<p>He wants to choose between claremont mckenna and vassar, but can't make up his mind. Maybe some of the parents can help. This is what he wrote for me to post:</p>
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<p>I've narrowed down my choices to both these universities, and the main reasons why I want or don't want either are:</p>
<p>CMC advantages over Vassar:
Larger undergraduate student population
Better weather
The Ath
The consortium (I will be able to have a good education in whatever I major, even if the subject I want to major in is not great at CMC) (Also, because of the consortium, it is less of a bubble than vassar)</p>
<p>Vassar advantages over CMC:
Campus much nicer
Closer to my country (I'm international, so it'll be both cheaper to get to and from my country, and will be easier i.e. more convenient)
Has a relatively better reputation, as it seems many don't know CMC (yes, Vassar is also relatively unknown, compared to the ivies, but because it was an ivy league sister school it is more well known than CMC)
Closer to my school friends, who are all going to either boston, new york or pennsylvania</p>
<p>If parent is chipping in for cost, then tell student what parent can/will do financially.
Once that is done, I recommend parent advise that it is student’s decision.</p>
<p>oh of course it is our son’s choice. The reasons why he wants to attend the university are written by him not me. He posted this in another forum, but he asked for my help to post it here in the parents forum, to get different opinions.</p>
<p>Both are great schools. Terrific. Of course it is a tough choice.
My two cents worth: Vassar. The “close to other colleges, close to friends” type of logic appeals to me. It’s kind of nice to be close to Boston and New York.</p>
<p>There is no easy way to travel from Vassar to Boston on public transit or even by private car.</p>
<p>Yes, NYC is 1.5 hrs on the train. Although the New York personality is more interesting to be around than LA’s (just in my view), in your day in and day out life you are in Poughkeepsie.</p>
<p>At CMC you have LA and So Cal at your doorstep every day.</p>
<p>College should be about making a new set of friends. If you leave every weekend to see your HS friends, thats a bad sign about your college experience IMO. I’d rate that very low in importance.</p>
<p>CMC. I’m not a fan of spending 4 yrs at a small LAC in Poughkeepsie.</p>
<p>Although both schools have students from across the country and from foreign countries, I’d imagine that beneath its refined surface, Vassar has more of an edgy East Coast vibe, and CMC more of a mellow West Coast vibe. Not everybody is comfortable around a lot of people from the Northeast, who can seem rather blunt, gruff, aggressive, and harsh to the uninitiated. But you do get accustomed to it over time.</p>
<p>Vassar definitely has more name recognition. I would go with Vassar.</p>
<p>Vassar. Incredible small, liberal arts experience. Note that the male:female ratio is heavily skewed towards women. That changes the atmosphere at a college. I’m not saying it’s bad or good–that’s a matter of choice. Just be aware of it.</p>
<p>Not near so much as it used to be. I believe the Vassar class of '14 is 55 percent women; 45 percent men.
Williams, 53 percent women; 47 percent men. Middlebury 52/48.
A difference, but not significant.</p>
<p>I vote for CMC because I have experienced first-hand at Bryn Mawr just how valuable a consortium is when my own college starts to feel limiting.</p>
<p>If he does have an idea of what he wants to major in, and it’s better at Vassar, then Vassar may be the better choice. I wouldn’t count on taking most of my classes at a different Claremont college.</p>
<p>Not quite that close. It’s about 40 minutes from downtown LA by car, about an hour and a half from the beach, about an hour and a half from skiing. Actually, that doesn’t sound that bad…</p>
<p>In addition to the consortium, CMC offers easy access to a major metro area and all kinds of ethnic foods, shops and cultural experiences. While students are likely to spend most of their time on a consortium campus, access to a wide variety of city environments is easier than at Vassar. The student populations at the CMC schools is also likely to be more diverse than at Vassar.</p>
<p>I am very familiar with Vassar. It’s a great LAC and a beautiful campus…and it would be an advantage for your son to be closer to his friends attending school in the US…but it is somewhat “confining.” </p>
<p>I think LAC’s in consortium areas offer wonderful options for students who want and LAC, but think they may need more diverse options for student population, entertainment, course selection etc.</p>
<p>(*FYI…contrary to an earlier post on this thread, driving by private car to Boston is quite easy from Vassar…either via I-84 to Hartford, then north and east on Interstate highways…or on the Taconic State Parkway to the Mass Turnpike.)</p>
<p>It’s an hour into L.A. from CMC by train (and then once you get to L.A., how do you get around? It’s not like NYC where you can get virtually anywhere.) In either case is he likely to be spending much time in “the city”.</p>
<p>If he’s doing politics, CMC would likely be the better choice. If he’s doing anything to do with arts, Vassar hands down. The rest is a “pick-um” (weather could be the determining factor.)</p>
<p>For an international student, from our experience, having a reasonably high % of other international students is important. Furthermore, if your family has any friends or relatives in either Southern California OR New York area, I think this is a consideration as well. Presumably you are in Asia… having a child on the other side of the world is easier if there is family in driving distance…again, from personal experience.</p>
<p>If they were in Asia, CMC would be more convenient. I assume they are in Europe. In our visit to Vassar we found the town to be horrible, just disgusting, instantly deleted from the list.</p>