Vassar vs. NYU

<p>Hey all, I'm a high school junior just starting to look at different schools in the New England area. The two schools I'm most interested in are NYU and Vassar. I'm aware Both of them are on two different ends of the spectrum regarding school population and location, yet both have a strong appeal to me. I just have a few questions about each.</p>

<p>I'll start off sayin I'm extremely partial to New York City, I absolutely love the hustle and bustle of city life. Also, Greenwich Village is a fantastic neighborhood which only adds to NYU. However, I've heard a lot about how NYU freshmen can have a really tough time connecting with other students. Many students who attend NYU claim to be extremely lonely and some even transfer out in favor of lesser state schools. Can anyone give me an opinion on this? Is it really as lonely in the big city as a student some people say it is? Although I love the city maybe it isn't the place for a student to find themselves and become a well rounded individual.</p>

<p>Vassar on the other hand seems to have a much stronger community feel, probably due to its extremely small population. The number one thing that attracts me to Vassar other than the sense of a tight-knit community is the flexibility of scheduling. It seems that there are only two required courses in order to graduate (other than courses required for your major). Has anyone had experience with this flexibility that helped them pick their eventual major after some experimentation? And is this school as full of happy and friendly students as I've been told about?</p>

<p>Hey! So you’re in luck, because I’m starting at vassar as a freshman this year (August 27th) and my boyfriend is starting at NYU this year! While I can’t answer detailed questions yet, as soon as we both get on campus I can give you tons of inside info on both schools! You can private message me to remind me sometime in September, and I may be able to answer some questions now (mostly vassar ones)</p>

<p>I will say that I have already had such an easy time asking questions and my house fellow and other students have been ridiculously friendly. I can’t say my boyfriend has had as many friendly people ready to help him out! This could all change on campus though.</p>

<p>Thanks so much, I’ll make sure to private message you in September after you’ve settled in and gotten a real feel for things.</p>

<p>Yes if you just love NYU for the City and are not from the area/know anybody it is easy to get lost in it all and end up somewhat isolated. that depends on your character more than anything though. Are you outgoing and friendly? and I mean really think about that, its not a good or bad thing. but just think, are you gonna go out and meet everyone in your hall and knock on doors to hang out and stuff? Then you will be fine anywhere. NYU is just more expensive due to city living. But clearly more stuff to do and whatnot. If you are rich you will have a much better time at NYU eating at awesome restuarants and going to cool clubs etc. If you arent up for that lifestyle then it might be a little more difficult, but again, every school has it niches and you should generally be fine. </p>

<p>The class flexibility at vassar is overstated, but awesome compared to other schools. freshmen year you will only have one required course and basically can take any 100 you want for two semesters until you find a dept. you like. </p>

<p>As for happy students, most people are super cool and friendly. Recently there has been this huge deal about race and other typical liberal arts stuff that kids enjoy. But be aware, if you are not a politically correct, gender neutral, female-identifying person with white guilt you might find the community isnt as tight as you would think. But if you like holding forums about rape culture and racism murals every week then you will certainly fit right in. Again, every school has its niche so there are pleanty of chill people who wont be in your face about everything. But in general Vassar students are very opinionated and enjoy arguing which is nice for disscussion in class but can get rather tiresome. </p>

<p>is the community super friendly and enjoyable overall? yes. do athletes usually mix with 20 year old angst filled activists on a one person mission to end the “patriarchy”? No not really lol. But none of that matters as long as you find your group which will be easy to do as people arent really afraid to be themselves.</p>

<p>@joshsnow
I’m definitely a liberal person and can see myself fitting in with the general crowd of Vassar. But I’m also outgoing too, and if that’s enough to get me by in NYC, maybe it’s worth the shot. I’m looking to go into a political science major, possibly a double major along with sociology. It sounds like you go to Vassar based on what you said, so do you know how strong these departments are? </p>

<p>And on a side note, what would you rate your experience at Vassar? I’m really just trying to figure out which environment is better for a college kid–dead little Poughkeepsie, or lively NYC.</p>

<p>It is very easy to double major at Vassar - check out the course requirements and NYU and see exactly which courses you will need. Vassar has only a few ‘distribution’ requirements. Not sure about NYU’s distribution requirements…</p>

<p>S1 graduated from Vassar in May and drove back last weekend to Poughkeepsie with his ‘high school’ friends to meet his Vassar friends that are still in Poughkeepsie and attend a concert at a venue in Poughkeepsie. There is plenty to do in the area and you can always take the train to NYC if you need to see the ‘big’ city. Decide if you want city life 24/7 or if walking around the lakes at Vassar, playing golf/tennis or hanging out at the Vassar Farm works better for you. S1 chose Vassar over a school in the city of Boston and loved his exerience at Vassar.</p>

<p>I can’t speak much for NYU, though overall if you’re considering prestige/opportunities after college, Vassar is a first tier school and NYU isn’t, though NYU has been improving in reputation as of late(as has Vassar, which has gone from the strongest women’s school and a school for rich students to a true academic powerhouse that doesn’t need to rely on rich students or its reputation as being good for female students).</p>

<p>Vassar’s community makes everything about it better. It was named the second happiest college for a reason. The students are some of the nicest anywhere if taken as a whole and are recognized as such once they have entered the ‘real world’ post-graduation. I feel that a lot of the feeling of fitting in begins with the [unusually] long orientation process at the beginning of freshman year that equips you to make a lot of friends, starting with those living on your dorm’s floor and then in the rest of your dorm. Clubs and organizations are also great ways to meet people and Vassar students are passionate about what they do outside the classroom, which is great since in college it’s generally much tougher to meet students in class than it is during high school.</p>

<p>Because there’s no campus at NYU, the dorm you’re in really matters. You can research this, but if you stay in a social dorm, you’ll find more of the community feeling. The NYU “campus” is also centered around Washington Square Park. Really, if you’re a city person, you’re going to like it there.</p>