My son has narrowed his choice to these 3 with declared engineering major at NEU and Santa Clara. At Vassar he thinks he’s CS but can’t recall (just got email tonite).
Anyways, he had applied to Vassar not necessarily for engineering since it’s really a LAC but as a way for pre-med if he was accepted. We don’t feel a CS degree from Vassar (even with Dartmouth) would be as practical but are open to other opinions. He has experienced some pre-med ideas but really doesn’t know. As far as the 3 schools, this one was researched the least since it was considered a stretch school by his counselor.
Also, at Vassar, he will probably be playing volleyball as he was lightly recruited and this does seem like a plus. I don’t know if we are getting any grants. The other 2 schools gave out nice grants but if we have to pay retail for Vassar ($67K), that’s a deal breaker for me.
We are visiting NEU this weekend and are trying to decide to visit Vassar. I believe it’s the career opportunities + college experiences + extra curricular he’s looking for.
He’s a So Cal boy so beach weather is the norm but I have spoken with dad’s that say going from west to east really made the kids more well rounded, etc.
If he’s going the pre-med route, I’d advise coming to Vassar because there’s no pre-med culture here (no weed-out classes or tense competition), the advising is great, he’ll get a more well-rounded education from a liberal arts college, and there are a lot of opportunities in terms of exploring his interests (field work/internships, volunteering, activism, etc.). I heard the CS department is very strong, and there are a lot of resources available to help students look for jobs and internships through the Career Development Office, which holds regular workshops on looking for jobs/internships, writing resumes/cover letters, developing a professional LinkedIn profile, etc.
But the “vibe” from a university and an LAC are very different and usually appeals differently to different students. I’d recommend that he visit both and see which one he likes better. I do know a friend who is transferring to a state university next year; Vassar is not for everyone. That said, it’s a great school.
@ucsd85 - Of the three schools, Vassar is by far the best of the three. The advice given to you by @aklvkk regarding pre-med is good, so heed that. Also, how is it that he is being “lightly” recruited to play volleyball at Vassar? Has he filled out the recruitment questionnaire and been contacted by the coach? If so, and if he really wants to attend Vassar, he needs to have some regular contact with the coach, and he should let the coach know how interested he is in Vassar. Coaches like to know that they’ve got a serious candidate on their hands. Being wanted on a team can turn a reach into a sure thing.
Finally, the financial aid at Vassar is outstanding. Have you used the New Price Calculator to see how much you might have to pay? Google “Net price calculator Vassar”. It was very accurate for us regarding what we will end up paying for our daughter. Finally, the incoming freshman class this year has students from 49 of the 50 states, the most from New York, but the second most are from California, so he might feel at home there.
I can’t emphasize enough for you to run that Net Price Calculator. If you make $250,000 a year, you won’t get much if any aid, but if you make under $120,000, the help is significant. Good luck to you and your son in the decision.
Lightly recruited meant emails and texts from the coach. He really does want my son to play there. But, since it’s D3, no $$ for visiting. Also, other colleges offered full tuition for him to play vball but they were not an academic fit. Hence, my phrase “lightly”.
Unfortunately, I did use the calculator and we didn’t qualify so I have to pay full price. We are flying to NEU for the weekend but am now trying to see if he really is pre-med or engineering so we casn tay an extra day and visit Vassar. Anyone know how far it is from Boston to Vassar by car? Anyways, the full tuition is just too high. We make just enough to get zero but they don’t account for the cost of living out here in So Cal. Also, I have another child after him so this is a killer when they both go to college.
P.S. I might have been unclear for Stepay: my son was admitted to Vassar yesterday so he is just deciding where to go. When he considered schools, he chose to apply to Vassar because the vball coach showed interest, it had a great rep for pre-med and he was more serious about that field back during the app process. Now, he is more leaning towards engineering and just working since he has learned what a long road medicine is. However, he just doesn’t know and I don’t know if paying $280K is a good way to find out.
Wow, congrats to your son for being admitted. Those 3 colleges offer 3 completely different vibes (Vassar being the most different). We’re also from SoCal. DD has a friend who just graduated from SCU, a cousin who is at NEU, and DS visited all 3 and is now attending Vassar. SCU is pretty, in a great employment area, and DD’s friend (who was not engineering) liked it, but used AP/IB credits to get out as soon as she could. The cousin at NEU is a freshman (not sure of his major), really enjoys it, is looking forward to the Co-op program, and loves living in Boston (who wouldn’t!). As much as DS loves Boston, he felt NEU was too large, had major tracks that are “too rigid” and didn’t have the “defined residential campus” feel and the extracurricular opportunities that he wanted. DS (Bio major) has been head over heals about Vassar since the day he first visited - and is still pinching himself over the experiences he has been having both in the classroom and out (heavily involved in music and film extracurriculars). He was a bit of a beach-dude in HS, but seems to adapted well to the (rather extreme) change in climate.
Like most LAC’s, Vassar doesn’t have a defined Pre-Med program, but he says many of the PM students tend to follow the Bio-Chem major track, since it includes classes that med schools tend to require. The CS program there is considered one of the sciences and DS says the science atmosphere is extremely collaborative, profs are incredibly accessible, and Vassar has been making a huge investment in its science program - having just completely refurbished its bio building and is about a semester from completing another new science building (CS currently has its own building, but not sure if it’s moving when the new building is completed). He also has close friends on both the men’s and women’s VB teams, who seem to be loving the experience. Obviously, financials are a big consideration, but if you think you might be able to swing it, you should definitely check out Vassar as an LAC alternative.
Oh, and Boston and Vassar are about 3 hours apart by car (just noticed your question). We visited NEU and Vassar over 2 different days, but we also fit in visits to BC. BU, and Amherst - (again, with Vassar winning over the other 4).
@ucsd85 - Money HAS to be a factor of course. It was for us, but fortunately Vassar was one of the least expensive of the possible choices for our daughter. I can definitely understand not wanting to pay full price if it’s a burden and your son can go for must less elsewhere. Congrats to him on being accepted. Good luck with the decision.
I’d love to hear more about SoCal kids going to Vassar. My youngest DD also is interested. I have this vision of a beautiful school close to the Hudson and NYC so one can take advantage of the outdoors, yet city-sophistication. Any truth in that? Haha!
update: We viisited NEU over the weekend. Snowed in Boston on Saturday but Sunday was nice weather.Tthe overview for the college of engineering and the co-ops was amazing. Spoke to lots of engineering students and toured the dorms.
Bottom line: a kid who is serious about a major and exploring that major via co-ops, can really get a great hands on experience. Students can reasonably switch engineering majors up to their sophomore year and after that, you may have to do a 5 year plan if you only do 2 co-ops.
All the engineering kids we spoke to at NEU said they gave up their sports after freshman year. It is basically a 3 semester system if you do co-ops. This implies pretty much year round at NEU except for freshman year.
my son said if NEU was in CA, it would be an easy decision. I have a feeling he is still leaning towards SCU. I know SCU also has co-ops so I did find a link on their co-ops for those interested: http://www.scu.edu/careercenter/students/internships/upload/Co-ops.pdf
So, where does that leave Vassar? I spoke to financial aid and admissions about matching the grants my son received. Doesn’t look hopeful as they insist it has to be need based. However, the fin aid person did say send in copies of the grants and they’ll review. I have received great info on Vassar form Crewdad and that has kept my son interested in exploring that option if the fin aid comes back positive. It seems the most unconventional but son wants to start a company so would that be the choice that makes the most sense? I just heard that from his last week.
Living61, there are a surprising (at least for me) number of SoCal kids at Vassar - in fact, more kids come from California than any other state other than NY. Although it’s not right on the Hudson like Marist, it is very beautiful, and there is lots to do in the area: http://vsa.vassar.edu/hudsonvalley, with the Outing Club organizing regular off-campus nature-like trips and events. DS says the only problem is that he hasn’t been able to go to any of them because he has found so many other things to do on campus. He does manage to make it down to NYC at least once a month (which seems to be the average), with the trip to Grand Central being just a bit more than 90 minutes.
S1 chose a science major at Vassar over Northeastern because he wanted to double major and be on a sports team. He was able to do it all at Vassar although he was very busy. He went on to grad school for engineering at a top school and will start a job in his preferred area of engineering this month. the NEU engineering cirriculum is very rigid. There is more feedom and flexbility at Vassar. Vassar prepared him well for grad school So for him it was the right decision. Please visit Vassar and meet the volleyball team. he will know where he wants to be. Also make a case to the financial aid people about why Vassar is good for him and how he plans to contribute to Vassar. If they see you are serious and know why you need to attend Vassar that will probably help in the financial aid. So if he thinks premed may still be a possibility and wants to play a sport then Vassar is a good choice.
chemusic, thanks for the note. Wow, I like that he had similar choices. Are you from out there?
We have decided to visit Vassar in late April. Son will stay with vball team for 1 to 2 nights. He is interested in discussing options when he gets there with an undergraduate dean. Did your son have good experiences with the advisors? He wants to explore, physics, CS, or maybe even econ. Also, he wants to consider the dual degree option with Dartmouth (getting expensive).
What was your son’s major(s) at Vassar and what did he study in grad school? I think if he enjoys Vassar visit, we then need to understand what winters will be like (we are from So Cal).
I am so glad that you are able to visit. NEU was very impressive and if you are looking for that kind of college experience than it is a good choice. Howevr S1 wanted a school with an excellent music program where he could double major and he really loved the Vassar campus. It sounds like yours is considering several mjors so Vassar is the perfect place for him to explore since there are only a few distribution requirements to take. S1s advisors helped but he was focused on what he wanted so choosing classes was easy. He decided against the Dartmouth program because he wanted a double major with music. His grad degree is in engineering.
We are from New England and notice that Poughkeepsie weather is a bit more mild. The Hudson River valley seems to be warmer and S1 and S2 (yes S2 is attending Vassar also! ) have friends from California who adapted just fine. The area is gorgeous and just across the Hudson is great for hiking and views.
Please keep us updated on your visit!
Chemusic, if you don’t mind me asking,what was your sons double major? Was it music and CS? Vassar doesn’t have engineering degrees so I am interested on how he did the pre reqs for grad school. And , what grad school is he now attending for engineering?
He majored in physics/music and also took a summer engineering class at a local university in an area of engineering that he was interested in working in. The summer class helped him decide to get the Masters in Engineering - from that he knew he liked it. He had to do some ‘self’ study’ to catch up while in grad school but he actually enjoyed it and felt confident in his knowledge. Vassar prepared him extremely well with the fundamentals to succeed in engineering grad school. He is starting a new job this month in his chosen area of engineering.
At Vassar now for 3 total days. Impressed with everyone we have spoken to. This includes head of admissions, the undergraduate dean, placement folks, head coach and various students. We struck out on pleading a case for academic financial aid. Every kid had said they have had an amazing time here and express how professors care and show a genuine interest in students. 70% of all professors live on campus so that in itself shows a distinction on how they view students. The downside for us is cost, lack of more traditional majors ( if he doesn’t like CS, then he says he’ll consider physics or math…this is not bad but what if he wants finance or traditional engineering). My son is staying 2 nights in the dorms with team members so we haven’t caught up with him and await his feedback. While I think Vassar is a unique opportunity, I am not sure if I can justify the extra expense and fewer majors. I think Vassar is the emotional choice with more intangibles but that if you compare on paper, SCU or NE are “safer”. Also, son says if he chooses Vassar, he wants to make it a go and play D3 volleyball…
I am happy you made time for an extended visit to Vassar and now really understand what Vassar is. The fewer majors may actually be a good thing for your son and freedom allowed by having only a few distribution requirements seems to also be a good thing. Since he is not sure of medical school, considering engineering or finance, the foundation and freedom and flexibility at Vassar in choosing his classes as he changes and grows throughout college will be just what he needs. If he ‘locks’ into engineering now, he will not have time to explore any other areas. The grad school Ivy that S1 attended for engineering liked that he had a double major in physics and music and told him ‘we were waiting for someone like you’. S1 did not decide on engineering right away, he knew he wanted to explore other areas so Vassar was perfect. S2 is a third year athlete at Vassar and even though it is hectic, he says he really loves the team and his sport and balances it all. When S1 and S2 both attended Vassar in the same year, Vassar made it totally manageable so perhaps you could ask about the situation when you will have two in college and how that will affect your aid. Also your son should review the exact classes he will take at each of the schools and many times that helps with the decision. Please update us and thanks for sharing. I think you have helped many other prospective students also in your posts.
