Got a Question for a Current Student?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vassar College
21

<p>No mingling. The Vassar bubble is no joke. I wish I was being sarcastic... </p>

<p>And as I said in another thread, the snobby preppy etc etc people all band together in a big nasty antisocial clique that everyone tends to ignore. Except for the purpose of making fun of them because they have no friends except each other. (Seriously, it's so not the way to live!) Don't worry about them -- there are plenty of amazing, accepting, friendly people here. </p>

<p>Lots of gay men. But whatever, it's just a smaller possibility that some rogue straight man will come along and screw up your life! </p>

<p>And yes, art_star, there are offbeat lectures and such. I don't go... because I find them a little creepy... but there are plenty of people who do go. There was some weird bondage session (and I don't mean that like friendly bonding... hahaha) in my dorm's parlor awhile back... I walked in the building and was like, "uh, whoa, I think I'm in the wrong place." And sadly, I wasn't.</p>

22

<p>Question: I know there are a lot of schools near vassar like marist college and others. do you know people from these other schools as well? like are their visits made to these other schools? </p>

<p>Answer: I personally don't know anyone at Vassar that "mingles" with Marist students or think that it happens that much, but that's just me. From the standpoint of walking distances, the schools are too far apart to visit, and seeing as not everyone has a car, this makes mingling difficult. There are plenty of people; however, who do visit other colleges and universities to catch up with friends (NYU, Columbia, Barnard, Bard, SUNY-New Paltz). Usually, these visits are made with a clear purpose to visit a friend from high school and happen on weekends. So basically, to the best of my knowledge, very little mingling for mingling's sake goes on.</p>

23

<p>A comment on travel. As noted you can take Amtrak trains from Newark or Penn Station, NY.</p>

<p>You can also take Metro-North trains from Grand Central station. There are airport buses from all three airports that drop you off across the street from Grand Central.</p>

<p>I agree that Stewart is the easiest if you can find flights there and ground transportation. Certainly for an adult you can rent a car that is the easiest.</p>

24

<p>I have some questions that are kind of taboo so i'm really looking for an honest answer please!!
1. how is the social life/party scene at vassar? do most students drink?
2. what is the dating scene like for a straight girl? are there a lot of random hookups? relationships? how does the 60/40 relationship and prevalence of gay guys affect this?
Thanks for the help!</p>

25

<p>Question: How is the social life/party scene at vassar? Do most students drink?</p>

<p>Answer: I would describe myself as a relatively studious non-drinker/smoker, so bear that in mind as I answer this question...</p>

<p>I personally feel that Vassar has a pretty good social/party scene. Or at least, it always feels like there's several different options of things to do on weekends. During the week it can be harder to find stuff to do, but with classes there's not all that much time for non-homework-related activities. That being said, there are several options available on weeknights: lectures, fitness classes, club meetings, and dancing at the Mug (an on-campus "club" which serves alcohol to those over the age of 21). </p>

<p>Friday and Saturday, as you'd probably expect, are the two biggest party nights on campus. Options of things to do include school-sponsered dances (either one or two nights), dances in the Mug, movie nights, theatrical performances (comedy shows, dance troupes, plays), and parties in senior housing (this is where a lot of drinking goes on). During the day there are also a variety of activities to attend on weekends (although a fair amount of people enjoying relaxing and catching up on homework then): school/club-sponsered afternoon activities (the most recent was "I won't grow up day"), sports games, and theatrical performances. NYC is also available, if you're interested in getting off campus. </p>

<p>Question: What is the dating scene like for a straight girl? Are there a lot of random hookups? Relationships? How does the 60/40 relationship and prevalence of gay guys affect this?</p>

<p>Answer: I would say that the most common "romance" at Vassar is that of a random hook-up; however, if you're looking for a relationship, it's not impossible to find, just slightly more difficult. This is, of course, primarily due to the larger concentration of females than males on campus... being in the minority can get to certain guys's heads and make them less interested in something steady. That being said, there are also plenty of nice guys on campus interested in dating: the trick, as it is anywhere else, is to find them.</p>

26

<p>I read somewhere that the Vasser kids were a unique breed. Is that really true or is it one of those labels they want to pin on a liberal arts college? Also, are the kids relatively intelligent that like to discuss things that were considered "nerdy" in high school or are they the regular college breed? Are the classes challenging? Sorry about all the questions....I am just curious.</p>

27

<p>I would say that yes, Vassar kids are a unique breed. I haven't been to any other liberal arts colleges, but I've visited a couple friends at universities and WHOA is the difference insane. </p>

<p>And yes, I'm constantly hearing or participating in the geekiest conversations. Last night I was at a birthday party and we were watching a music video and got into a half-drunk discussion of the video's antifeminist symbolism... that's just one example...</p>

28

<p>So... it really is as "intellectually stimulating, etc, etc" as the guidebooks like to say?</p>

<p>How were the universities you've visited different?</p>

29

<p>Question: I read somewhere that the Vasser kids were a unique breed. Is that really true or is it one of those labels they want to pin on a liberal arts college? </p>

<p>Answer: I would also say that Vassar contains a relatively unique breed of student because it attracts people from a variety of different backgrounds. Unlike some of the LACs which I've heard about from friends where there's one predominant type of student on campus, at Vassar you can find a real mix of students. Although it may sound cliche, there really is no "average" student, stereotype, or personality type that goes to Vassar because the school, for some reason, seems to attract all different types. Of course, that's not saying that there aren't other schools out there where this happens, but Vassar is definitely one of the few schools that I've visited/heard about where I can say for sure that this is the case. </p>

<p>Question: Are the kids relatively intelligent that like to discuss things that were considered "nerdy" in high school or are they the regular college breed? </p>

<p>Answer: You'll definitely find students who you'd probably typify as being of the "regular college breed"; however, I would say that the majority of the campus more fits the first description you made. Over the course of a normal day, I find myself having a variety of conversations which would have definitely been considered "nerdy" at my high school because they have to do with "academic" concepts or things stemming from something learned in class. In a typical day, I find myself discussing a topic in anything from something in the news to politics to sociology to art to history to literature. So yes, sporadic "nerdy" conversations definitely happen. The best thing, in my opinion, is that they're usually intermingled with more "normal" conversation... my friends and I might go from talking about a problem with a boyfriend to discussing male-female relationships in the abstract and relating it to something one of us learned in a reading for Sociology, for example.</p>

<p>Question: Are the classes challenging? </p>

<p>Answer: As at just about any institution, how difficult a class is depends greatly on the professor one studies under, how prepared the student is for the class, and the opinion of the student. I've found, in most of my classes thus far, I've been well-challenged, but not overly so. There've been classes where an A was quite easy for me to attain, while there've been others where I've been thrilled to walk away with a B or B+. Overall (and I'm generalizing here), I would say that the classes at Vassar are challenging but manageable. If you choose to attend Vassar, you'll be working hard and challenged plenty, but if you do do the work and put in the effort, you'll do well.</p>

30

<p>Well, (z), the universities I visited were San Diego State and Southern Utah (I have friends at both). Which, needless to say, have a very, very different student base than Vassar. I think you can probably draw your own conclusions because anything else I say here will make me sound judgmental and awful.</p>

31

<p>Vassar sounds like a very interesting LAC with great diversity, but I really don't know enough about it. How similar is the student experience to that of Brown University which is also very liberal and artsy.</p>

32

<p>I am a gay male who is considering Vassar for next year. I was wondering about the nature of the Vassar gay social life? Is there a pressure to "hook-up"? Are the guys (forgive me the stereotype) the promiscuous type?</p>

33

<p>Question: Vassar sounds like a very interesting LAC with great diversity, but I really don't know enough about it. How similar is the student experience to that of Brown University which is also very liberal and artsy.</p>

<p>Answer: Well, I didn't seriously consider Brown as a school (I visited it on a class trip in HS, and that was it), so don't know as much about it is you probably do, but I can give you my two cents based on what I do know and have heard. </p>

<p>To the best of my knowledge, Vassar and Brown have a similar feel on campus in that they are, as you described in your question, both known for being liberal, artsy, accepting, academically strong, and diverse. Where things differ is in the academic, social, and extracurricular lives that the two schools offer.</p>

<p>As a small school (but large in LAC terms), Vassar offers an environment which is, to the best of my knowledge, more intimate than the environment at Brown is. With the lack of TAs and the small classes (10-25 students is about average) it's easy for students to get to know their professors and to get lots of personal feedback about how they're doing and what they can improve upon. The small environment also means that the social scene at Vassar is more compact: although you probably won't know everyone on campus by name, you'll be able to recognize a good amount of the students by the end of your freshman year as people that you've "seen around campus" before (or, at least, that's what I've found). </p>

<p>A couple of other major differences in the social lives available at Brown and Vassar that I know about are the Greek lives of the two schools and the surrounding areas themselves. Unlike Brown, where Greek Life is very active, Vassar offers no fraternities or sororities. I personally find this to be a big plus about Vassar, because it makes the campus feel more unified. Moving on to Poughkeepsie and Providence... if I remember correctly from my visit to Brown, Providence is a quirky, slightly "hippie-ish" small city which, though not fully cosmopolitan by any means, has a variety of nice features and options. If this memory is correct, I would describe Poughkeepsie as being rather inferior to Providence... it's a small city as well, but doesn't have all that much to offer in the way of things to do and see. Of course, even though Poughkeepsie isn't as nice, it is easy to get from Vassar to NYC by train, so "a weekend in the city" is a definite possibility. To conclude that thought, I would say that if you're looking for a school with more of an immediate city feel, Brown is superior to Vassar; however, if all that matters is access to a city, then Vassar is as good as Brown if not better.</p>

<p>Lastly, the final point I'd mention about the differences between Vassar and Brown is the sports scenes. As you're probably aware, Brown offers Division I sports while Vassar is a Division III school. Although neither school is allowed to formally recruit athletes, this difference of Division does mean that the manner in which athletics is emphasized on the two campuses probably differs. At Vassar, sports is something that one does on the side and athletes don't get all that much hype, while I'd hypothesize that at Brown, there's a lot more attention given to athletics. Again, due to my incomplete knowledge of Brown I'm not 100% sure what the athlete scene is on campus, but can tell you that at Vassar sports aren't considered too big a deal.</p>

34

<p>Question: I am a gay male who is considering Vassar for next year. I was wondering about the nature of the Vassar gay social life? Is there a pressure to "hook-up"? Are the guys (forgive me the stereotype) the promiscuous type?</p>

<p>Answer: First of all, before I answer your question, keep in mind that all of this information is second hand in that it comes from what I've seen and heard about on-campus rather than experienced. </p>

<p>As you probably know, Vassar is a very accepting community for LGBTQ people and has several on-campus groups dedicated to promoting LGBTQ awareness and rights. These groups also sponser a variety of different social events each year for the student body and are in general very active in both the Vassar community and Poughkeepsie as a whole. </p>

<p>In regards to your questions about the possibility of getting into a relationship at Vassar, I'd say it could definitely happen. Although there are most certainly a lot of hook-ups that go on on-campus (for both heterosexual and homosexual couples), there are also plenty of people interested in relationships. So yes, there are certainly promiscuious guys on campus, but there are also plenty of people interested in steady relationships.</p>

35

<p>My son is currently in the throes of deciding between Vassar and Wesleyan. He attended Wesfest as well as the day of activities at Vassar. He also spent the night at both schools with a designated host.</p>

<p>Here's the dilemma: he stayed at Wesleyan on a Friday night. Of a festival weekend. I think you get the picture. Lots and lots and lots of really exciting, fun stuff going on all night. Had a blast.</p>

<p>When it came to staying over at Vassar it was a Sunday night and the difference in activity level was rather striking to say the least. Not a whole heck of a lot going on, his host was tired and had work to do in order to prepare for the coming week. They hung out together for about three hours and then the host had to get to his work.</p>

<p>I'm afraid that it's created a certain dissonance in my kid's head and he's really struggling with this decision. I'm afraid that this dichotomy of activity is playing into his worry about Vassar. Although rationally he understands the difference between a Friday and Sunday night "it's what I'd be doing on a Sunday night, Mom!", it's a tough nut to crack.</p>

<p>Can a current student comment on the "typical" Friday or weekend night, if there is such a thing and how it might compare to the fire jugglers, dance parties and improv shows sampled at Wesleyan? Thanks so much!</p>

36

<p>I doubt the level of activities is very different between these two. You might want to check the calendars for each school. Vassar's is at - Vassar</a> College InfoSite and Wesleyan at - Wesleyan</a> University: Events Calendar.</p>

37

<p>Question: Is there often interaction between Vassar students and Bard students, or just mutual dislike? I'm currently a junior planning on applying to both schools; I've visited both, and I live only an hour or so away in Westchester.</p>

38

<p>Our fire jugglers are clearly superior to Wesleyan, because they tend to not wear clothes. No, really. </p>

<p>But really, here's what my weekend was like this weekend: </p>

<p>Friday night - performed in my dance group's end-of-the-year concert, then showered, got some food, and went to our post-show party at one of the seniors' apartments. Being that it was a bunch of dancers, it quickly turned into a dance party. (Unofficial dance parties are easily as prevalent as official ones. Also, less sweaty.) </p>

<p>Saturday day - worked in the library for a million years (I've spend the past two weeks in tech for two separate shows so I've been ignoring my work) then watched Hercules on a screen in an empty classroom with a bunch of my friends. One of the classroom buildings, Rocky (Rockefeller Hall), is always open, so you can use it for that purpose. </p>

<p>Saturday night - went to see "Merrily We Roll Along" (drama department's musical). There was also an improv show last night by HEL (Happily Ever Laughter) and a play called "The Children's Hour." Then I went to a party with the cast of the show I was in last weekend, which also turned into a dance party, because... why not? A lot of people I know went to Hip Hop 101 Mug Night... Hip Hop 101 is Vassar's hip hop club, I don't really know what they do, but they had student DJs DJing at the Mug, which is Vassar's "dance club." Good times, if you're into being really sweaty. </p>

<p>Anyway, that's a relatively typical weekend, minus the performing/fact that all my parties are cast parties, I guess.</p>

39

<p>Okay, and to add to the question about Bard: Are there any subtle differences between the student bodies at both schools?</p>

<p>Vassar seems to have a more academically prestigious reputation, whereas Bard is known for secluded, New York hipsters. Is there any truth to these sort of generalizations?</p>

40

<p>There is very little interaction between Bard and Vassar as they are 40-45 minutes apart by car. I think that Bard students may think about Vassar more than Vassar students think about Bard as Vassar draws its students from a pool that includes many who will never have heard of Bard. No active dislike though. My daughter is at Vassar and my son at Bard (Vassar was his first choice but he didn't get in.) and both are very happy. </p>

<p>Your generalization is very close to be accurate but I would say that the Bard campus is secluded but the NY Hipsters (a term that likely means more to your genreration than mine) are not an unfriendly bunch by any means. The large size of the Bard campus for relatively few students does make it seem more unoccupied than the quad at Vassar, for example, though.</p>