<p>I can't decide which one should I apply to ED II. I would love some insight on these two. </p>
<p>They are both on top of my list and this is a very tough decision to make. </p>
<p>I love Oxy's location. I have lived in CA for about a year and absolutely loved it there. I'm not too sure about Poughkeepsie though. I would like to hear more about it. </p>
<p>Besides location, I am interested in your opinion on the general vibes of these two schools, the financial aid for internationals and which one is more easier to get in to. </p>
<p>Vassar is a considerably tougher admit - make sure you have the stats they want before you even bother. Also, relatively speaking, Vassar is a political hotbed, full of activist students. Not that Oxy is conservative by any means, they have their own activist tradition, but Vassar is one of the more left-wing schools out there, and therefore not for everyone.</p>
<p>@MrMom62, thanks for your insight! I chose these two because they seem like good fits for me. I am not the activist type, but I’m pretty liberal in my views. That’s why I am tempted to apply to one of these ED II. </p>
<p>I hate to ask this, but in terms of name and reputation, which one is more well known? Which one may offer a possible advantage when applying to grad school or jobs?</p>
<p>For 2013-14, Vassar awarded financial aid to about 4x as many internationals as Occidental (89 v. 15). Vassar’s average award was almost 18% higher ($47, 509 v. $40,312). Information source: Vassar & Occidental 2013-14 Common Data Set files, section H6. Your Mileage May Vary.</p>
<p>Vassar also is significantly more selective. How much more so? You can look up their average entering GPAs and test scores with a simple Google search.</p>
<p>Neither school’s “name” is likely to offer a significant advantage over the other’s when applying to grad school or for jobs. What you’ve achieved during college is likely to make a much bigger difference than any difference in college name recognition (which is likely to vary by region). If you’re talking about PhD programs, it will be very important to present clear, well-focused research interests that align with the interests/expertise of the faculty. If you’re talking about MBA programs, your employment/internship experiences may be a strong factor. For law school, it’s mostly about GPA and LSAT scores. </p>
<p>If you have no clear preference at this late date, why don’t you just apply RD to both schools? If both schools accept you with financial aid, then you can choose the one with the better financial aid offer. You cannot compare offers if you are admitted in an ED round. </p>
<p>If cost is not a very big factor, and you really believe an ED application will give you a significant advantage, then it may come down to which college will give you the biggest ED boost. Do you even need that boost to get into Occidental? If you do, then you might not have a very good shot at Vassar, even with EDII.
If you don’t, then you may want to apply to Vassar ED if you think it could put you over the edge (without locking you out of a better aid offer.)</p>