<p>LOL! Yes, definitely in the club now...thank you for the alert on the health care info.</p>
<p>Another question, how lucky was your D in getting her first choice classes as a freshman? I guess a lottery system goes into effect, but it already seems like there are not that many spots left in any of the classes my daughter wants to take. I guess it gets pretty competitive with the small class sizes.</p>
<p>She managed to get all her first choices first semester. I think other than the Freshmen Writing Seminars it is unlikely that one will get locked out of a class. Obviously some of the most popular/interesting sounding Freshmen Seminar courses are going to have more than 15ish kids selected them but the kids do spread out more than I guessed based on my personal choices for me (not that I am going) reading the course descriptions.</p>
<p>Each term a student gets a draw number. That is combined with the order of courses requested, they put their most desired courses at the top of their list, to work out trying to get as many students their top choices with those with higher draw numbers having a better chance.</p>
<p>Entering her third semester she has only not gotten one course, for this fall and it is likely she will get into that one once she can talk to the Prof. Her draw numbers have been high but that will likely even out.</p>
<p>In some cases they have moved courses to bigger rooms to accomodate a couple more students or even added a section.</p>
<p>I assume you found the listing of courses with the enrollments here.
<a href="https://secure.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/geninfo.cgi%5B/url%5D">https://secure.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/geninfo.cgi</a>
hit the submit button for All or selected departments.</p>
<p>You can study the past semesters to see what turned out to be the classes with the highest enrollment. Naturally you have to study it as it changes during Registration to see who might have gotten locked out and switched to another area.</p>
<p>In conclusion, so far course selection has not been a problem. The Intro and Intermediate courses have larger class sizes to accomodate demand with the upper level courses being smaller as the students start to specialize.</p>
<p>To the OP regarding the $445 charge added to the bill for health insurance. It's definitely optional. After speaking with my health insurance carrier this morning, I'm going to waive that service. I had already gotten my son his own card for our health insurance coverage and I was pretty certain that it was nationwide. That was confirmed to me this morning and in fact the woman in customer service that I spoke to said that when she sent her daughter to college that school also had the same kind of program which she declined.</p>
<p>It's a little sneaky the way they casually put that on the bill with all the other legitimate charges, IMHO.</p>
<p>went to the listing of courses with enrollment numbers site. very interesting. my daughter will be taking the drawing class. does the number of students signed up for a class indicate the more popular professors? We had check the myprofessors web site and choose Gina Ruggeri but she doesn't have many signed up for her class.
Does anyone know the best teacher for basic drawing? We met Laura Newman and thought she was...a bit strange???...but her classes seem to be very popular. How about Anna Betbeze or Richard Bosman?</p>
<p>I am sure one of the students who post here will comment on the drawing professors.</p>
<p>I am familiar with the sign up patterns in the courses and I think it does indicate popularity of the prof at the start of the process but toward the end the sections usually even out as students switch to their second choices. You also have to take into consideration when the class is scheduled as earlier or Friday sections are not usually popular.</p>
<p>At this point as the Freshmen selections (keep your on on the various Freshmen Seminars which will fill up when the Freshmen data is entered) are not in the system so if sections are not full the pattern probably does reflect popularity of a professor among current students when the times slots are equal.</p>
<p>I also will say that one can get carried away with looking for meaning in this data...not that is isn't fun for those of us inclined toward this sort of thing.</p>
<p>Hi. i just visited New Paltz today and some was good, some was bad. 60% good, 30% bad, 10% okay. The tour took us into one of the oldest dorm Halls in the college and the showers were disgusting. how r the others?</p>
<p>How is the night life there. i was told you can take basically day trips into the city for like 20$.</p>
<p>Hows the actual town?</p>
<p>Hows the party scene on campus or around campus?</p>
<p>Question: The tour took us into one of the oldest dorm Halls in the college and the showers were disgusting. how are the others? How is the night life there. i was told you can take basically day trips into the city for like 20$. How's the actual town? How's the party scene on campus or around campus?</p>
<p>Answer: I lived in one of the older dorms on campus this past year (Davison... it's the one being renovated right now) and didn't think the showers were THAT bad, for a dorm. The bathrooms are cleaned every day during the school year and are generally in decent shape (the one exception to this can be weekend nights if there's a party around where you live). Anyway, if you're concerned about the showers, I would recommend that you invest in a cheap pair of flip-flops or crocs to serve as "shower shoes." </p>
<p>From what I've experienced and seen, the social scene on-campus is pretty good, particularly on weekends. Thursday through Sunday there is plenty to do if you're into partying: there are dorm/club sponsored parties, parties in the senior housing, and dancing in the Mug (a sort of on-campus club). At the same time, there are also options available if you're not much of a partier... movies, lectures, music/theatre/dance performances, club-sponsored events (the Asian Students Alliance holds several dinners throughout the year, for instance), and so on. During the week there is less partying because of homework, but you can definitely still find it if you're interested.</p>
<p>As for Poughkeepsie itself, well, it's nothing special. There are a few nice little coffee places, restaurants, and stores as well as a mall and movie theater complex, but other that that, the city doesn't offer much in the way of entertainment. That being said, NYC is definitely accessible from Vassar. I'm not sure on the cost of train tickets, but taking the train into the city is definitely done by a good amount of students at least a couple of times a semester (if not more frequently than that). I would personally say that New York is a nice option to have--it offers a change of pace from campus life--but that I mostly enjoy spending time with friends on-campus during the weekend.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What is Strong House like? Size of rooms, mostly singles/doubles/triples, bathrooms, overall maintenance?</p></li>
<li><p>Would someone not interested in theater still fit in? I do like the arts a lot, just not particularly theater. I'm more of a geeky-weird type, rather than rebel-weird.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Question: What is Strong House like? Size of rooms, mostly singles/doubles/triples, bathrooms, overall maintenance?</p>
<p>Answer: I haven't been up in the dorms of Strong, only the MPR and the first floor bathroom. I did, however, live in Davison last year, which is another quad dorm and thus quite similar in layout and style to Strong. Overall, the thing I'd stress most about Strong is how clean it is, compared to some of the other dorms, particularly in the bathrooms and kitchens. It's also, for the most part, very quiet and not a big place for parties (Strong girls go out for them, mostly). The rooms themselves are mostly singles and doubles, although there are two or three triples on each floor (usually those are the rooms in the stairwell or, at least, they were in Davison). Doubles have something between 200 and 275 sq.ft. (that's an approximation... some may be more or less) while singles are usually under 200 sq.ft.. Triples are a bit bigger than the doubles.</p>
<p>Question: Would someone not interested in theater still fit in? I do like the arts a lot, just not particularly theater. I'm more of a geeky-weird type, rather than rebel-weird.</p>
<p>Answer: Not to worry. I personally haven't: done theatre since my sophomore year of high school, taken an art class since eighth grade, touched a musical instrument in three years, and taken a dance class since sixth grade and am perfectly happy at Vassar. And I'm certainly not alone. Although Vassar is well known for its arts program, there are lots of students interested in things besides the arts.</p>
<p>Strong is really nice, I have a lot of friends there. The triples are huge and you can get some semblance of privacy. The bathrooms, by virtue that there are fewer drunkies puking in them on the weekends, are fairly clean, etc etc. Before this year, I never would have thought Strong would be a nice place to live, but it's really quiet and clean and nice, which can be a little difficult to find in the dorms at Vassar. (Hence the reason I'm living off-campus this coming year...)</p>
<p>Is there a mirror?
Do you need a rug?
Are there hooks for towels?
How is the rental refridgerator?
Do you need a safe?
Where do you keep your books?
Do people store food in thier rooms?
Does everyone bring a TV?</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info!!!</p>
<p>RushFan</p>
<p>Question: Is there a mirror? Do you need a rug? Are there hooks for towels? How is the rental refridgerator? Do you need a safe? Where do you keep your books? Do people store food in thier rooms? Does everyone bring a TV?</p>
<p>Answer: Yes, your room should have at least one mirror in it: just about every room comes with one, however, a few people luck out and get two. You'll probably want a rug: the rooms have wood floors and don't come with one. There are hooks for the towels in the rooms. As for the rental fridges... I believe the company that they are rented from is changing for next year, but they seemed fine (I brought my own fridge, but the girls across the hall from me had one and it was in fine working order). You don't need a safe, but bring a lock if you want to store valuables in a safer area: the rooms are equipped with metal boxes which can be locked. I brought a collapsible bookshelf with me (bought it at Bed & Bath) which was great for storing books. You might want to invest in something like that because other than a dresser for clothing and a desk, there's no real place to keep books. Most people keep at least some food in their room (there's a lot of variation, though). And no, from my experience, most people don't bring a TV. The rooms don't get cable, so there's not much to watch unless you want them for video games or movies.</p>
<p>Is there a convenient local bank or an on-campus ATM owned by a particular bank? We are hoping to set up an account for our son at a bank that has a branch both near (or on) campus and locally, where work-study funds can be deposited and where he can use a debit card with the bank's ATM. Also: do students find it useful to have a checking account?</p>
<p>To RushFan - I guess it depends on the dorm as to what they have in each room. S was in Noyes where there were no mirrors in his room, one hook on the door, and linoleum floor. He took an over the door rack of hooks, a small mirror and a 5 x 7 rug from IKEA. There were also bookshelves in his room attached to the wall, a garbage can, desk with storage drawers, and desk chair (office type). The lighting was horrible in the room so he took a tall floor lamp, plus a desk lamp. He didn't have a fridge but there was a kitchenette with fridge just down the hall where he put things sometimes. Also, you should bring a fan for hot days in the fall and spring. There is a media room in the dorm with TV, and a room with computer printers if you don't bring your own.</p>
<p>To Philprof:</p>
<p>There is an HSBC ATM in the Student Center, and an HSBC bank branch 2 blocks away from campus on Raymond Avenue. My daughter was on work-study last year as a freshman, and she opened a checking account at the branch. We normally use JPMorgan Chase, but HSBC is more convenient for Vassar students.</p>
<p>^ ^ Also, you can set up direct deposit for work-study.</p>
<p>so i just bought a refrigerator, and it is 4.52 cubic feet. do you think that is way too big?</p>
<p>Question: So i just bought a refrigerator, and it is 4.52 cubic feet. Do you think that is way too big?</p>
<p>Answer: According to Residential Life, your fridge is "legal" to have in your room: you're not allowed to have a fridge that is over 5 cubic feet, so it's under the limit. Whether or not this is too big a fridge for you personally is a decision you'll need to make. Are you the type of person who's going to be storing a good amount of food in your room? If so, I would say that having the 4.52 cubic foot fridge makes sense. There's a lot of variation as to the size of the fridge that people like to have: I've seen rooms with no fridges and rooms with fridges that are right around the 5 cubic foot maximum. So, basically, it's up to you and your habits. You certainly won't stick out as "the girl/guy with the massive fridge" if you bring it, if that was what you were worried about :). </p>
<p>Also, since you have this fridge, be sure to let your roommate(s) know so that he/she/they don't show up with fridge(s) of their own. You're allowed to have multiple fridges in all of the dorms except Main; however, I would say that seeing as you have a large fridge, it would make more sense from both the space-saving and environmental standpoints to share it.</p>
<p>I visited campus - which is gorgeous - but i noticed that some of the dorms are sub par (and i would really love to avoid such dorms) how is housing set up at Vassar? Do you get to choose? and if you get stuck in an unsightly dorm can you apply to relocate?</p>
<p>None of the dorms are really subpar. Joss and Jewett are probably the nicest, and the quad dorms are noticeably older. But even the older ones are just fine, in my opinion. Housing is random, so you could end up anywhere, except for Strong if you're a guy. And no, you can't switch dorms based on perceived quality, or else wouldn't everybody want to do that?</p>