Puzzled about Vassar (and their admissions office)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vassar College
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My D23 was accepted to Vassar. We did not have a chance to visit previously, so are attending accepted student days this week and next. In anticipation of this upcoming visit, I called the Admissions office a few weeks ago to ask for hotel recommendations, explaining we were coming from abroad, didn’t know the area at all. The student who answered was really unhelpful and frankly quite rude and dismissive. I ended up picking a hotel off the Vassar online suggested list and booked the Poughkeepsie Grand as it was near campus and had ok reviews. I had opted not to go to the Courtyard Marriott after reading about the Marist College dad who was shot and killed in the lobby.

We drove to the Vassar Campus yesterday from NYC and thought the campus looked nice. We were booked for a next day tour and my daughter was going to attend a class. As we drove out of the campus we had concerns about there being anywhere to walk to and experience off of the campus. We had read about students never leaving the campus and seen YouTube videos in which male students said they wouldn’t ever leave the campus, which had confused us. As we drove to the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel we quickly saw this was a very unsafe city and my daughter wouldn’t be able to leave campus. My daughter wants to be able to leave a campus and not worry about her safety and enjoy the local town. She has volunteer tutored in the most deprived areas of our city regularly and wants to give back to the community where she goes to college, but I would worry about her safety in Poughkeepsie. We opted not to stay at the Poughkeepsie Grand which was really rundown and I worried about our safety.

The proximity to NYC was also a draw, but Vassar felt far more isolated than we had anticipated, and NYC is farther than we wanted. Sadly, we now don’t think Vassar is for her despite having been a top contender. Just saying, other admissions offices, in which calls to were also answered by students, were exceedingly friendly, welcoming and helpful and happy to steer us to a nearby hotel.

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Jus curious- did you join cc just to be dismissive of Vassar? Not sure why you think she would be unable to leave campus. That’s inaccurate. Good luck to your daughter wherever she decides to go.

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Yes, it sounds like Vassar isn’t the school for your daughter, but for others reading this thread, I live 45 minutes from the Vassar campus, and consider it to be VERY safe! As is good old Poughkeepsie. Though as with any town of its size there are areas to avoid. I would say Poughkeepsie is slowly gentrifying, like its sister River Towns (Rhinebeck, Kingston, Hudson, Beacon) which are much further down that road.

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No, I posted this message because of also having a difficult experience with the admissions staff, to provide information for those applying next year as I would have appreciated this information. As others do, I am stating our experience visiting Vassar. We certainly wish it had been different but it wasn’t and those reading cc to evaluate have a right to all datapoints, ours being one of many.

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My daughter regularly visits/patronizes the businesses near vassar and does not feel unsafe. She did a class where they spent time weekly with students at the high school and that was also fine. It’s not a cute college town nor is it upscale though so if that’s what you’re looking for it’s definitely not for you. I can’t speak to your phone call and what transpired - and it sounds like the admissions office could use some work (although my minimal interactions with them were fine) but the students I’ve met at vassar have pretty invariably been friendly, smart and engaging. The very minimal interactions I’ve had with staff have also been more than fine - everyone has been eager to help - and my daughter has had positive interactions throughout her year there. But it sounds like you want something a bit more posh and accommodating and that’s totally fine too. No one college is perfect for everyone.

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Puzzling–lots of students go off campus. The neighborhood adjacent to Vassar (Arlington) is nice enough, and lots of students frequent bars, eateries, and shops there, at all hours of the day and night.

You can get a sense of what’s in Arlington at the website linked below

https://arlingtonhasit.org/

And there is a short YouTube video that gives one a glimpse of the community,

Students also venture further afield. Downtown Poughkeepsie, which is about 2 miles from campus, has certainly seen better days, and I would be careful walking around there late at night.

Hope you got to experience the Walkway over the Hudson. As for the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel, the 3.5 star rating on TripAdvisor would have kept me away!

Hope your other college visits are more successful.

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Making a decision about a college based on the experience with the admissions office (which you will have no contact with once the student attends) is unwise. Also, as others have said, there are parts of many, perhaps any city/college town that one might not choose to spend much time in. Having spent 4 years at Vassar (albeit some time ago) I never felt unsafe off campus. As for a student who was not up to par on the phone, its quite likely if you were calling for hotel recommendations that they might not know about too many since they would be unlikely to have reason to stay at them. When I visit campus, if possible I try to stay at alumnae house. Yes the shooting at the Courtyard was horrible, but an isolated incident with a fight between 2 people, and some innocent victim was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Horrible, but could happen anywhere.

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Love the video! My Market and the Crafted Kup are two businesses I know my daughter visits regularly (she likes to hang out and study in coffee shops - did so in high school too- so Crafted Kup is a favorite).

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Hey all, Vassar sophomore here. Just wanted to comment on surrounding communities, because that was mentioned here – if you’re looking for a “college town” that just exists as an extension of the school you’re going to, don’t come to Vassar. I like Poughkeepsie – it feels real, and is made up of wonderful, diverse communities… and yeah, there’s some grit too. I understand how some folks would feel more comfortable in a small college town, but want to note that I have a lot of friends who have expressed that they feel more comfortable in Poughkeepsie than they would in some kind of college town, as Poughkeepsie is full of communities that make them feel at home. I feel safe in Poughkeepsie, and have walked down Main Street plenty of times.

Some of the critique of Poughkeepsie is in part class/ racially motivated. Not saying that’s anyone here, but I’ve heard it at Vassar a couple times. Some folks don’t get off campus much because there’s so much going on here on campus, and others are quick to make assumptions about what Poughkeepsie is like and that there’s nothing there without ever engaging with people who live in Poughkeepsie.

I’ve really appreciated Poughkeepsie while being here. I’ve volunteered in the public middle school and high school, and work with migrants learning English every week. There are a TON of ngos doing really cool work in Poughkeepsie, and our Office of Community Engaged Learning connects people to them. People volunteer all the time and are safe. There are community events all the time… art shows, theater performances, spring and fall festivals, a winter festival of light, all sorts of quirky art stuff and events, a lot from the youth in Poughkeepsie… I could keep going. Lots of public parks too, especially stuff on the Hudson. A really nice rail trail-turned-biking/walking-path that goes by campus and eventually gets to the Walkway Over the Hudson.

And food! Every student gets $105 to spend at Arlington restaurants every semester. Within a 5-7 minute walk into Arlington, there’s a coffee shop, bagel shop, fusion South American, 2 Mexican, Thai, Dominican, a diner, Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Jamaican, Sushi, 2 “american,” pizza, a Dunkin, an indie bookstore, a bowling alley. When you adventure further than a 10 minute walk there’s way more… Honduran, a couple places with soul food, a bunch more Mexican (specifically Oaxacan), sandwich places, pubs, bars, fancier places, etc. For Poughkeepsie’s size, there’re a TON of good restaurants, a reflection of the diversity of this community. People leave campus to eat at them.

I do lots of stuff off campus, and have never heard a story about a Vassar student being in danger off-campus.

Sorry to repeat stuff that some of you have read before! Poughkeepsie isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. But there’s a lot more going on here than most folks realize, and in my mind, being here is far more desirable than being in a cute little college town.

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Yes! I’m sorry about admissions, but you’re never going to deal with them once you’re here…

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Thanks for the really informative, thoughtful, and well-written post. It’s really nice to read posts by current students as opposed to posts by parents (like me), whose knowledge is largely second-hand and possibly dated!

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Our alum posts aren’t dated, they’re historic!!

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A very poor choice of words on my part :grin:

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You mention parents, not alums. You are in the clear :slight_smile:

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The Mardi Bob Bowl! My Dad bowled there for years in an IBM league.

I could have done a lot of damage at the old Dutch Cabin with $105 per semester…

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We just attended the first accepted students day this past weekend with my D23. She loved the campus when we visited last summer, but she wanted to see the college mid-semester filled with students to really catch the vibe, and take time to walk around Arlington and get a sense of what Poughkeepsie was like.

The experiences we had couldn’t have been more positive. We explored the business district just outside the campus gates. We had lunch and visited the bookstore one day, then returned the next day for boba at Twisted Soul and coffee at the Crafted Kup. Downtown Poughkeepsie had some areas that were more rough around the edges (boarded windows, graffiti), but things were far rougher in New Haven when we visited Yale. We wished we had longer to try more of the restaurants a little further afield.

My daughter loved the feel of the campus—the students were artsy, open and friendly, with an “Indy vibe” (her words), which she immediately related to. We were impressed by the President’s speech and her vision for the college. The faculty panel spoke passionately about the importance they placed on connecting with students and fostering their growth.

The students talked about having to choose between options because there were so many things happening on campus. They talked about various opportunities to get off campus, be it through volunteering in the community, through internships in Poughkeepsie, or through shuttles to the local area mall for a Target run or to NYC on the weekend.

My daughter loved the feel of the traditional buildings—the library, of course, but also Main Hall, the chapel, and Music building. She saw herself relaxing on the grassy quads under the gorgeous trees and walking the winding pathways around campus.

Our interactions with the admissions staff were on par with other colleges. We called to ask when they would post the Financial
aid info session video — the person who answered was friendly, and was able to transfer us to Financial Aid to get more info. I also emailed to say my husband was able to come to accepted students day (originally we only registered myself and my daughter). By the time they replied to say the session was full, we were already on the road. We arrived and it wasn’t a problem when we went to the registration table.

For those concerned about safety, the college publishes its data for the past 3 years on the web site. I can’t post a link, but you can download each year’s report.

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Well, count me in on the side of not making a selection based on a random run-in with the wrong person and chipping paint. It’s $250,000+ and the school that will be on your kid’s resume. Like the neck tattoo says, “Make reasonable choices.”

A lot of eastern college campuses have buildings that need maintenance. Old buildings (the ones we tend to like most) by their nature require more frequent maintenance, and these things run on a schedule. Most colleges don’t have them all at the same point of maintenance at the same time because they don’t do all that really needs to be done in a single year. It’s cost prohibitive and it creates logistical issues. Maybe a few schools like Williams can do it. But most have to spread it out.

Example: Russell House at Wesleyan, which is a National Historic Landmark and is considered by many one of the finest examples of Greek revival architecture in New England. When we first saw it on my kid’s recruiting visit, it was within a few years of a recent paint job (it’s all white). It was stunning and really stood out because it’s one of the first buildings you see coming into campus on High Street from Washington Street. We thought, “wow. that’s cool.” But if you drove by it today, you would perceive (accurately) that it needs another paint job. It’s old and all original, and it (likely) needs painting more frequently than does your house. They keep it up well, especially on the inside, but they have a lot going on right now by way of capital maintenance and expenditure, so it’s probably been deferred by a couple of years. For me, it’s a ‘who cares?’

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As for people, there are XXXholes everywhere, unfortunately. I don’t mean to dismiss your concerns, but I have always taken with a huge grain of salt the many posts on CC that suggest walking around a campus, where you know few if any people, puts you or your kid in a position to pick up a “vibe” that is going to be accurate about what it’s like to be there. I just think it’s shortsighted myself. You’re there on some random Tuesday at some random time, and you don’t see something you want to see and you see something you don’t want to see, and from this a categorical inference is drawn about what it would be like to live there and attend the school for four years? I just don’t see it. There is more to Vassar than a few isolated experiences over a few hours on a given day.

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Just listened to this. Eye opening.

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You may also find this of interest
https://www.bowdoin.edu/news/2016/07/updated-bowdoin-responds-to-malcolm-gladwells-food-fight.html

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Yes, thank you.