<p>On the whole, how happy would you say the overall atmosphere at Vassar is? This might sound like a strange question, but I'm currently at a school that I find to be extremely self-deprecating and often rather gloomy, and the thought of being somewhere in which the students are actually HAPPY to be there is very appealing! (needless to say, i'm applying to transfer)</p>
<p>Thanks so much!!!!</p>
<p>Didn't Princeton Review have a really high rating for Vassar students' general happiness?</p>
<p>i'm not sure... i was just wondering what the overall "feel" is at vassar, from people that are there now.</p>
<p>this is from campusdirt.com (self-voting), & is "friendliness" not hapiness, but close:</p>
<p>FRIENDLINESS
Everyone is genuinely nice 50%
Somewhat friendly 25%
Everyone's polite 8%
People are not very friendly 16%
People are rude 0% </p>
<p>Pretty friendly overall......</p>
<p>Vassar was no 1 in the Happiest Student ranking in the Princeton Review. </p>
<p>Also my gf who is a Vassar '10 goes on and on about how happy and friendly and amazing her future classmates are. Overall it should be an extremely happy place.:)</p>
<p>from what i've read and heard, it sounds like a really happy place. lol. i mean, that makes sense to me because the campus is beautiful, the professors great, the students famously friendly, accepting and interesting. a current student told me that vassar makes everyone so happy that once you're there you feel like being nice to everyone or something. i suppose that says a lot. :D another friend who toured recently told me that her tour guide whistled for their group since he belonged to some all whistling a cappella. that sounds pretty nice to me too.</p>
<p>so far, i've chatted with a few current students, prospective students, and ED kids who got accepted and what pleasantly surprised me was that they all seem exceptionally friendly and eager to either help or get to know each other. and i've seen that almost everyone has a quirky side or say, a talent that makes them the pretty self-confident-in-a-good-way-and-therefore-generally-happy kind. i'm sure you'll find exceptions but that's the general impression i've got so far. :)</p>
<p>Hi there, I haven't been able to chat or email with any students at Vassar, current or ED. I searched the web site for some sort of admitted student contact list or forum but found none. HOw did you get in touch with Vassar students, kee10? Are they all international students or some are from the US as well? I would love to talk to some.</p>
<p>A bunch of us are getting to know each other through </p>
<p><a href="http://groups.myspace.com/vassar2010%5B/url%5D">http://groups.myspace.com/vassar2010</a>
<a href="http://community.livejournal.com/vassar_2010/%5B/url%5D">http://community.livejournal.com/vassar_2010/</a></p>
<p>Take it from an actual student: We're really happy. I mean that. It's hard to find people who'll be mean to you here. I've never gone looking so I've personally never found any :)</p>
<p>i stopped by vassar on my way home on thursday (whenever i pass that side of town i have to stop in, im pathetic) and after a while i started making it a point to find people that weren't smiling. i couldn't. even my mom was asking why everyone seemed so happy to be at school. a random student offered to give my mom directions, the bookstore staff talked to us for a good half hour, some guy in a car helped us parallel park, even these two electricians struck up conversation. maybe its something in the food but everyone there is always extremely kind and cheerful.
it just gives off an amazing vibe, i can't wait to get there.</p>
<p>wow, i like the sound of that a lot :D</p>
<p>@ hakuna matata: there, lockeshadow's given you the two groups. i hope you join :) i've chatted with some students over msn so if you use that, you can PM me and i'll add you.</p>
<p>that sounds amazing, really amazing - definitely what i'm looking for, especially in comparison with where i am now. (I would rather not say it on here, but feel free to PM me) I would love to be at a place in which the students are really happy to be there, because I think that that really affects the overall atmosphere (and from some of your comments, it's clear that it does!). Where I am now - let's just say i could not count how many people I know that are unhappy/dissatisifed... and I know of several offhand that are applying to transfer.</p>
<p>Thanks for all these comments - they have verified many of my previous beliefs about Vassar! : )</p>
<p>@lockeshadow: Thanks a lot! Myspace is nice! That explains why so few Vassar-ers post here on CC :)
@kee10: I sent u a message on myspace. Have you received?</p>
<p>I wonder if Vassar students are equally friendly to conservative students...? (If there are any.)</p>
<p>ooooh, you touched a nerve there. there ARE conservative students and even a conservative publication and there doesnt' seem to be any trouble. that said, Vassar is a highly LIBERAL dominated school so you WILL be a minority and there will be some people who will challenge you on your beliefs (though, in my observation, never in an unpleasant way, more like friendly arguments). I guess it also depends on how vocal you are about your beliefs and HOW conservative you are. Vassar tries to accept everyone's beliefs as long as they aren't too questionable.</p>
<p>Sounds reasonable. I know almost every college these days (maybe with the exceptions of West Point and BYU) leans far left, and conservatives can sometimes be "persecuted," so I'm glad to hear that Vassar students are accepting of all beliefs. I'm sure there are some radicals who might shun any Republicans who make the mistake of speaking up, but you're saying the student body is more moderate than that? And what about the profs? Is there a pervasive liberal bias in lectures?</p>
<p>The student body is pretty chill. I certainly don't think they'd actively persecute you. The professors even less so. Though yeah, if you love the current president, you MAY detect some liberal bias in lectures in certain classes, though I think a lot of it is more to do with Bush himself and not the republicans as a whole.</p>
<p>Lol, I was sort of kidding about the persecution. I consider myself very moderate, and not really cemented into any one viewpoint, but I do dislike people (especially teachers) trying to sway me into believing what they believe. I know what you mean about the Bush-bashing though, and understand that that is very widespread and pretty much unavoidable (check out noindoctrination.org to see what I mean). I've heard so many horror stories about profs spending more time preaching liberal doctrine than their own subjects. I am planning a visit to Vassar in the spring, so maybe I'll sit in on a class or something.</p>
<p>By the way, I see you're from Venezuela. How are you dealing with the cold in Poughkeepsie? My mom is from upstate New York and tells me that I will DIE in the East Coast weather, having lived in CA almost all my life.</p>