My daughter has been accepted to both Colgate and Vassar. She loves both campuses and can see herself happy at both colleges.
She wants to be premed and wants to attend a college where there is no grade deflation, there are no “weed out” courses, and it is relatively easy to get an A if one works hard.
Which college is “easier” for a premed student?
The college at which your daughter is more comfortable should be easier for pre-med.
While both are situated on beautiful campus grounds, the campus culture at each school is quite different. Colgate is preppy & fratty & accepts moderate to conservative attitudes while Vassar College is quite liberal and does not have Greek social life. The two schools are as different as night & day with respect to campus culture.
Can’t speak to Vassar because we only went for a tour/info session. D attends Colgate and I really wouldn’t call it easy. D graduated well within the top 10% of her HS class, got 5’s on all 6 AP tests and says she has never had to work as hard as she does at Colgate. A typical semester is 4 courses and she has had several profs so far who expect 3 hours of work per day (not just on the days class meets). One of her core classes this semester has 6 or 7 books and the usual assignment is 300 pages 3x/week. First test of the semester had a class average of 57. Others may have a different experience but this is typical for D and her friends.
M D at Vassar also has 4 classes per semester and a heavy workload (although not in premed courses). I agree with the comment above that the academics would be fairly similar at both schools, and your D should choose the school where she would be more comfortable and happy. Good luck!
Both are excellent and comparable small colleges!
Neither will be an “easy A” type of place. She will need to work very hard in both settings. But both also offer support as well as very accessible professors.
The biggest difference will be cultural. Colgate has Division One athletics and fraternities. Vassar does not have either a football team or fraternities, it has Division Three sports, and it is known for its excellence in theatre.
Also, Colgate has some classes that students take in common, whereas Vassar’s curriculum is on the more “open” end of the spectrum, although there are some requirements (like language).
Pick the environment in which she feels more comfortable and in which she is therefore more likely to thrive. Both are excellent choices.
If your daughter might be leaning toward Colgate, then this site will be reassuring:
Chose based on “fit”: as has been explained above, both have a very different vibe/campus culture.
Where would she be the most comfortable?
Also, premed is just an intention, not a major. What is she thinking of majoring in?