Congratulations! Two wonderful colleges! In some ways, they are more alike than different. They both are top small liberal arts colleges, meaning that their student bodies are bright and motivated, classes small, professors dedicated to teaching and very accessible, discussions intellectual and stimulating, communities tight-knit, alumni loyal, and resources and opportunities abounding.
They are also both beautiful campuses, Colgate with everything in lovely matching brown stone and a lake, and Vassar with gorgeous buildings including an incomparably gorgeous library, Main dorm, Cushing dorm, the quad dorms, the psychology building, Sunset Lake, and the whole campus is an arboretum, etc.
Both are well-regarded and students do well getting into grad school or a job afterwards.
First look to to see if there are differences in the courses in your major areas of interest. Then look at extracurricular clubs and activities. If these do not differentiate the two, then the following points may help.
- Colgate has more requirements, starting with a couple of classes that every student takes in common. Vassar has very few requirements- just a quantitative requirement and a language requirement. Do you prefer more freedom or unifying classes?
- Alumni network areas. Both have good connections in multiple fields, but there may be some differences in which fields have the strongest connections (which may matter only if you are going into one of those fields). Vassar will take the prize for theatre/film, but Colgate has more of a famous alumni network for banking/ consulting types of areas. Colgate alumni also are famously loyal, with traditions about wearing school gear on the 13th of each month. Also, theatre is amazing at Vassar, with lots of student productions as well as festivals and visits from famous alumni.
- Social milieu. This one is huge!
A. Colgate has fraternities and sororities. Students can live in houses for these, although they do start out as freshmen in more unifying houses before joining Greek organizations. Vassar has absolutely no fraternities or sororities. Students at Vassar are sorted into communities with diverse student populations in gorgeous dorms, where they live for three years, then usually live in on-campus college apartment-like living for senior year. The presence or absence of Greek life creates very different campus communities.
B. Colgate is a small college with Division One sports, giving athletes and sporting events a big role on campus. Vassar has Division 3 sports and does not even have a football team! You can enjoy sports at Vassar, but their role is more comparable to that of other activities. At Colgate, sports are a big part of the school spirit.
C. Colgate was an all-male college that became co-ed. Vassar was an all-female college that became co-ed. Although these changes happened long ago, there still are cultural differences.
D. Vassar has a more liberal ambience overall. And more protesting social justice warrior types.
- Finally, Colgate is in a beautiful rural area with a charming little town. Vassar has more access to “civilization,” in the form of restaurants and chain stores and possible weekend trips to NYC, but Poughkeepsie is not usually a selling point... although the Hudson Valley area is lovely and it is a short trip to nice hiking.
Academically, you can’t go wrong with two such amazing options. It probably will come down to cultural “fit.” Perhaps you can visit both and see for yourself. If not, then I hope these rough descriptions and generalizations help… although, at any college, there is a range of student personalities, and you can find “your people.”