<p>Trying to determine how easy it is for a Spring transfer to get fully integrated with their (non-freshman) class, socially :</p>
<p>Will a mid-year transfer likely be among mostly freshmen?</p>
<p>Do most upperclassmen live in the dorms? Or do a lot of them drift off to those condo- like housing units ringing the campus, or move off campus altogether?</p>
<p>They haven't finished this "new dorm" yet, right, does this affect anything?</p>
<p>What proportion of the junior class takes "year abroad" ?</p>
<p>I'm a current student and would say that it really wouldn't be that challenging to get socially integrated as a transfer student. There are a lot of really friendly people here who would be happy to take you "under their wing," so to speak. In addition, the large amount of clubs makes it really easy to get involved. Just pick a club, attend a few meetings or activities, and you'll be sure to make some friends.</p>
<p>Because of the fact that pretty much all non-seniors (who aren't JYA) live in the dorms, you will have plenty of opportunities to meet sophomores and juniors as well as freshmen. Thus, you will by no means end up being mostly around freshmen... I'm not exactly sure how it's determined where a transfer students ends up living, but I can promise you that regardless of where you get put, you will end up in a hall that's a mix of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. This is because all halls at Vassar mix class years together. This year, for example, I live in a hall with three other sophomores and two juniors while the hall next to mine (which is only separated by a door) has three sophomores, a junior, and six freshmen (living in three doubles) in it. </p>
<p>The fact that Davison (the "new dorm) is still being renovated really shouldn't affect anything... the only groups it affected was the current sophomore class at the end of last year for room draw and the Davison residents from last year. </p>
<p>Lastly, your "year abroad" question. According to the Vassar College website, about 45% of Vassar students spend a semester or year abroad at either another school in the US, a school-approved internship that gives academic credit, or abroad. Considering that this number is largely split between the two semesters of one's junior year, I would say that no more than 30% of the junior class is away from the campus in a given semester.</p>
<p>Vassar is a really, really welcoming place. I have a friend who is transferring in the spring (his best friend and boyfriend already go here, and our whole "friend group" knows him already, so he's kind of got a built-in safety net) as well, so your child won't be the only one! My advice would be to get involved in orgs -- just because it's second semester doesn't mean that orgs aren't open for sign-ups, etc., including performing groups. It's the best way to make friends on campus. </p>
<p>As for the dorms, I'm dealing with that myself right now -- moving back on campus after a semester off, and no matter what the administration tells you, there is a nasty messy housing crunch. They're putting a LOT of returning juniors (and people like me, and possibly transfers as well, I'm just assuming here though) in apartments and suites because they literally don't have room for them anywhere else. I was told today that this isn't something they've had to resort to before. So I couldn't tell you for sure what's going to happen with housing. Any other year, it would have been dorms easily, but this year is kind of crazy. And yes, it is because there's a dorm offline. (This is all directly from the director of disability services who is trying to find me a single on campus right now!)</p>
<p>So where would these "apartments and suites" be, and who else would be in them?</p>
<p>And would you say such arrangement might feasibly be an impediment to easy social integration of a new student with the soph class, to any degree?</p>
<p>dc89 may be right, but frankly I'd be surprised if your child had much of an issue getting into a dorm. I was under the impression that the school usually tries to make the transition of transfer students as smooth as possible, and would thus imagine that they would have priority in getting into the dorms compared to, say, someone who was a current student trying to move in from off-campus or coming back from JYA. That being said, this is just speculation... if you're concerned, I would urge you to contact Residential Life and find out what the housing situation is like for spring semester transfer students.</p>
<p>They aren't putting much of a priority on students with disabilities, so I wouldn't expect them to put a priority on transfers. (I am angry at ResLife right now!!!) </p>
<p>The apartments would be the new Town Houses, which are kind of a pain to walk to, but they have a nice little community of their own out there. Suites are in Main and Jewett, which are dorms, so that wouldn't be a problem. (Main suites are... sweet. I've never been in Jewett suites, but Jewett has the nicest basement on campus, and it's worth it just to be able to do your laundry without worrying about ceiling gunk dripping on you.) </p>
<p>I wouldn't worry about housing impeding social integration. I hardly speak to anyone that I lived with last year; my friends are all from the activities I'm involved in. Your kid will be fine, no matter what. Vassar is the place to be for an awkwardly timed transition!</p>
<p>Not to say that you might just end up with completely normal housing -- you most likely have nothing to worry about! Just don't expect a single or anything super luxurious. Also, I think that most transfers this year are in Cushing (the "Harry Potter" dorm... it's quite Hogwarts-esque), so spring transfers might be there too.</p>