<p>Williams has trouble? Amherst? No way it's a LAC effect.</p>
<p>ya, it's a general trend around the nation. more girls are going to college than guys.</p>
<p>What makes you think Vassar has more trouble attracting guys than any other LAC? Girl-guy ratio?</p>
<p>And what does this have anything to do with prestige?</p>
<p>^ it has nothing to do with prestige, and it's being discussed because normal people don't give a ***** about prestige. sorry, i just loathe prestige whores.</p>
<p>prestige means a lot to colleges and universities. prestige translates into the number of applications it receives and it plays into a lot of the schools fundraising. this particular thread happens to be about which school, middlebury or vassar is more prestigious, if you can't handle it and you can't discuss it like a normal person without calling people a whore, then i suggest you find another thread where maybe someone will give a hoot about what you loathe or don't loathe.</p>
<p>This is all rather silly, this talk about prestige. I live near Middlebury, have taught sciences for many years, and my daughter goes to Vassar. Prestige? Matters of prestige will fade with the years my young friends, and will be replaced by memories of friendships forged, late night parties, classes and professors who inspired, and opportunities that are presented. Prestige will mean little if your future headhunter went to either Middlebury or Vassar. And chances are he, or she, will not be able to tell you where either college it located. Both schools have outstanding English department - perhaps Middlebury has the prestige a bit more there - but Vassar is not as isolated. A weekend $25 trip to the greatest metropolis in the country is always a possibility. Both campuses are beautiful. Middlebury is relatively isolated, and buried under snow in the winter, while Vassar is merely grazed. Usually. My daughter's first choice was Swarthmore; but she couldn't be happier at Vassar. Middlebury is very J Crew. Vassar, well, is Vassar. Some J Crew, some funkiness - more eclectic.</p>
<p>Seek a good fit before prestige. Prestige means little if you are unhappy.</p>
<p>Wise words, Prof!</p>
<p>wise words, maybe, but noone needed a sermon or your viewpoint on the subject. the posting was simply whether people thought vasser or middlebury is more prestigious. if you don't have an opinion, move on. if you think vassar is more prestigious, fine. if you think middlebury is more prestigious, also fine. frankly, who cares what your d thinks of vassar or how long it takes to get to nyc. who cares that middlebury, vermont is blanketed with snow. that wasn't the question.</p>
<p>hmm, few threads in CC stick strictly to the question asked - at least in this case, theoldprof's post carried on with the same comparative tone of the question asked in the beginning. </p>
<p>there is no rule that he HAS to answer this question and not simply give his viewpoint about what he thinks of the argument that followed. he gave a comparative, brief analysis of the two schools. i found that helpful :) </p>
<p>i don't think he was attacking anyone, just relating some experiences which people reading this (like me) will find helpful. :)</p>
<p>yet, theoldprof never did answer the question, he just kind of whined about how cold vermont is and how close to nyc vassar is. then he launched into a whole kumbayah thing about fit, and match. here's another newsflash, a lot of students take prestige into account when compiling their list of schools to apply for including how good the english dept is, how far from a metropolis it is and what the skiing is like. so if one has no clue or an opinion as to which is more prestigious, go to another thread and expound on the wonderful friendships one could form while at college.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Both schools have outstanding English department - perhaps Middlebury has the prestige a bit more there
[/quote]
</p>
<p>i remember this particular line from his post because i'll probably major in english and considered middlebury before finally deciding to apply ED to vassar (for various reasons) and have no regrets. </p>
<p>he clearly has a clue about the prestige of a particular department. this can be an important piece of information for an english major for, as you know, some specific departments stand out in specific colleges and having a degree from that prestigious department can help you in grad schools.</p>
<p>i agree with your point, blackandblue. prestige IS something a lot of people look into. but you're replies make it sound like his post was an attack on your question! it wasn't! as a parent he gave his experiences and his opinion - something you're free to do on CC. why are you getting so worked up about it? :)</p>
<p>Prestige comes from the Latin , pr</p>
<p>kee10: i'm not worked up over it, i just wasn't in the mood for a sermon or to be reprimanded because i happen to value the prestige of a school. whatever someone elses values are, they are, but they need not impose them on others or look down upon others because they have differing values than they have. it is obvious to me that theoldprof is sensitive about this topic and sounds quite defensive.</p>
<p>Nicely put Old Prof.</p>
<p>Well as most ppl in this thread said, Vassar and Midd are both great schools and i think they stand neck to neck in prestige. From an international perspective, Vassar is maybe more well known than Midd. </p>
<p>I really like your replies to the threads oldprof. You sound very knowledgeable!</p>
<p>I would say that Middlebury has a stronger international reputation, but who really knows? Anecdotal evidence won't get anyone very far. Also, I would never say that Poughkeepsie, NY is only "grazed" by snow. Vassar gets more precipitation (on average) per year than Middlebury, and temperatures are rarley more than 5-7 degrees colder (on average) in Middlebury.</p>
<p>If it makes you feel better, most people are unfamiliar with each school. Why don't you check how graduate and professional schools take people from each school afterward? If they are taking more people from one with lower GPAs, that might indicate that it's more "prestigious" to you. And check number of PhDs produced in various fields. Some people think that's an important quality in calculating prestige.</p>
<p>Okay, here's my opinion on prestige:</p>
<p>I do think prestige matters. I do believe it can make some difference. However, I think it only matters up to a point. If two schools are in the same ballpark prestige-wise, who cares if one is slightly more prestigious than the other? You've asked which is more prestigious, but prestige can be subjective. This is evidenced by the varied answers you've recieved. Did you honestly expect an absolute answer? People will argue over prestige for years to come. And furthermore, people measure prestige differently. So, the bottom line is, they're so close, you'll never get an exact answer. Vassar and Middlebury are so close prestige-wise, that now you must make the decision based on which is the better fit. </p>
<p>My opinion is that if you care this much about prestige, then neither is a fit for you. I'd say look into Harvard, or maybe Yale, but first you might want to debate over which is the more prestigious. You don't want to end up at a school that when people hear the name think "Oh, that's a good school, but (insert school here) is more prestigious." Or worse, think "Where's that? Never heard of it..."</p>
<p>And Arcadia, when you say gets more precipitation, is that in the form of rain or snow? Also, even if Vassar does get more snow, is it inconceivable that it melts faster?</p>
<p>i was simply noting that it is a bit ridiculous to claim that Middlebury is "buried" under snow half the year, when Vassar is merely "grazed." The fact is that Vassar gets more precipitation per year than Middlebury (at least according to weather.com). When it's cold enough, that precipitation falls as snow. I'm sure winter comes a few days later in Poughkeepsie, and that spring comes a few days earlier, but I think it's fair to say that both Vassar and Middlebury have cold, snowy winters. Enough with the meteorological discussion.</p>