other things you can do including (but not limited to):
–Get your hands on some good college guide books (ex. Fiske, Insiders Guide, Princeton Review) and read up on each school.
–Spend time looking at each school’s website. Some specific things you can look at include location, M/F ratio, activities/clubs on campus, courses in area of interest etc.
–Many colleges have their newspaper online – search them out and read them to get a flavor for what is going on at the colleges.
–Rea the school specific pages on CC.
Academically the schools are all excellent. Assuming they are equally affordable, choose the one that is the best fit for you.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!