Hi! I’m a senior in high school, and I’m trying to pick a college to ED at. I love Bryn Mawr, but I’m worried about Jewish life and that it’ll be too quiet, so I’m trying to explore other options too. I’m considering Vassar but I’m a little worried it’s too hippie-like, without enough of an academic feel? Also, I don’t know how I feel about co ed vs womens college. So could anyone give me some pros and cons of either school? Thanks!
Have you talked to someone at the Bryn Mawr Hillel? At both Bryn Mawr and Haverford, its Bi-College partner, a sizable percentage of the population is jewish. I’m sure you could be active in the Hillel on both campuses.
Both great schools, no bad choice here. As a BMC alum, who looked at Vassar for my son, let me share a few thoughts.
The two campuses have a lot in common, both are “enclosed,” beautiful campuses, separate from the town but accessible. BMC does have the advantage of being close to a nicer town (I never thought Poughkeepsie was that bad, but Bryn Mawr is a lot nicer) and BMC is MUCH closer to city life, with a short train ride into Philly. The culture of both schools are very similar – intellectual, independent folks.
Personally, I appreciated that BMC offers the best of both worlds – an institutional and administrative focus on women’s education, with the opportunity for co-ed academic experience and as co-ed a social experience as you want.
Can you talk with folks at Hillel on both campuses? I would imagine an email to both groups asking to talk with someone about Jewish life on campus would get you in touch with people happy to share their experiences and thoughts. Are there any “google hangouts” offered by either school’s admissions, where you could ask questions about Jewish life on campus?
I don’t know how money fits in, but BMC does offer merit money, and Vassar does not, which can be important for full-pay famliies.
If you like the idea of a women’s college but aren’t totally sold, and would like robust Jewish life, consider Barnard! It’s a women’s college but is closely affiliated with (and right across the street from) Columbia, and Columbia and Barnard have a really strong Jewish life with a beautiful center (Kraft Center) for their Hillel.
Scripps might be another good suggestion - the Claremont Colleges create a co-ed shared campus feel while you still have women’s education, and there is a Hillel shared amongst the Claremont Colleges.
Vassar does have a pretty liberal bent, but it’s not quite “hippie-like”. It is one of the best colleges in the country, so it has a pretty strong academic bent, although you’d have to visit to see if the nuances match what you like.
And of course, there’s Brandeis. About half the students at Brandeis are Jewish, so it has a pretty strong Jewish life, but it’s also very academic.
I went to Williams. My husband went to Vassar. From all my discussions through the years with my husband and his friends from college, as well as with another relative who graduated from Vassar just a couple of years ago, it appears Vassar is every bit as intellectually rigorous and students engage just as much in intellectual conversations in the dorms and dining halls at Vassar as they do at Williams. A lot! Vassar will provide a wonderfully stimulating learning environment. I do not know Bryn Mawr as well, but I imagine it would be similar.
Yes, Bryn Mawr attracts a intellectually engaged student body as well. Honestly, I think you can find that aspect at all the top 20 LACs, and probably more.
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Thanks everyone!
Vassar isn’t even close to hippie! Not by a long shot.
It’s very academic!
But not competitive, similar to Bryn Mawr that way. It’s also larger than Bryn Mawr, if you’r elooking at just the BMC campus by itself. Counting the BMC Haverford and Swarthmore consortium, the total campus acreage and population to my mind is plenty large.