So my final choice really boils down to Wesleyan vs Vassar. I know there are a lot of threads on this topic already. I have read every single one. But I’d still like some new/updated info from current students or recent grads.
Here is a bit about me/my criteria:
- I want to major/double major in either studio art, political science(govt. at Wes), film, English or comp.sci.
- I am artsy (I like a good music/art scene), feminist, liberal and straight. Not ultraliberal though. I'm not into sports.
- I want a strong campus/dorm community life in which I can make lots of friends.
- I want a broad education. Quality of teaching is very, very important to me, even in areas which aren't in my interest areas. For example, I've heard Vassar has a bad math department. Is this true? Could anyone maybe shed some light on the comparative teaching quality in other subjects as well between Wes/Vassar? Is it true that Vassar's English department is better than Wes's?
- I'm into design and journalism. I'd love to work for a campus publication. I was also hoping to sort of join group projects with programmers for making apps and games. I understand that since these schools are artsy, such things will be less prevalent, but would you say that either Vassar or Wes is stronger?
- I want to go to a good grad school, maybe in business or a science
- Finally, I want to date at college. I'm a straight girl so am slightly worried about the skewed Vassar m/f ratio and the abundance of gay men (got absolutely nothing against them - but since dating is important to me, I see it as a point of interest at least).
I will be eternally grateful to anyone who can provide any information regarding what I’ve said or talk about their experiences at either school.
Am also going to post this on the Wes boards.
I answered in your other thread on “College Search & Selection”.
I hope I am not to chatty on these boards but I was just at Vassar yesterday to see my son in the play Arden of Faversham in the Shakespeare garden. I am pro Vassar so… Drama at Vassar can’t be beat. I have heard Film at Wesleyan is legendary but Vassar does count a successful active director in is alumni. Just mentioning that Vassar has a broadcast radio station and a friend of my son does a talk show/journalism show on that station which is mostly music and not real big time or anything but offers some opportunities. By the way poukeepsie is underrated. The waterfront is very pretty with some top notch restaurants. I was just at this place Mill street pub and it was packed on Thursday. My son is not gay and there is lots of dating going on and there are some gay woman to counteract the gay men though way less then the other of the seven sisters. Also if you really wanted there are other colleges in Poughkeepsie like Marist and culinary institute but in truth there is no interaction. Literature at Vassar is selective. I understand you have to submit samples to get into the program. My son is very involved in live RPG’s, plays dungeon and dragons and a couple of others and I know his friend is working on designing board games there is a very active club on this front. One thing, the Dorms at Vassar are the best I have seen. There is so much public space and people are always out of their rooms using it. Every time I am at Jewett there are numerous study groups, people gaming, watching TV, on every floor. People are really in the dorms out of the rooms. My sons roommate is a math major and there is some talk that it is not the strongest major at Vassar but he got into some sort of paid internship program that was really high end over the summer applying out of that department. but in the sciences they have just opened a new building and it is mind blowing. Of course the literature department is one of the countries best and the studio arts are great. The art museum is one of the very best college museum in the country. For his art history class he was expected to go into NY to the Met. Computer science can be hard classes to get into. I believe Vassar had the first computer programing major in the country if you read about the history of programing. My hunch is that between the two of these schools programing is stronger at Vassar. I know my son couldn’t get into the computer programming major as starting junior if he hadn’t taken classes up to. I feel Wesleyan is a bigger party school try searching Wesleyan Party maybe more advant-garde Vasser more hippy/hipster though to me in what I have seen more kind of like theater nerd vibe but not at all circles. My son applied to Wesleyan and did not get admitted though he didn’t really like it anyway for real. My daughter didn’t apply to either school but she got such a negative vibe at Wesleyan that she left before she even did the interview so much so that now she hates the whole state of Connecticut, was this really powerful thing, likes Vassar but her brother goes there soo… There is this very subtle thing Wesleyan is New England and Vassar is mid Atlantic. They are not that far from each other but there is a difference. There are gay men for sure and if you were anyone that this bothers do not go to Vassar. I have been to Wesleyan three times and Vassar a couple of dozen so take all this as fairly worthless but anyway that’s my thoughts. Both colleges are going to look great to grad schools. I think Wesleyan cares more about sports. I would bet my dinner that Vassar is more feminist you know seven sister and all.