<p>Hey,
when i came up to vassar for a visit, i noticed something strange. I barely ever saw a guy on campus. I was the ONLY male on ANY of the tours. Is this the case on the campus, cuz i kinda find it hard to believe that there is a 60/40 f/m split.</p>
<p>From what I've heard, that's the ratio. I too am I guy who applied to Vassar. Also, from what I've heard, MANY of the few guys on campus are gay. So, it doesn't appear to be a place with much masculinity.</p>
<p>When I visited my tour was split half and half and there seemed to be a lot of guys on campus. Maybe you came on an odd day?</p>
<p>Even if Vassar does have a large gay population it isn't like there are no straight guys around. Masculinity is defined in many ways. Yes, it probably is sorely lacking those macho meathead jocks who are too afraid to be labeled gay becaues I don't see why they would apply to Vassar but there are plenty of "masculine" guys who are just comfortable being who they are rather than perpetuate the "MAN" stereotype and those are the ones who I'm guessing would apply to Vassar.</p>
<p>whoa... just because there are a lot of gays on campus (an unsubstantiated claim) does not mean that Vassar isn't a place with much masculinity.</p>
<p>My son attends and is not gay (not that there is anything wrong with that) and knows plenty of straight guys there. I don't have a dog in the fight, but...</p>
<p>I don't know quite what is meant by a place with much masculinity. I believe Vassar fields as many men's intercollegiate sports teams as women's. I know they have a great rugby program and I know there are many students, male and female alike, who have active, outdoorsy interests like hiking, skiing, and the like. I think college guides and one person's tour of a place can often hide the vibrance and breadth of the student body. It is well noted for tolerance -- that's not a bad thing, but neither does it mean that gay people flock there to the exclusion of other LACs. People go there because they love the place for all sorts of reasons. Let's not pigeon hole the top LACs, as it does not do prospective applicants a good service.</p>
<p>I would say that the 40% male/60% female statistic is pretty accurate. I'm a straight girl who grew up with three brothers, and I have had no problems with it not having much "masculinity" or with finding straight guys. Last night I went to a screening of Snakes on a Plane and last week they screened Pirates. Neither of which are very feminine movies... It would help if you had some sort of definition for the masculinity you're looking for.
I think that Vassar does not have a higher proportion of gay students than many other schools, but that the gay students feel more comfortable being open about their sexuality here.
If you have any questions about Vassar at all, feel free to pm me. I can't guarantee a fast response, but I will reply as soon as I get it.</p>
<p>@ kayrlis -- I don't know whether you may know this, but how is Vassar's Computer Science department?
And how is Poughkeepsie?</p>
<p>that ratio in addition to the gay guys is the reason for hetero guys to go to vassar. think about it. all those girls need to find testosterone somewhere, and if the numbers are low......
Not that gay guys aren't masculine, but all those girls add up to good numbers for straight guys on campus.
Believe it or not my dad's only college advice for me was "pay attention to the m/f ratio" what a guy...</p>
<p>I'm sorry to say I don't know anything about the computer science department... most of my friends are either pre-med or looking to be humanities majors (soc, psych, etc.)</p>
<p>I like Poughkeepsie. The more shady areas are not within walking distance, which is a relief, and there are plenty of restaurants close by (a really good middle east restaurant, a couple pizza places, chinese food, sushi, and a diner). The mall is a 15 minute ride away, but there's a shuttle there on the weekends and any student can have a car on campus. The train station is like 10 minutes away, and cab fare is about $5. The train goes straight into Grand Central, which is awesome.</p>
<p>And I agree with ferrisbueller that the ratio seems to be a draw for some of the hetero guys.</p>
<p>What about the college food?
and the general campus life?</p>
<p>I LOVE the food, and I'm a very picky eater. There are a couple different stations in our dining hall:
The "Home Zone"-It's supposed to be like mom's home cooking. Usually pretty good. Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, meatloaf, beef burgandy, string beans, that sort of thing. There are always two entrees and three different sides to choose from.
Farm to Vassar- A different vegan stir-fry every night with a vegetable and some kind of grain (barley, white rice, etc)
Egg Station- Eggs cooked to order, omelets, even Philly cheesesteaks. If you bring them something, they will put it in an omelet for you (eg- you can take mushrooms from the salad bar and they'll cook them into your omelet).
The Grill- Exactly what it sounds like- ham/cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches.
Wrap station- Fried or grilled chicken in wraps. Made to order.
Quesadilla Station- Quesadilla or nachos. Made to order.
Pizza Station- Premade and made to order (personal) pizzas.
There's also a really good salad bar, a make-your-own sandwiches type deal (with a panini machine!), and, my favorite, a vegan stir-fry station where you make it yourself all the way through. Also a pasta bar, same idea.
And you can make Belgian waffles, PB&J, and bagels any time of day. The desserts are always delicious. </p>
<p>Sorry I went on and on about the food, but I really like it. And that's just in ACDC, if you want to hear about the Retreat, I can tell you too (that's the smaller dining area in Main building).</p>
<p>General campus life is awesome. I absolutely love it here. What do you want to know in particular?</p>
<p>
[quote]
if you want to hear about the Retreat, I can tell you too
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Please do!
And about campus life, what do you generally do on the weekends. Does it ever seem like life at Vassar is getting a bit boring and redundant and there's nothing to do. Or is there usually something to do (like some seminar to attend etc. etc) almost every day?
What about the dorms?
And how long does it take to travel from one end of the campus to the other?</p>
<p>I actually don't like the Retreat as much. The salad bar selection is paltry at best, and I don't like the atmosphere for eating. Its one redeeming quality? French toast, all day long.
Basically at the Retreat, you can get
For breakfast:
-muffins, bagels, oatmeal, breakfast sandwiches & eggs made to order, french toast, and pancakes (those last four are served all day)
For lunch/dinner:
-sandwiches made to order (my favorite is the smoked turkey club melt on ciabatta. it is the best thing ever)
-hamburgers/cheeseburgers, fries, and I think maybe some chicken options (I always get the sandwich I just mentioned, so I'm not sure)
-quesadillas, every now and again</p>
<p>The best things about the Retreat are
1. Convenience- if you live in Main, you're not walking all the way to ACDC. You eat at the Retreat. You don't even have to leave the building.
2. Snacks/Take-Away- The Retreat is full of premade sandwiches, salads, and fruit cups, along with big bags of popcorn, chips, trail mix, licorice, and cookies. They sell the best cookies known to mankind- Nilda's. Also, I buy all my milk there (quarts or pints or half-pints, skim, 1%, or whole).</p>
<p>About campus life:
On weekends, my friends and I will generally go out one night. There are always parties going on in our dorm or the dorms nearby or senior housing (there are no frats or sororities at Vassar). The other night we might go to a film screening (last weekend it was Snakes on a Plane!), a comedy show, an a capella concert, something like that.
During the week, there are usually club-sponsored screenings (like Thin for the Eating Disorder support group or human-rights-related documentaries for Amnesty) or lectures, and the Mug (in Main, it's a dance club thing) is open every night. Tuesdays are Jazz night, Wednesdays have some kind of theme (80s, 90s, Russian Pop music), and I don't know about the others. There are always concerts or dance shows or plays or comedy shows to go to, and I haven't done half the things available to me (I've never even been to the Mug). I haven't been bored so far.</p>
<p>There are nine dorms at Vassar: Main, Lathrop, Jewett, Raymond, Davison, Noyes, Josselyn, Cushing, and Strong. Strong is the all-female dorm. Raymond, Davison, Lathrop, and Strong are basically the same building duplicated in a different spot. Jewett was just renovated, so it's very nice, but the rooms are small. Cushing is the pretty one. Main, Josselyn, and Cushing are the biggest dorms (I think in that order). Noyes is the crazy 70s-esque building, whose doubles are more like two-room doubles (there's a big armoire that divides the room).
Each dorm also has a particular "personality." My dorm, Lathrop, is the infamous "party dorm," but from what I've heard, it's not half as bad as last year. My room is pretty large, my roommate is awesome, and I've only had trouble with noise once or twice (I live above the triple).
The majority of sophomores (read: almost all) and all juniors get singles. </p>
<p>It takes, at most, 20 minutes to walk across campus. But that's if you're walking all the way to shipping and receiving to get a package, or you're a freshman getting your car. It takes me 5 minutes to walk to class every morning. </p>
<p>I'm trying to be as specific as possible, but if you think I've left something out, just ask!</p>
<p>I also have a few questions (from somebody who recently was accepted ED):</p>
<p>1) I'm pretty shy and laid back. Would you describe the parties as massive parties where people pretty much just grind to ****ty music or are they usually pretty small (like single digits) and just consist of people chilling and talking, maybe passing a blunt around as well? I'd much go for the latter and am sort of scared when Vassar gets the reputation of the most party of the liberal arts colleges. Don't get me wrong, I love to relax and chill with friends but I don't like to in massive party formats.</p>
<p>2) Are there any classes that you just have to recommend? I'm really into the humanities and social sciences.</p>
<p>3) For the foreign language requirement, I am absolutely terrible at spanish. So much that my class pretty much laughed at me on a daily basis. I have taken a total of four years of spanish and I know that for intermediate spanish it is only recommended to have completed two years although when I mentioned this to my teacher she laughed at me and asked if I really wanted to do terrible freshman year. How hard are the intermediate courses, or the beginning language courses for that matter?</p>
<p>I think that's it, but I may think of more. You are amazing for being so thorough with all your answers. Thanks!</p>
<p>We have heard about the gay male population, what about the lesbian one? Are there a good number of lesbians on campus? Is it mostly hook up or are there relationships as well?</p>
<p>As to condry's thread, I too am pretty shy and laid back. Not a partier either. Would we fit in at Vassar?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Would you describe the parties as massive parties where people pretty much just grind to ****ty music or are they usually pretty small (like single digits) and just consist of people chilling and talking, maybe passing a blunt around as well?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The party scene here definitely consists of both. The big, school-approved events (like the Seven Sins party in Jewett Tower this past weekend, or Scantily Clad last semester in Cushing) are big on dancing and music. But, because there are no frats/sororities, a lot of the partying inside of the dorms is small. When the sophomore across the hall had a party for her birthday, it was a dozen people in there at most at one time, and someone making drinks. You can absolutely find smaller parties if that's your thing, and the senior housing parties are always HUGE if that's what you're looking for. Like, how many people can you physically cram into this house. Also, at most parties, there's some sort of game going on. Often the sophomores across the hall just have a group of like 10 people playing kings or something in their room.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Are there any classes that you just have to recommend? How hard are the intermediate (language) courses, or the beginning language courses for that matter?
[/quote]
I'm only a freshman, so I only really know nine classes, and since I'll probably be a Neuroscience & Behavior major, some of them are really sciencey, but here are the ones that I've loved so far...
Introduction to Cognitive Science- Okay, I actually didn't like this course at all. But my boyfriend, who has a better professor (Livingston instead of Jan Andrews), and who likes philosophy, really loves it. I recommend it if you like both philosophy and psychology. But don't take it with Jan Andrews. She's... just not a good lecturer.
Biology 106- I know you said humanities, but I LOVED this course. It's actually hands-on science trying to answer a real question. Not like those stupid labs you did in high school bio where you knew exactly what the outcome was going to be. (I had Nancy Pokrywka, who's on sabbatical for at least this semester)
Linguistics and Anthropology-I'm really enjoying this class so far, even though it's not taught by the professor that everyone says is phenomenal (he's on sabbatical, I have Tavarez). If you have any interest in languages, I suggest this class.
Intermediate French II- with Mark Andrews. or any class with Mark Andrews. He is the single best professor I have had so far. His class was fantastic, and pretty easy.</p>
<p>As for the languages, I can't speak for any ones other than French. My roommate took Spanish last semester, and she NROed it (Non-Recorded Option... basically you take it pass/fail, and the prof doesn't know), and it still counts toward the language requirement. A few people I know are taking intensive intro languages, which is time-consuming (class every day), but I can tell you that Spanish seems a lot easier than German (I'm pretty sure that's inherent in the languages, though).</p>
<p>
[quote]
We have heard about the gay male population, what about the lesbian one? Are there a good number of lesbians on campus? Is it mostly hook up or are there relationships as well?
[/quote]
I hate to say it, but I don't know. I have a couple gay guy friends, but I don't have any close lesbian friends. There's definitely a decent-sized population on campus, but since I'm not part of QCVC or Blegen House, there's no way for me to know the sexual orientation of some of my friends.
But, for the overall populations, I'd say it's equal parts relationships and random hookups. I can think of 1 gay and 4 straight couples on my floor, along with... 3...? people who consistently take part in random hookups. </p>
<p>Seriously, keep the questions coming, I'd love to hear them!</p>
<p>
[quote]
As to condry's thread, I too am pretty shy and laid back. Not a partier either. Would we fit in at Vassar?
[/quote]
In no way do you have to party to fit in at Vassar. My friend doesn't drink, my boyfriend doesn't drink or smoke, and I don't smoke, even though the majority of people in our friend group do both (though smoking definitely happens on an irregular basis).
Even on the field hockey team, there's a girl who doesn't drink. No one pressures her to, either. There's plenty to do on campus, and people are really accepting of your personal choices.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the great replied Kayrlis!</p>
<p>Not much masculinity? Oh - I've got the perfect date for you, Hello - Ms. Coulter? Let me introduce you to Kev07wan.</p>