I’m currently a sophomore history major at Reed College and I’m thinking of transferring to Vassar. I love Reed’s academics and Portland is a great city to attend college in, but the student culture can be incredibly toxic. There is not too much going on in terms of student life, and most people are almost exclusively focused on academics. Reed’s group requirements are also too rigid for me, and I’m a bit worried about how useful my degree will be if I do not end up going to grad school (although I’m fairly certain I will end up doing so). I’m into art, reading, cinema, left-wing politics, queer culture, environmental studies, philosophy, etc. My biggest concern about Vassar is that it is literally in the middle of nowhere, and I haven’t ever lived outside a city.
What are the finances for each choice? Would you need to take on any debt at either school?
Students are going to be largely focused on academics at Vassar also. That is part of attending a highly ranked school.
Highly ranked universities also have a lot of students who are focused almost entirely on either (i) Doing really well in their classes and/or (ii) Doing better than you in their classes. Some people might describe some aspects of this as “toxic”.
Vassar will be slightly cheaper for me, but hardly. Luckily I will not have to take on any debt. And I love learning and school in general (I chose Reed for its rigor and intellectualism, and it’s academics are perfect for me), but at Reed these days there’s almost nothing going on that’s not academic related (which is in part due to the pandemic), which poses a multitude of problems for students. By toxic student culture, I’m thinking more about the cancel culture and its ramifications for social life.
Based on what you have posted, Vassar seems like a somewhat better fit for you. And, candidly, Vassar’s much higher USN ranking could only help you. Nonetheless, you should carefully evaluate everything that top-notch (except for USN) Reed has offered you so far before making a move of this magnitude.
Vassar sounds like a good fit for you and since it’s affordable and even cheaper than Reed, then I don’t see why not 
I agree. I think that your reasons for wanting to transfer look valid to me.
Poughkeepsie lacks the requisite charm of authentic middle-of-nowhere status. For that, you would need to head farther upstate.
But do you think it’s common for students to get bored in such a small town? Or does it encourage them to get more involved on campus? Reed is a bubble, but because it’s in Portland it’s easy to escape if need be. Will this be difficult at Vassar?
From Vassar you could seek out the world-level cultural activities of New York City, of course, to which Poughkeepsie connects directly by train.
There’s a lot to do on campus but students who need to escape just hop on a train to NYC.
Train to NYC is easy, but be aware that kids were not allowed to leave campus this year except for organized activities. I am assuming the fall will be different.
It’s not in the middle of nowhere, by my standards, but there isn’t much to do immediately off campus except for outdoorsy stuff.
In Reed’s favor, it placed at the top in this Princeton Review ranking of classroom experience, so you may not be able to replicate fully the best aspects of its atmosphere at Vassar:
Yes, Vassar has created an actual bubble this year. Students can’t even go into town. However, I agree that next fall should be quite different. I’m assuming things would also be better at Reed next year. My D at Vassar doesn’t leave campus that much anyway and there are usually a lot of activities going on (concerts, plays, other performances), but being able to spend the day in NYC is appealing.