This isn’t going to be one of those sad “chance me” posts where I try to brag about the 77 AP classes I’ve taken and how I’m president of National Everything Honor Society and how I single-handedly saved the entire country of Cote d’Ivoire on my church’s mission trip. I genuinely need help determining where I want to go to college.
I like both Vassar and Northeastern – this is extremely confusing to some because they are very different schools. I love the city (love, love, love it) and the co-op/research opportunities Northeastern has but I especially love the campus/size and the flexibility/individuality/vibe at Vassar. If they were to have a love child, I’d be sold. I would have applied ED the first day the Common App was updated for this year. Unfortunately, this “Vasseastern”/”Northsar” doesn’t exist to the best of my knowledge (if it does somewhere, tell me). I don’t know where to go.
I’m planning on majoring in Biology (with maybe a minor or double major in English) and heading into the field of Bioinformatics/something biological/genetic… I know that it’d be great to go to Northeastern because the co-op experience would no-doubt shoot me into that industry with well-known corporations to local startups, but there’s just something about Vassar that is holding me back and has me split 50-50. Northeastern does have a combined major of Biology and English, but Vassar has no core curriculum so I’d be able to double major easier, and they have the Independent Program where I’d be able to design my own major with the courses they offer. I’ve been reading liberal arts colleges vs. university web pages for what seems like hours and I don’t know how to make up my mind.
My parents are going for Northeastern (slightly) just because of the opportunities it would offer me, but my friends are going for Vassar. I think I might be leaning towards Vassar, just because I don’t know how well I, a 17-to-be-18-year-old would do tossed into the city of Boston (especially with my bank account at my fingertips). I come from an area that is about a half-hour from New York so I’m not oblivious to city life but I’m not too familiar with it. Another key component of it is that I’m gay (I’m a guy – I’m into guys) – I guess that I want to go to a place where I’d be accepted. I know that Vassar is extremely familiar with this and I was at Northeastern within the past week and saw an LGBTQ+ flag flying. I think that I’d have more opportunity to go out and meet guys at Northeastern (at bars/wherever) compared to Vassar which has a bit of a dry town…
I’ll either ED1 to Vassar (11/15) and simultaneously EA to Northeastern (11/1) OR EA to Northeastern (11/1) and then ED2 to Vassar (1/1) depending on how I make my mind up/what the outcomes of my applications are.
(Don’t worry I’m applying to other schools as well but these are my top two.)
Please assist a lost soul! Please give me reliable evidence/statistics/personal experiences so I can try to make up my mind – I just want to go somewhere where I’ll be happy and learn and be challenged, but still be okay at the end of the day.
@NyorMa, Where did you get the idea Vassar is located in a bit of a dry town?
Poughkeepsie and the surrounding area have a number of great establishments where one can imbibe. I’ve been to many. Regardless, you won’t to be able to legally drink until you’re 21, so the bar requirement is a moot point.
Vassar doesn’t have a core curriculum, but there are required courses and/or proficiency requirements in order to graduate…one being foreign language proficiency. Northeastern doesn’t have the requirement. For some, Vassar’s foreign language requirement is a deal breaker.
You are aware that the Independent Program requires a senior thesis?
Both are great schools. You probably could be happy and get a wonderful education at either.
Unlike some others on this forum, I don’t believe that you should only apply ED if there is one school you desire above all others. But I do believe that you should only apply ED if you will be 100% delighted if you are admitted, and you are certain you won’t look back on other choices and regret the road not taken. You must be certain of that before applying ED.
From your post, I don’t think you are at that point of certainty yet. And the ED1 deadline is very soon.
Take your time deciding. Revisit both schools if possible. If not, read every site like this one, and every guidebook you can find, to get a sense of each school. Reach out to the leaders of LGBTQ+ organizations at each school. Reach out to Vassar’s career office and find out about internship opportunities, since you know about Northeastern’s and may want to compare Vassar’s.
In the meantime, apply EA to Northeastern to maximize your chances there. If, after your further research, you decide you might prefer Vassar, then apply ED2 there.
By the way, you are a great writer with a strong voice. If your application essays are as interesting as your post, they may work in your favor! Good luck to you.
Vassar gets significantly more applications from women and the male admit rate is much higher for males. So I would probably not ED anywhere, as your mind might change and there could be other schools that enter the mix. You say you “love the campus/size and the flexibility/individuality/vibe at Vassar.” Based on that, I would not ED to Northeastern. Maybe EA. If you have a solid application and demonstrate interest in Vassar, you have a good shot there. Though you like the city, you can visit NYC from time to time, and also can live in a city after college and in the summers during college. You seem like more of a fit for Vassar academically, though I see your point about having more dating opportunities at Northeastern and in the city of Boston. Tough call. If you get into both you can visit both again in the spring.
Agreed that I don’t think ED to either is a good idea. Get admissions decisions and if both are still an option, visit a final time and go with your gut - as long as you make a decision based and don’t look back you’ll be happy with either it sounds like.
I’m a biased source as I go to Northeastern, but I can say that Northeastern is solidly LGBTQ+ friendly in my experience. You should check out oSTEM (Out in STEM) which is a great support and networking club/group that may be of interest to you. Vassar may also have a chapter so check that too. Boston especially is also incredibly LBGTQ+ friendly as a city which I think is a pretty important part to consider. In terms of going out, there’s Machine which has 18+ nights weekly only a 15 minute walk from campus
In terms of academics, while Northeastern isn’t as explicitly open, there is still a lot of flexibility here with the core curriculum allowing you to pick classes as needed, especially if you were already planning to cover a breadth of subjects (like say Biology and English). I’m a CS major but love Philosophy and have pretty much done my entire core curriculum by taking classes that count towards my ethics minor anyways. I will say that I think the English classes are going to be better at Vassar - they will be fine at Northeastern, but just by the respective strengths of each school, they won’t be apples to apples.
In terms of the city, I think it’s surprisingly manageable - Boston is a city but it’s not nearly as a big as NYC and gives off a more small and quaint feeling comparatively. The T is simple enough to get a handle on navigating pretty quickly, and when it comes to cost of food etc, it’s actually still cheaper than NYC (for now). One of my friends here actually chose Northeastern over NYU partially for that manageability.
Again, I’m no Vassar expert (so get the other side of this too!), but I’d be happy to answer any specific questions on Northeastern if you have any
Hi everyone and thank you for everyone’s perspective…
@CrewDad When I went to Vassar for the Open House, the town seemed a bit dead, but that could have just been because of the day (it was kind of rainy/dreary). And yes, I was aware of both the foreign language and senior thesis for Independent Program. Foreign Language wouldn’t be too much of an issue, but I’m acknowledging the thesis more…
@TheGreyKing Thank you for that! Yeah, I think I’m going to EA to NU tonight even…their ED rate there is like the same as the EA/RD rate, so that makes me feel a bit confident.
@Sunny66 Thank you! Yeah, I think the ED is on hold as of now.
@PengsPhils Your answer has helped me so much! The oSTEM you mentioned is honestly huge to me and was something I didn’t know existed. Thank you for all of your details – very, very helpful.
@collegemom3717 Not to sound pretentious, but money isn’t an issue! Thank you for your input, though.
I think I’m leaning more towards Northeastern now as it is more practical and I think the co-ops are iconic/extremely helpful for entering the work force. Thank you all for sharing, it really helps! If anyone has anything else, please feel free to share!
Sounds like EA to Northeastern – while demonstrating as much interest there as possible – is a good plan. Then you can also apply elsewhere RD and have some options.
My daughter goes to rice and my son to Vassar. My daughter’s best friend enrolled at northeastern. She hated it and transferred out to Rutgers. Never got quite why. Maybe the co-op? And my daughter’s friend was accepted to Hopkins and others (she had a hook). She seems much happier at Rutgers.
Son did great at Vassar. Poughkeepsie isn’t much of a town but Arlington around Vassar has bars and restaurants. The real draw to Vassar is the Hudson river valley in general which is a cultural Mecca. And students actually do take the train to NY on a regular basis. IDN look at the alumni giving to Northeastern? My son’s good friend went to Boston college and didn’t seen to be crazy about it but graduated. He had another friend who went to Boston university and he seemed to love that.
Tufts resembles your notion of a “love child”, except it was born too early.
In terms of size and teaching/research balance, it is a cross between a research university and a LAC
Tufts invented the gene sequencing equipment (Illumina) used in the vast majority of sequencing projects
Tufts is the location of one of two Allen Centers (founder of Microsoft) for computer based biology research
In terms of location it is in a very dense residential suburb of Boston (Somerville) right next to Cambridge and across the river from Boston.
Somerville has the second highest density of artists and young people in the country, Cambridge has the third.
Somerville has been ranked one of the top “hipster cities” in the country.
Cambridge is the epicenter of the world’s leading biotech hub and the Red Line (subway) interconnecting Somerville, Cambridge and Boston is the backbone of Boston’s “Innovation Corridor”.
More than 80% of Tufts students have at least one internship and many have internships during the school year at local companies. Some programs require internships. Academic credit is given for some internships through the Experimental College, while transcript credit is offered for others. The Experimental College brings in people from local industries to teach courses for academic credit.
Tufts has a liberal, artsy, non-conformist culture somewhat similar to Vassar. It has a large population of artists, and is home to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (which is located downtown, close to Northeastern) It has been voted one of the most gay friendly campuses in the country and has a very active oSTEM community.
If you eventually decide you want to work in biotech out in, say, California, I think you will find the Vassar name much better known than Northeastern.
Honestly, these two schools are so dramatically different I wonder how they both can appeal to the same student. Vassar is a posh, legendary liberal arts college, still known for its quirky, intellectual vibe.
Northeastern is a pre-professional university, relatively weak in the liberal arts, and only recently a selective school based in part on its practical co-op offerings which used to appeal to money-strapped students who couldn’t afford to get a college education any other way.
OP, ask yourself: by the time I’m a junior, do I want to spend my evenings talking philosophy, or politics, or literature with my fellow students? Or is the idea of getting ready for work the next day more appealing to you as part of your overall educational experience?
Do you have a specific professional area you want to focus on right away? Are you OK with the idea that your whole education is based around co-ops? That your friends will disappear off campus for months at a time (you too, BTW) while on co-op?
Or would you prefer that your whole education be based on a broad exposure to intellectual ideas in the humanities and sciences?
There is no “wrong” answer here – different schools appeal to different students. Pick what you think will work for you. But I think that a student who’s drawn to everything that LACs represent may be unhappy at NEU. And I say that as the mom of an NEU grad who liked Northeastern, and who would have been restless at Vassar.
Regardless, you won’t to be able to legally drink until you’re 21, so the bar requirement is a moot point.