Wesleyan vs. Vassar vs. Haverford vs. Middlebury

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wesleyan University
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Posted this yesterday on the Vassar thread, but since I think my choice will come down to Vassar and Wes, I figured I’d post it here as well.

After getting all of my RD acceptances, I have narrowed my decision down to these four FANTASTIC schools. I applied everywhere as undecided, but I know I am interested in studying English, Theatre, and possibly the social/physical sciences. I am definitely looking for a more arts and humanities focused college experience though.

I am a recently out gay male, so gay population/lgbtqa presence is a relatively important factor for me. (I know all of these schools are super accepting, so that’s not really an issue for me).

I am about as un-athletic as a soft boiled egg, and my main extracurricular interests are music and theatre. More specifically, it is pretty important to me that I have the opportunity to play in a jazz band and participate in musical theatre wherever I decide to go.

In terms of financial aid, Haverford offered me the best package, Middlebury offered me a good package, Vassar offered me an okay package, and I am still waiting to hear from Wesleyan because there was a mistake. My family is not rich, but I do have some money in a college savings account that I can put toward my tuition.

Right now my top choices are Vassar and Wesleyan, but I’m still not 100% sure. I haven’t visited either since last year, but will be visiting in the coming weeks. (I unfortunately cannot make it to WesFest.) I know Vassar and Wesleyan both fit my desires in terms of music/theatre/lgbtqa and also have great academics, but I know that Middlebury is a TEENY bit more prestigious and would also cost less. I like the campus culture at both Vassar and Wesleyan, but I’m not sure if I’m trendy enough to keep up with everybody. The preppiness of Middlebury and the small size of Haverford are a bit frightening.

I’ve been putting a lot of thought into this decision, but if there’s anyone else out there who can provide more insight it would be much appreciated! :slight_smile:
Reply

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Prestige is subjective and often changes over time. 50 years ago, Vassar was a 7 sister (and one of the weaker ones academically) while Wesleyan was seen at that time as more prestigious than Middlebury and even better than Williams or Amherst depending on the year. All the schools you mention are strong academically and in the subjects you are interested in. The recent run-away success of Lin Manuel Miranda and Hamilton has made Wes very attractive now for anyone considering musical theater and like the early success of many Wes Film graduates this could mean significant new booster and alum support in theater going forward. So on that basis if you see the academics about equal, then the Wes advantage in theater (for the present at least) gives it an edge imho.

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I agree with @Regulus7 don’t make your decision based on prestige (and I’m a huge supporter of Middlebury) Prestige is mercurial. If I had selected Columbia or UChicago when I was applying to schools people would have thought I’d chosen less prestigious schools than I could have. Today, they’d be terribly impressed. Select the school that’s the best fit. Wes is definitely well-known for theater and film. I think Middlebury is not nearly as preppy as the stereotype and it also has a great theater program, but it sounds like Wesleyan is the smart choice here.

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Vassar has never been inferior academically. That’s just one person’s opinion based on . . . ?? Historically Vassar has had a string of firsts–first to charter as a college, first to offer classes like chemistry, astronomy, art history to women, first women’s baseball team (bloomer ball); first college to have its own museum for teaching purposes, etc. Google Vassar notable alumni. It’s an awesome list. Vassar was Yale’s sister school, and decided only to not join Yale in 1969 because, prettier campus (an arboretum), distinct academic philosophy (as opposed to TAs at Yale), its distinct history, etc. And it certainly isn’t lower in prestige than Wesleyan or Middlebury. All are fine schools that offer different strengths. If you were my child, I’d encourage you to realize that you can’t really make a wrong choice and to “go” to the one that feels right for you, and best serves your interests, and to not worry about prestige. It seems that for theater you may want to think about whether you’re more into acting and directing (Vassar) or more into writing (Weleyan). Vassar has the vastly superior theater program imo of the three for acting and strongest connections to NYC. Backstage magazine lists it as one of the top 10. Neither of the other two make the mark for theater, but that’s a little unfair to Wesleyan. Vassar’s students many are already professionals and work in the City. Broadway shows (like Hamilton) get developed at Vassar (Hamilton creators met at Wesleyan) and then go to the City. There is also a great tech dept if you’re interested in costuming and light design, etc. Wesleyan is a wonderful school with interesting, intellectually quirky programs with super smart quirky interesting kids and of the three the more interesting music offerings and script writing (google notable alumni and you will see many writers). Of the three Vassar offers more flamboyant, stylish mix, boundaries testing, paradigm testing, and forward-vanguard-striving students. Middlebury is not stylish, nor flamboyant, but it does have the intellectual quirky sense of humor that Vassar and Wesleyan both share. Vassar doesn’t take itself v seriously as per athletics (even though some teams are pretty good). This is not a football school. Rather, it had one of the original ultimate frisby teams way back in the day and with Middlebury, Vassar organized the first quidditch match in 2007. Neither Vassar nor Middlebury have Greek life, which makes a difference on campus. In other words, you need to see what feels right for you. If theater is your main interest, it’s a pretty clear decision to choose Vassar or Wesleyan, but again you be you and see which feels best for you. IMO Vassar is best for theater for acting and for tech. For writing, Wesleyan seems stronger.

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Try to make it to Wesleyan’s Spring Fling. You can’t go wrong with any of them, but I would give the edge to Wesleyan.

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Quidditch (as a sport as opposed to the Harry Potter fictional version) was created at Middlebury, not Vassar, in 2005. Middlebury also hosted the first major tournament in 2007.

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“Quidditch (as a sport as opposed to the Harry Potter fictional version) was created at Middlebury, not Vassar, in 2005. Middlebury also hosted the first major tournament in 2007.”

Middlebury also won the first three(?) world cups :wink:

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@citivas and @urbanslaughter I just love this! This is exactly the nerdy competitive fun that Vassar and Middlebury share. BTW I did note the joint creation of the match accurately and never addressed who invented the sport at all, @citivas, thanking you for the update. According to the Quidditch WC site, Middlebury started, with Vassar close at heals, and the first tournie was between the two. Here is a link – https://www.usquidditch.org/about/history/

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Yeah
One of our first visits to Midd we watched a quid ditch match and my youngest daughter bought a Midd quidditch team tshirt

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If it were me looking at those choices, I’d choose Wesleyan pretty clearly over the others. They are incredibly strong across the spectrum and have fantastic math and physics departments to go along with strength in the arts. The film school at a LAC is unique and I would guess provides spillover benefits for the college that even those who don’t pursue film enjoy.

Finally, while I’m admittedly unclear in the role Vassar played in Miranda’s Hamilton, I think Wes gets the primary claim for credit for Miranda and Kail, both of whom are very enthusiastic Wes grads.

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One more thought: while Middletown (or Poughkipsie) is nobody’s version of cosmopolitan, do understand that Middlebury Vermont is out in the middle of nowhere. Had two kids attend. One acclimated and one did not. The who has figured it out would still tell you it’s not one of The better aspects of attending Mid. The one who didn’t had an issue with a coach too, which didn’t help. That one wound up at Pomona. Hated rural New England.

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Actually one more: Wes has killed the fledgling remnants of its Greek system too. So it too has not Greek life, however that shakes for you.

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When did this happen? Last I heard, they still had a tiny Greek presence off-campus. They’ve been trying hard to kill it completely and have done what they can to neuter it, but from what I had read through a combination of pressure from some large donor alums and some students who reflexively resist anything that smacks of the man trying to tell you what to do, they had not succeeded in completely killing it. It’s still a place for parties, etc. Still, at this point it’s just the equivalent of a minor club and hardly something that should concern anyone who isn’t fond of frats.

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MiddDad2, out of curiosity, what was involved in transferring from Middlebury to Pomona? And other than the coach problem, what didn’t your second kid like about Middlebury?

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@citivas you’re probably more current on the Wes frat situation than I. I had thought that last summer he, Roth, used an infraction of some kind to put a bullet in the last of the frats. They may be appealing or suing or whatever, but it seems fait accompli at this point.

Re Midd … The isolation. Also, while none of my kids have an ounce of arististic talent, they all seem to appreciate being around it, he kid who transferred particularly so. Others may disagree, but that doesn’t seem to be a particular strength of Midd’s. Pomona is not a bastion of artistic expression either; I think Cali was an extreme reaction to hating Middlebury and New England. In hind sight that kid would have, I think, been a fit at Wesleyan. They are taking their sports programs much more seriously than they have historically, they are very strong in the hard sciences and there is a robust arts scene there.

What was involved? Pretty straight forward as I recall: did well first year and had the grades to transfer from one great LAC to another. I hardly lifted a finger.

But, yeah, I’d say Middlebury’s location lost its charm on that kid very quickly. You have to be happy on campus there. There’s not going to be a lot of trips elsewhere from Middlebury. You have to go to St. Lawrence to be more isolated.

In the end, I think a sibling being there played too great a role in the decision. With kid #3, I’ve learned and insist that where sibling 1 and 2 attend should be irrelevant.

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That’s more or less true; there are no single-sex Greek societies currently with a house of their own nor will there be in the foreseeable future. However, one former fraternal organization will be coming out of the penalty box in Fall 2016 as a co-educational entity:
http://www.wesleyan.edu/reslife/housing/program/psiu.htm

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Thanks for the detailed response. Where does sibling #3 favor?

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Seems to change all the time. She really liked BMC, which remains a front runner. Conn Coll. visit is tomorrow. Brandeis is also a possibility.