Vassar Changes Test Requirements and Meal Plan

Quoting from newsletter from Vassar:

SAT

Vassar will accept either the Pre-March 2016 SAT or the redesigned SAT. Vassar does not require the optional essay.
In assessing SAT scores, Vassar will use the highest individual subscores of the same version of the SAT from multiple test dates. For applicants submitting both the Pre-March 2016 SAT and redesigned SAT, the results will not be superscored across the two versions.
SAT Subject Tests are not required, and students opting not to send Subject Tests will not be penalized. However, SAT Subject Tests will be considered if submitted as part of a testing profile. Subject Tests may enhance an applicant’s credentials, particularly for applicants from non-traditional school backgrounds (homeschooled, non-graded schools, etc.).

ACT

Applicants submitting the ACT are not required to submit the optional writing portion.
In assessing ACT scores, Vassar will use the highest subscores taken from multiple test dates and recalculates a new composite score

MEAL PLAN CHANGES

New Meal Plan Coming Soon!

Starting in fall 2017, in addition to switching to a new food provider, Vassar will be renovating ACDC and switching to an all access meal plan. The dining fee will cover students’ full access whenever ACDC is open and there will be a late night food option integrated into the plan as well. If you have listened to Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast “Food Fight,” you know that Vassar has been criticized for its food quality. However, the new food provider Bon Appétit will focus on fresh and local food options along with more customization. The new meal plan will be mandatory for all students, including seniors. In addition, faculty, staff, and administrators will be able to take advantage of the food options. One of the goals of the new plan, beyond improving the variety and quality of the food options, is for ACDC to become a place where all members of the Vassar community can gather together. We are looking forward to seeing this new plan take shape.

I’ll give a “high-five” to the Bon Appetit food service, which provides diverse and high-quality meals to our freshman daughter at Carleton College. The renovation of the ACDC is goods news, as that was a low point in our October 2015 prospective-student tour of Vassar. Enjoy these upcoming changes!

Bon Appetit is a renowned food plan and we experienced this on several college tours a few years back. That said, Vassar’s food quality, or lack thereof, is grossly exaggerated by Malcolm Gladwell, among others. Vassar food is just fine and certainly much better than any food plan even 20 years ago. The bar has been set (too) high in this area and Gladwell was using hyperbole to make a point. For goodness sake, Vassar’s food is already darned good for college food. I can’t imagine picking a college for the food.

^^ ^^
What she said. :slight_smile:

Indeed. I received confirmation that juniors and seniors living in the Terrace Apartments, Town Houses and South Commons, will no longer be exempt from the meal plan. We’ll see how that goes! :slight_smile: My daughter lived in a townhouse her junior and senior year, where she and her roommates cooked a significant percentage of their meals. As a full pay parent, I would have been more than a bit miffed had I been required to pay for an unnecessary full meal plan.
I have no doubt that the new policy is to increase revenue.

How do not submit your sucky writing portion of the ACT… Doesn’t it just go with the rest of the report?