Hi everyone! I’m currently deciding between Smith and Vassar, and any input would be helpful at this point. I was given a Zollman scholarship + STRIDE at Smith (don’t qualify for financial aid), but I’m instinctively leaning towards Vassar at the moment. A little bit about me:
• I’m considering majoring in biology and/or anthropology
• I’m interested in joining some kind of music ensemble and doing community service, but I’m not very athletic
• I’m quite liberal/leftist and definitely want some degree of activism in the student culture but not at the expense of expression. That is, I would hope there is culture of open discussion and respect even if someone’s values do not necessarily align with your own
• Looking for a close-knit, supportive, collaborative community and an academic environment that is rigorous and intellectual but not so stressful that there’s no time for other pursuits (extracurriculars, etc.)
• I’m also most likely going to grad school, so does one have a better reputation/advising?
• Also Smith has almost twice the endowment of Vassar- is that important in any way?
• Not sure about all women vs co-ed
I don’t have the opportunity to visit, so any information at all about general student culture, social life, campus vibe, etc. would be very helpful! 
Vassar has an impressive new science building for biology that is just gorgeous! Music is very strong at Vassar and there are many groups chamber, choral, instrumental - all excellent and at or near conservatory level but also there are music groups for every level. The concerts are attended by friend, families, faculty, the college president and community people - all supportive and just enjoying the concerts! Vassar is definitely collaborative with an intellectual focus and rigors classes. Both S1 and S2 attended a grad school that was tops in their area of concentration. The cool thing about Vassar as a coed school is that the male and female sports teams support each other and non athlete friends regularly attend the games and meets… We are not as familiar with Smith so I can’t comment to compare. You seem like you would fit in well at Vassar. Read more of the college confidential posts over the years and you will get a sense of the ‘vibe’ if you can’t visit.
Vassar for you! Vassar is collaborative, conscious of politics, but not IN YOUR FACE about it; artistic; strives for personal excellence without being competitive with peers; the science facilities are top notch and to my mind the campus is much much nicer. Smith’s campus looks like a country club. Vassar’s is well maintained but doesn’t have any uptight vibe and there are still many natural areas, a forested area, a farm, and a lake.
Vassar is also an easy ride to NYC on the commuter train line. You can get down and back in a day, and see a play with TKTS tickets. You can also head down for interviews for internships etc. or go to the museums down there (Met is pay what you wish like $1).
You won’t regret Vassar.
I think they’re peers with a capital p, in terms of academic quality and rep.
A few differences I’m aware of off the top of my head (you probably already know these things; I’ll posit them partly for those who lack this knowledge):
- Smith offers an open curriculum, while Vassar has more traditional distribution requirements (in place mainly to ensure breadth of education...).
- Smith is part of the Five Colleges. As such, students can also take classes at Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Hampshire and UMass-Amherst.
- Smith is all women, while Vassar is co-ed. (Five College men can take classes at Smith, though, so there are bound to be some male students on Smith's campus at most points throughout the day).
In terms of academic culture, I think Vassar is best known for its humanities and soft sciences. I regret not really knowing where Smith’s relative strengths lie, apart from its overall academic excellence.
Smith has a reputation for rigor. I’m not sure if Vassar is generally regarded as having that same level of rigor.
If level of rigor and relative program strengths matter to you, definitely read the CC threads mentioning these schools – I’m sure at some point this site has been graced with testimony related thereto.
And maybe this thread will shed further light.
I should add that Vassar College is located in Poughkeepsie NY, which is not a great area located in the Hudson valley. Not very safe, and not very attractive either.
Edited for language
ED
To clarify post 3, Vassar does not have typical distribution requirements. It has foreign language and quantitative reasoning requirements. Not a fully open curriculum, therefore, but more open than schools requiring two courses in each of three areas, etc.
Vassar has a really friendly environment with a great sense of community in each dorm and across campus.
And, it’s co-ed, yet still a place that reflects its heritage as a leader in women’s education.
It is also one of the prettiest campuses. It is an arboretum with beautiful buildings.
This very liberal, progressive school also has old fashioned traditions like afternoon tea in the parlor.
Vassar does not have ‘traditional distribution requirements’- it has 3 generic stipulations: 1) you have to take a Freshman Writing Course, which are regular classes in every department/subject area that have been been designated as fulfilling the requirement; 2) you have to show proficiency to low intermediate level in a foreign language (SAT subject test fulfills it); and 3) a quantitative course (again, there are a ton of courses across many subject areas that fulfill it).
Vassar may be better known for arts (esp theatre) and social sciences, but they have been putting a serious focus on science. They have the oldest cog sci program, have invested heavily in resources for the sciences, their grads do very well on grad school admissions (med school, PhD)
Vassar is actually located in Arlington, a suburb of Poughkeepsie. Poughkeepsie is indeed a run down town, but the area around Vassar is quite beautiful.
I am not advocating for Vassar > Smith- the above points are just addressing points made by other posters that could be misleading.
The Zollman is quite a generous scholarship- are you / your family price-insentivie, or will that be a factor?
Poughkeepsie is not that bad. It has a really cool waterfront with some nice restaurants by the train station and public buildings. And the beauty of the Hudson river valley more then makes up for whatever deficiencies Poughkeepsie has. It has some run down areas but nothing like north Philly run down and no completely abandoned areas. And it is still the headquarters of IBM.
Also I saw some pretty threadbare areas in whatever that town is Smith is a when I was there I was conscious of seeing quite a few homeless people.
But before you completely trash Poughkeepsie go down to the waterfront and do the walk across the hudson
@collegemom3717 - not to nit pick, but Vassar is located in the Town of Poughkeepsie, just on the border with the City of Poughkeepsie. Arlington is a neighborhood/school district name in the Town, just like Spackenkill. The bad part of Poughkeepsie is the urban core of the City which is a good couple of miles from the campus. There is a lot of new development going on at the waterfront and the Walkway has been a great addition. Having lived off campus in both the Bronx and West Philly during the 80s, it’s not that level of bad.
Fair enough, @HazeGrey! was mostly making the point that the neighborhood around the college is not the same as the city center
@collegemom3717 Agree that the Vassar campus is on “the right side of the tracks” in Poughkeepsie. Gone are the days though when Peck & Peck had a store on Raymond Avenue. Time has claimed all of my old hangouts as well. Lots of memories from the Dutch Cabin and Little Brauhaus.
Poughkeepsie offers a lot to Vassar and I’m shocked that people shun it or say that their snowflakes should stay away. It offers–
- music venues that attract well-known talent
- internships that lead to real jobs for Vassar students
- a gorgeous train station
- history
- restaurants
It’s a real community and it has a lot to offer.
hand on heart, @HazeGrey, I wouldn’t be surprised if you & I are the only people on CC who remember that there was such a thing as Peck & Peck. You know that Juliet cinema is now the college bookstore & burger joint, yes?
Agree with @Dustyfeathers, & Vassar is working hard to strengthen positive & productive links between town & gown. And I love that train station…
@collegemom3717 One of my brothers still lives there so I get back occasionally. I saw the change in the Juilet. No more Squires East on College Ave. either. Or Frivolous Sal’s. Glad to see that McAuley’s is back to its old name though.
D applied to both and Vassar was a clear winner between the two, actually Vassar was one of her two top choices overall. Unfortunately, she was WL at both (she was accepted at Smith though but chose another school). I also much preferred Vassar to Smith.
Smith’s campus is really falling apart. Vassar just built a huge new science center, renovated a dorm, doing a big landscaping job… I get the sense that Vassar has far more resources.
“Vassar is collaborative, conscious of politics, but not IN YOUR FACE about it” stood out to me, because I find this to be completely and utterly false. I am a sophomore at Vassar, and I find people to be incredibly in your face about everything. Liberal intolerance dominates. Rather than trying to understand people’s differing beliefs, many see that their points of view are the only correct ones. It’s their way, or the highway. I actually feel very uncomfortable speaking up in humanities classes because of this. And also, because I’m worried that anything I say can be misconstrued. I am a liberal person, from NYC where I grew up exposed to all different thoughts and opinions and much diversity. But here, I find that people only think a certain way, and if you disagree, you’re very much stigmatized. I honestly hate the social life at Vassar, and surprisingly I chose this institution largely because of this. I thought the social aspect seemed great because I thought it seemed extremely accepting of everyone. I could not have been more wrong. I do love the professors and the small class sizes though. The profs are super brilliant, kind, and helpful. I wouldn’t trade the academics for the world. Definitely top notch. If you are willing to let your social life suffer at the expense of quality academics, then this is the right school.
My Vassar collegekid is having a very different experience than you are, @97college, with floormates who are strongly conservative, breathtakingly liberal, very religious, avowedly athiestic - and they are all planning to live together in the TAs. There are certainly intolerant people at Vassar- from every angle- but in her experience they are neither the majority nor defining. I hope you find more agreeable people - they are there.
@collegemom3717 - Thanks for your comment about your child’s experience. My D will be a freshman at Vassar and while I’m very excited for her to have this opportunity, I’m also very nervous. We are from the southeast and she will be far from home. I’m very much hoping she will enjoy the social atmosphere there and find some good friends.
Congrats to your D, @elena13! I truly hope that her Vassar experience is as happy as my collegekid’s has been. After a very slightly rocky start, she has absolutely thrived- academically and personally. She has grown up so much, and is so happy in herself. Vassar really isn’t everybody’s cup of tea- some of that is the place (it does have a lot of New England sensibilities), some of that is how the person perceives it, and of course, some of it is who you get to know. It is a small community, but there are lots of pathways through it, even now there are rather a lot of people in her class that my girl doesn’t know (tbf, she is not the most extroverted creature).
I do agree with @97college that there are a lot of people at Vassar who are very passionate about how the world should be, but in my experience of colleges and college students, Vassar is not unique in that. There is indeed a strong streak of social justice awareness across the campus (this year’s commencement speaker was very strong in that, and was celebrating the first cohort of Posse Vets graduating).