by Sue Luse

Vassar is located in Poughkeepsie, NY, about an hour and a half from NYC, on the Hudson river. The college campus is a combination of old and new architecture with a stunning library and performing arts center. We stayed in the historic town of Rhinebeck, about 20 minutes away.

Some notes about Vassar College:

• Students at Vassar were diverse and from all over
• No core curriculum
• Can triple major
• English, psychology, biology, economics, political science are the most popular majors
• Lang requirement
• AP level will waive if you get 4 or 5
• 40 percent study abroad
• 1000 courses to choose from – can register for 7 then drop down to 4 so can shop around for best fit
• 2500 students
• Good advising for both majors and minors
• Field work is what they call internships – must do a normal and submit a paper. Vassar sets up field work in the area and provides transportation.
• Students can also intern in NYC who want to get experience working in museums, PR firms, businesses, medical institutions, law firms and  on Wall Street
• There is a Metro Link to New York City
• 22 percent acceptance rate, most rigorous possible high school curriculum required
• Students reviewed from the context of their high school
• Students should take all 5 core classes, English, Math, Science, world language and social studies all four years, and take as many AP courses as possible.
• 3.8 GPA
• ACT with writing 30-33
• Will super score all test scores – send all scores
• Early Decision has a 10-15 percent higher acceptance
• Extra-curriculars important, looking for leadership
• 20 percent in Division III sports, the rest in club and intramural sports
• Students are assigned to one of 9 “houses”, they live in the same house for three years
• There are house fellows who are faculty families who live in the house
• Went co-ed in 1969
• Plan to expand sciences
• Fun fact, the barefoot monks are one of the hundreds of student groups at Vassar, they are a juggling club.
• Who does well at Vassar? Ones who have learned how to balance rigorous academics and their activities.
• Their library closes at 12 because they want students to go home and sleep!
• Poughkeepsie has 120,000 people in the area
• Students do not go into the city all that much, because Vassar has such a multitude of things to do on campus.

For more information, check out Vassar’s website: www.vassar.edu