<p>Good evening(probably good morning in America)</p>
<p>Now, I'm choosing between Vassar and Grinnell for my ED1. I'm an international student, and I need FA about $25,000.</p>
<p>I know that both are great schools, but I want to know more. Between Vassar and Grinnell, whose prestige and reputation is better? That really matters for my parents...</p>
<p>And another question: does people in U.S. tend to think a man from Vassar as gay or something? Any bias caused from history of Vassar as women's college(ew, such great schools as Weselley and Smith, they are all for women. It's really discrimination against men)</p>
<p>Thanks for your kind replies;), Have a good day.</p>
<p>vassar is a very rich college...
u will have no problem with aid n stuff..
grinnel is good too...
a little thumbs down with aid compared to vassar though..</p>
<p>it'd b better if u'd post yr stats.. y'know.. academics, test scores, eca n stuff.. u wud get better advices then.. cheers!!</p>
<p>Vassar is the more prestigious school due to its location in the Northeastern U.S. rather than to any significant difference in academic quality. It is also a very gay friendly school as is Grinnell.</p>
<p>Of course, I'm biased as a current Vassar student, but I would say that Vassar is probably more prestigious than Grinnell. Both schools are fine institutions; it's just that Vassar is more well-known thanks to its location in the Northeast and its rich tradition as one of the Seven Sisters.</p>
<p>Moving on to your question about gay men at Vassar... first off all, not all males that go to Vassar are gay. The school has a very LGBT-friendly campus (as does Grinnell); however, there are plenty of straight male on-campus.</p>
<p>And lastly, Vassar is known to offer very good financial aid, thanks to its large endowment (I'm sure Grinnell's is good too, I'm just not as well-versed on that school). Vassar is not need-blind for international students; however, if you are accepted, the school guarantees to meet your financial needs for the four years you attend the school.</p>
<p>vassar arguably has better name recognition especially on the east coast. however, as far as prestige goes, grinnell is somewhat more respected, at least in the academic circle (see usnews peer assessment). looking at financial resources, grinnell's 1.8 billion endowment more than double that of vassar which has a thousand more students.</p>
<p>you shouldn't be applying ED if you need financial aid. it's not a matter of grinnell vs vassar. don't apply ED if you can't afford the price ticket.</p>
<p>We visited both schools and liked them both. S did ED at Grinnell and loves it. The schools have different personalities so you might want to think about fit:</p>
<p>-both schools are gay-friendly and no one intelligent will assume you are gay just because you go to Vassar. However, Vassar's male to female student ratio skews more heavily female and this has an impact on the feel of the place. You will have an easier time getting into Vassar if you are male. (If you could take the campus tour, you could see the ratio in action: 15 girls and 3 guys the day we were there. Could be coincidence, but I don't think so.)
-Vassar is urban:It's in Poughkeepsie which is a rather unappealing city, although the campus is lovely and self-contained. Grinnell is rural, located in a small town about 1 hours drive from Des Moines and 1 hr 15min from Iowa City.<br>
-Vassar is better known to the general public, especially on the east coast, because of its long history as an elite women's college. Grinnell achieved prominence more recently thanks to their amazing endowment (courtesy of Robert Noyce and Warren Buffet) which has been used to attract top faculty, build amazing facilities, and provide the students with incredible opportunities socially and academically. It is, however, less well known outside of academia-so if you parents need bragging rights, this could be an issue. Within academia both are highly regarded, although Grinnell may have the edge with Phd programs just because so many of their students end up there.
-Vassar is more artsy and has an definite east-coast vibe culturally. Some accuse it of being pretentious: It is definitely more aggressive and more self-promoting (It has to be-there is a lot more competition on the east coast for students.) It's also somewhat larger than Grinnell-so more classes to choose from. Grinnell is often described as quirky and independent, and very midwestern culturally. S loved Grinnell's self-effacing, understated culture. And people in town say hello to strangers on the street-you will too, if you go there.
-Now that Grinnell has opened their new student center, the food at Grinnell is better than at Vassar.</p>
<p>By the way, 11% of students are Grinnell are foreign, the average FA package this year for internationals was $23K (as I recall), and they accepted approximately 10% of those internationals who applied. There is already a large Chinese and South Asian presence on campus: If you are applying from Latin America or Africa, you will have a significant advantage.</p>