Will he fit in at Vassar?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vassar College
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<p>My son is looking at small liberal arts colleges with strong science programs, and he's strongly considering Vassar. He has the credentials to have a reasonable shot at getting in; the question is whether he's a good fit there socially.</p>

<p>He's politically liberal (clearly good fit) although not politically active, and very interested in sports (he looks forward to participating in IMs, and Vassar seems to have quite a strong IM culture). He's a really nice, decent kid with a strong community orientation and loves hanging out with his friends. He's very musical but not an artsy personality at all, and verbal repartee or long intellectual arguments are not his thing. While he wants the broader education of a liberal arts college, his interest and strength are clearly in the sciences.</p>

<p>Any thoughts on whether he'd be a reasonable fit at Vassar would be much appreciated.</p>

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<p>Things that sound like Vassar to me:
politically liberal
very musical
strong community orientation
loves hanging out with his friends</p>

<p>Things that don't sound like Vassar to me:
not politically active
very interested in sports
not an artsy personality at all
verbal repartee or long intellectual arguments are not his thing</p>

<p>Disclaimer: I don't go to Vassar - this is based on people I know who go there, and my experience visiting. So, highly subjective, etc. I'd strongly encourage you to visit the school - I think once he's there it'll be very easy for both of you to tell whether or not he fits.</p>

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<p>My bf, a true Vassarian, is a very sports-oriented guy. He has definitely found his niche among IM sports, and he's found friends that are similar to him who also enjoy sports (going to games, playing pick-up games, etc). He's definitely not artsy in the least, and while he's interested in politics, he's definitely not politically active. (This makes it sound like he's not involved, haha, he holds a job and volunteers as well as sports and classes). He couldn't be happier - he's found some great friends, and he loves it there.
If you want, p/m me with more specific questions, and perhaps I can get him to answer them for you. Hope this helps. :)
And btw, I don't go to Vassar either, but I've obviously visited several times and it's a great school, if you're looking at liberal arts schools.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your replies. ceruleanyankee, it's very encouraging to hear that someone who seems to have a similar profile to my son is so happy at Vassar and has found some great friends there. We may take you up on your offer to p/m if we have more specific questions - tx again.</p>

<p>In general, I suspect my son's personality/interest mix means that he doesn't fall into one of the obvious categories: he loves sports, but he's not a "jock" in the frat sense (in fact, he has pretty much ruled out any college with frats) and he's not preppy either. It also probably means that he may not be perfectly in synch with the majority culture at any college - but as long as the culture is tolerant of who he is, and he has some good friends, I think he'll be quite happy. </p>

<p>And btw quaere, thanks also for your great post on your visit to Oberlin. I was happy to see that you felt that various kinds of students (including athletes!) appeared to be welcome there as well.</p>

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<p>There are many schools that would fit your son's profile. Did you choosr Vassar for geographical reasons?</p>

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<p>Sorry, didn't mean to imply that he's focused primarily on Vassar. He's also looking at SLACs in the New England/NY area, Pennsylvania and the Midwest. </p>

<p>Many of the New England schools seemed to be high on the preppy quotient, but he could probably live with that. Vassar and Oberlin also appeared to have the advantage of being non-preppy, but we did want to check out the culture further, and hence my post.</p>

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<p>I don't have your son's Stats, but I went through this same process with my son who just graduated last night. I venture to say that almost any of the LAC's would fit him. My son is extremely left wing politically but a bit reserved in his behavior. He does not do sports or watch sports. He is interested in music, classics, and medicine. He decided on Vassar in tenth grade when his sister visited. Although he did apply, by the time came to choose, he felt like he had outgrown it a bit because it was too much like his high school. </p>

<p>He decided on Williams although some felt it was too "preppy" for him. He liked the idea of being in the mountains to learn to really hike, ski, and experience a different life style. Just to indicate how left he is, he was often one of two students not to stand during what he felt were overly patriotic and inappropriate displays. However, one wouldn't call him "hippie" -- he's just too dorky. (He's a popular kid however I'm making him sound.) He doesn't like the "coolness" of hipster culture, finding people too sarcastc, druggy and worried about image. </p>

<p>(If your child is at Vassar, Bard, Wesleyan etc. please don't be offended. These are just son's views, not mine. He applied to, and was accepted at all these schools, including Brown, so he must have liked them. I love all these schools, and he's just a 17 year-old-kid. He just felt he needed more structure and what he perceived as more freedom to define himself. He would have been thrilled to attend any of these schools had Williams not accepted him.)</p>

<p>He was also interested in Amherst (waitlisted) And UChicago (accepted.)</p>

<p>I also want to suggest Bates. Not as preppy as some suggest.</p>

<p>I guess i am saying that the character of student body being exactly like your son may not be easy to find. (my S probably not be able to find large group of kids whose favorite things are Star Wars, Batman, Kurt Vonnegut, Virgil, Bach, Beatles, and Bob Dylan.) He focused on the experience he wanted for himself and trusted that he would be able to find friends. I hope he's right, but he's had a lot of success, probably because he has such a "neutral" personality. One of his close friends is a Republican. S experienced a lot of satisfaction in educating him out of homophobic ideas and dealing with friend's utter shock that S didn't stand during a playing of "Proud to Be an American" during a pro-war assembly on the anniversary of 9/11.</p>

<p>Sorry this post is so long. I just think our POV and outcome were a little different than most.</p>

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<p>Oh, and I forgot. Haverford.</p>

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<p>Vassar is a very accepting and diverse community, one in which your son could fit into rather well. Though Vassar may have some preps, I would not dare venture to say that it is a preppy school by any means. Indie-chic hipsters are more common, but there are other social groups aswell. However, as I said, Vassar should not be categorized as hipster or preppy, as people at Vassar are just that; people. Wonderful, bright, fun people.</p>

<p>Vassar is perhaps a tad more artsy than your son may want. Many define Vassar as a "strong LAC in the NE with strong programs in the humanities and a particular accent on the fine arts." Vassar still offers strong programs in the sciences and mathematics though.</p>

<p>Bard is very much like Vassar, only it's a tad less selective and athletics on campus are almost non existent. </p>

<p>Check out Grinnell; that's in the midwest. Maybe some NW ones aswell, such as Reed or Lewis and Clark. Back in the NE, good schools include the ones aforementioned and Colgate, Hamilton, Middlebury, etc.</p>

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<p>Thanks very much for your detailed replies.</p>

<p>mythmom: Extremely helpful and relevant to get your perspective. Also interesting to see your comment on Bates (that was our gut feel as well, and to some extent in contrast with Colby). Any comment on Bowdoin in this context?</p>

<p>OniLawliet: tx for your suggestions - yes, we're checking out Grinell and Middlebury. He's not looking at Colgate though because of the Greek scene.</p>

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<p>Bowdoin is not ultra-preppy either. Student interviewer has long hair and was reading Thomas Pynchon. He was a lovely young man who had wonderful things to say about both Bates and Colby. (How refreshing!)</p>

<p>S did not ultimately apply to Bowdoin simply because we did not want to overload our list w/super selective colleges. We liked Bates better. We likedv the campus better, the people semmed warmer, and things seemed better organized. That said, our D (who is already in college and just along for the ride) fell in love with its Atlantic location. And I know it is strong in sciences.</p>

<p>However, we found S had most success in acceptance at most competitive schools. Yield management and fit certainly come into play more than I could have imagined.</p>

<p>About Vassar: Great to apply to because gender ratio makes being male a great advantage. Caveat: Their financial aid package was SIGNIFICANTLY the weakest we were offered. S's friend just returned from first year mightily enthusiastic. He also now has hair past his shoulders and bull nose ring. Not a problem for me (I spent years only dating boys with hair past shoulders) but gives you an idea of style.</p>

<p>S's close friend going to Bates. He's Indian, wants to be a doctor, and is insane for world drumming. He's an awesome solo drummer who visits India, Calif. and Singapore every year. Neither hippie nor preppy.</p>

<p>Another close friend going to Haverford. He is a lovely young man who fell in love with the intimacy of Haverford, the proximity (sic?) of Philly and the honor code. More hippie than preppie, but not really. (Brilliant -- 800 on Math SAT's.)</p>

<p>Another friend going to Wesleyan to study math. She is also neither preppy nor hippie (unlike Wesleyan's image of hipness.) She is a truly radiant human being.</p>

<p>And dear, dear son going toWilliams for mountains, music, classics, medicine with secret plan to start a film department there. He is more hippie than preppy if I had to pick. He's laid back and low key and lives for Bach.</p>

<p>None of these kids is Republican. All close friends.</p>

<p>Too uber-preppy girls S is not friends with are going to Tufts and Cornell.
Super star friend is going to Princeton.</p>

<p>Oh, this is biased, but for what it's worth S did not like Middlebury. Information session kept stressing the "purity" of VT and the fact that there were no chains or billboards. S said he didn't want to join VT cult.</p>

<p>Thought Swarthmore too stridently PC and Haverford too earnest. Son is very humorous/sarcastic. Loves Williams purple cow and self-mockery.</p>

<p>Again, these are all wonderful schools. Don't mean to offend anyone with prejudices of silly seventeen year old. Just telling OP what worked & didn't for him. See how your son responds with his gut.</p>

<p>Personally I loved Swarthmore. All schools would have been fine with me. And yes, we did think Colby preppier than Bates or Bowdoin. However, lovely cousin attended, loved it and is a leftest.</p>

<p>Colgate definitely preppy. D's friend loves frat scene. Hamilton has problem w/split campus. Seems to be division between two halves of campus. Sciences on one half (nicer half) and arts on other (grungy half).</p>

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<p>Terrific; thanks so much, mythmom.</p>

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<p>I graduated from Vassar and played sports all four years. My son is playing lacrosse there. The new coach is great. The cross country coach is great. Vassar's sports program gets an unfair rap. It does not dominate campus life but it is there and getting stronger in all areas. I had a great experience at Vassar with academics, music and sports.</p>

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<p>I had a great experience playing Varsity field hockey at Vassar. My best male friend played soccer. My son had a great experience with lacrosse and track. Sports at Vassar don't dominate campus life but they are alive and well and fun. There is also an active outdoors club that rock climbs, etc. Vassar gets a bad rap about sports which is not the reality at all.</p>