Vassar Class of 2024 Questions

Hello incoming class of 2024! Congratulations to everyone that was accepted to Vassar! I wanted to make this thread for anyone that has questions about Vassar or just wants to see everyone that got in and talk. I’d be happy to help in any way I can and give y’all advice as a current student. Congratulations again!

I’m so excited to be going to Vassar!!! How do we get assigned roommates / dorms and when do we find that out? Thank you so much in advance!

Residential Life will send an email with a link to a housing application. With this, you will answer questions about yourself and other things like that. This gives them an idea of what house will best fit you. From what I remember, there will be a roommate matching profile that you will have to fill out alongside the housing application. Res life will use this to match you with a roommate. Everyone is usually matched up with someone that matches or compliments their personality. The decisions usually come out in June or July, but it depends on if they extend deadlines or not. When they do, they will email you with your house, room number, and roommate(s). I hope this helped!

My son is attracted to the very limited set of required courses at Vassar. It looks like just a first year seminar, quantitative course and a foreign language. I also saw something called “College Course.” Can you explain what this is? Thanks.

No problem! The small amount of required courses is definitely something to admire because you can take the time to find what courses you enjoy and find out what degree to pursue. The College Course is a program that exposes students at Vassar to expressions of the human spirit in a multidisciplinary and integrative context. It is basically a way for students to gain experience on interpreting evidence from different standpoints. This link will lead you to some of the college courses from the 2019-2020 catalogue. I hope this helped!

Thanks for the info. I guess what I’m trying to understand is whether it is a single course, a series of courses or something else.

Any experience with traveling from Vassar to Boston? Especially as a student who would not own a car.

@nehiker: The College Course information appears to be archived. Have you seen a source that indicates it pertains to current students?

https://catalogarchive.vassar.edu/201314/academic-information/degrees-and-courses-of-study/requirements-for-the-degree-of-bachelor-of-arts/college-course.html

From the 2019-2020 catalog:. https://catalog.vassar.edu/content.php?catoid=33&navoid=6187

Seems to still be a thing…

Hello,
Firstly, thank you for being here to answer questions. My question is about financial aid. I just received my financial aid package and it shows that my family contribution is about 10,000 plus a 3,000 per year work study. My fafsa expected family contribution is 0 so I’m really just in a pickle because if I can’t afford Vassar, I’m going to have to go to my state school. I’m looking to appeal but because no new circumstances have come up, I’m not sure my appeal will be accepted. Please send some advice. I appreciate it.

@nehiker Usually required courses only need one class to satisfy the requirement. So, I would think that would hold true for the College Course; however, I’m not completely sure. I’m sorry I don’t know the complete answer to your question.

@2323goat While I don’t have any personal experience travelling to Boston from Vassar since I am from Kentucky, I do know it is fairly simple. When break comes around, there is a form that people fill out to get transportation to the airports in the city and Boston. There is also a way to get to Boston by train from the city. So, for the most part, it is pretty easy to get to Boston without a car.

@001011101 It’s no problem! I’m always happy to help. I actually had a similar problem when I was accepted to Vassar and I wrote an appeal letter. I would say that it doesn’t hurt to write one and send it to the financial aid office. If you do end up writing one, I would say you should go into as much detail as you can with your situation. You should also explain how you will not be able to attend Vassar if you cannot get more aid. It also doesn’t hurt to talk about how much you want to come to Vassar and why you prefer Vassar over other schools. Since you were admitted, Vassar truly wants you to come to campus and will try their best to work with you. Please let me know if anything I said needs more explaining or if you need help with formatting an appeal letter.

Hi,
Can i ask: was your appeal accepted?

Hi I have the same problem. My EFC was $29,000 but vassar thinks we should pay $57,000 out of pocket. The reason for this is that my sister is in med school and they consider her “independent”. We still pay for her med school tuition do obviously my parents can’t afford both tuitions at the moments. I sent my appeal yesterday. When will I hear back from them?

@001011101 It was! Vassar was able to give more aid to help me and my family.

@Jcara514 When I sent in my letter, it took them a day to send it to the Appeals Committee and within a week, I got an email saying that my letter was approved. Once they send you that email saying it was approved or not approved, it takes a day or two to get the updated financial aid package. Since we are in a pandemic at the moment, I’m not sure if they will delay this process, but it should still take around a week or so.

Hi- I have the same issue. Is there a particular format that should be used for the appeal process?

@graduate2017 Hello! How you structure the letter is up to you, but these are some things that I believe should be included in any appeal letter. You should address the Appeals Committee at Vassar College and divide your points into different paragraphs, just like any other letter or paper. I would say, you should reserve the first two paragraphs for an introduction and why you are reaching out (or just one paragraph). From there, you can explain the reasons for why you need an appeal. Once you have explained as much as you can, I would conclude with a paragraph of gratitude (or something of that sort) and then sign. How you structure the letter is up to you, but these are some things that I believe should be included in any appeal letter. I hope this made sense and helped you!

Thanks for your input!