We are at the beginning stages of researching Vassar for our conservative, academically and artistically gifted sophomore. Everything sounded GREAT at Vassar until we read that the use of drugs, especially mj, is very high and the penalties low. Comments on the site, which rhymes with howler, were 1 to 5 years old, and resulted in a D grade. With the school size being smaller, we see this as a concern. What do current students think?
My son and I visited five times; and yes we are conservative. Never smelled anything odd. His sleepover with the team involved beer but that is part of our ethnic heritage. He chose another liberal arts but I would be content if our baby went to Vassar. Great Coach!
I reflect back 35 years ago and on my older boys’ current situations and i must be emphatic . Cocaine is everywhere. My kids share all the details of their encounters. One boy quit his sport at a nice Catholic school because of drugs. Glad he fessed up. I would be most concerned about the big universities because the market is bigger.
I don’t attend Vassar, nor does my child, but we have researched it and my D is not interesting in partying at college. From what I have read on what I consider reliable sites, the party scene is not out of control at Vassar. No Greek life probably helps in that regard. I would be more concerned about politics if your child is conservative. It’s a pretty liberal place.
Don’t know what your parameters are with respect to region and price, but St. Olaf might be worth a look.
S is an artsy science nerd currently at - and loving - Vassar. Like Burgermeister, I’ve been to the campus a few times and never smelled anything “odd.” FWIW, Vassar is now officially a smoke (of any type) free campus (announced here in typical Vassar fashion: https://youtu.be/Nahiqzi9ykM ) - not sure how that’s working out for them, though. He actually chose Vassar over a college probably more conservative than St Olaf after an overnight confirmed that the party scene was pretty mellow. Whenever asked about Vassar’s liberal reputation, he says that there is a “strong social justice current” the runs through quite a bit of the student body, but would also tell you (along with many others on CC) that you really need to visit Vassar during the school year to figure out whether that’s an issue.
I can’t think of a liberal arts school in the northeast where you won’t find marijuana. That being said, at any your child can find students who don’t partake. Given that legalization of weed is likely to take place at more and more states across the country in the coming years, its something your child should get used to and something that shouldn’t be a decision in choosing a school, IMHO.
Not sure how conservative your son is, but my bigger concern for your son is making sure he’d feel comfortable with the fairly liberal lean of Vassar.
Agreeing with all of the above. D2 is a junior at Vassar and is a non-smoker (of anything) and non-party-er. Has a great group of similarly minded friends. Note that every dorm has at least one wellness floor (D2s dorm has several), and they are not at all isolated socially.
Thank you so much for your replies! It’s wonderful to have a second child - with the first, I take these sites as law, and with the second…I just ask. Thank you for the suggestion of St. Olaf - I will look at that one! One thing that I did right with the older is starting very young - DD is only a rising sophomore. That way, the exploration phase can be a little more relaxed! Right now, Vassar, Brown, and Carnegie Mellon (to a lesser degree because of their focus on non-representational art) are her favorites, but those are reaches to any student. Planning a trip back East to explore next summer! otisp, I’m sending you a pm - your S sounds like my D!
I’ve seen that comment about marijuana on the “howler” site and always thought it was odd. As others say, marijuana is a part of campus life at many schools, but to say that it is somehow characteristic of the life at Vassar - more than at peer schools - seems wrong to me and isn’t helping students who are relying on such sources to choose their colleges. As always, best advice is to visit and see for yourself.
@shoot4moon - For what it’s worth, my daughter is a freshman at Vassar this year, and she has seen someone use what she believed to be MJ just once so far, but alcohol is much more used. The school DOES have a reputation of looking the other way on such things, but new this year is the campus is smoke free (that means tobacco, but obviously anything else too). Also, your daughter could decide to live on a “wellness” floor which is for students who don’t want to be involved in any drug or alcohol use (at least not on their floor), and if she is a bit conservative, she might want to consider staying in the all-women’s dorm (Strong) as the others are co-ed complete with gender neutral bathrooms. There are conservative students who attend Vassar, but do know that it is overwhelmingly a very liberal place…just in case that would matter to your daughter…for some it doesn’t matter at all. Good luck in the search!
EDIT: I see someone already mentioned the smoke-free thing. Missed that the first time. Well, this is just confirmation that it is true!
@stepay,thank you! She is only a sophomore, but I think the idea of gender neutral bathrooms would not fly with her at this point. We’ll see if she changes her tune. I stayed in a women’s dorm my freshman year (back when we we had typewriters and stone tablets) and I really liked it. I did coed suite style after that, which was fine with me. The idea of gender neutral bathrooms is very unappealing to me (really? I want a guy to be there when I get out of the shower? Thanks but no thanks! There’s something to be said for the old fashioned but good idea of preserving the mystery!) but of course I would embrace whatever she wants.
as an fyi on the gender neutral bathrooms (at least in my D’s dorm): toilets and showers are both completely self contained cubicles- floor to ceiling, with locking doors. The showers have a small dressing /changing area inside the cubicle as well as the actual shower. So, students can go in fully clothed & come out dressed again. D2 (who grew up with sisters and went to all-girls schools from the age of 12) has not seen anything that made her uncomfortable, and has never felt uncomfortable.
At the risk of hurtling off topic on this… There are a number of threads on CC about the co-ed bathroom deal, since there are now more than 150 colleges that have them. Vassar’s are a bit different from many in that they were designed to be that way. From a post by a female student in 2010:
“The toilets and showers each had separate stalls. The shower stall was designed so that you could step out of the shower, dry off, and put on your robe behind a door/curtain. People are on such different schedules that I rarely actually ran into anyone else, male or female, in the bathroom, to be honest. From time to time, I’d brush my teeth alongside one of the guys. It was no more awkward than sharing a bathroom with my brother.” Coincidentally, here’s a picture from the Vassar Viewbook (I’m pretty sure it’s in Joss): http://■■■■■■/wytxlf
But, as @stepay notes, it is something to consider. And yeah, I’ll admit I felt a little weird the first time I went into one when we visited S. But, nobody was smoking anything in there!
Our family is Christian and our D is a 1st year at Vassar. Fortunately Vassar has “wellness floors” in the their dorms where students who choose not to drink or smoke can live. Don’t mistake this for not being exposed. Like any college, their are pot heads and people that party too much.
Our D is head over heels in love with Vassar. It’s a lot of smart kids who are nerdy and accepting of everyone. The gender neutral bathrooms took a week to adjust to but now she’s able to maintain her modesty without much of a problem.
Vassar is an amazing school and it welcomes those who are more moderate to conservative too. You’ll be outnumbered, of course, but that’s why we instill values in our children so they know how to handle themselves when they leave the nest.
Our family couldn’t be happier with our D’s decision to attend Vassar.
My son is a junior at Vassar and has lived on a wellness floor going on his second year. I actually think there are less drugs at Vassar then other schools though my observations are limited. There is drinking but that is at any elite school, and it gets worse then Vassar. I think it seems the more conservative the school the more drinking actually. The thing is that Vassar offers a wellness floor which is awesome. Other schools just pretend there is no drinking or drugs and don’t offer any specific place for people who have decided they are completely drug and alcohol free. When i was looking for my daughter last year it was hard to find schools with a similar thing and if your daughter wants to avoid drugs this is a fantastic option. From my limited experience, I have not lived at Vassar but have been there often, the Vassar vib seems to me to be artsy, hipster and really rather nerdy, sometimes it’s hipster to be drug free if the mainstream is drugging . It is definitely a do your own thing place. And by the way my son is not at all conservative and Vassar is ranked like number one least religious school if that is an issue.
Agree with what’s been said here, while some people at Vassar have been known to use drugs and alcohol, it’s easy to avoid. There’s not that much of it. Vassar students tend to actually like studying or being intellectually engaged. There isn’t a Big Party Scene at Vassar–not that people don’t have fun, but this school in no way resembles Animal House or Big College Football tailgating scene or a place with lots of pills in a bowl. Nothing like that at all. While we’re not conservative, my DS will not let any alcohol or smoke near him. I wouldn’t hesitate to send him to Vassar. If your child is concerned about gender-neutral bathrooms, she may want to live at Strong, the all-female dorm. The occasional man who’s visiting might walk into a stall, but mainly they are all women.