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Well, I'm getting ready to apply to some schools and I want at least a couple LAC's. Now, I know that Amherst is ranked considerably higher than Vassar in the U.S. News rankings, but I've also heard that Vassar is an excellent LAC. I assume Amherst is also harder to get into. But, my question is, what are the differences between these two schools socially and environmentally? I've heard Amherst is towards the conservative side, whereas Vassar is pretty liberal. Any thoughts?

By Curiousone (Curiousone) on Saturday, May 24, 2003 - 09:57 pm: Edit

I have not visited Amherst and certainly it has a better reputation than Vassar academically, but I can tell you that Vassar is indeed fairly liberal and artsy, but they do have a Republican party club on campus as well as a definite sizeable minority of student conservatives.

I visited the campus about a month ago and found it to be gorgeous, and all the students I met and admissions staff were very intelligent and friendly compared to some of the other schools I have visited. I hadn't even really considered it as an option before visiting but afterwards, I considered it one of my top choices as far as ballpark schools go. Its academic programs in my areas of interest are fairly strong compared to other LACs but what's more is that socially I felt very at home there and it just seemed like a great environment to be in and seemed really underrated.

I hope this helps you, somehow. I know that it kinda rambled.

By Unhappiness (Unhappiness) on Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 07:08 pm: Edit

vassar is a fantastic school, great if you are creative as they are big on drama ( meryl streep, lisa kudrow, justin long and anne hathaway are all graduates) and art. the campus is so beautiful and the atmosphere is friendly. vassar is part of the seven sisters. amherst, on the other hand, doesn't have a particularly pretty campus and it seems that it is constantly trying to be one of the ivies by comparing itself to them on every level ( i mean if you have to try that hard...).

By Curiousone (Curiousone) on Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 10:21 pm: Edit

Although Vassar is still one of the seven sisters if I understand correctly, they are now co-ed and have a 60% female : 40% male gender ratio.

By Spiffybrownboy (Spiffybrownboy) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 12:56 pm: Edit

Yeah, they are co-ed, or they'd better be! I'm a male hehe. I'm a very artistic person, I've been involved in school plays and I'm a dedicated singer. But I'm not majoring in these things in college. How's Vassar in the sciences (particularly Biology)?

By Dream5 (Dream5) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 02:51 pm: Edit

lol @ spiffy

Don't worry about it yet.

The chances are you probably won't get into Amherst.

Most people think liberal arts colleges are easier to get in. It certainly is not the case with the top liberal arts colleges like Amherst.

By Spiffybrownboy (Spiffybrownboy) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 07:37 pm: Edit

I know I won't get into Amherst, so I'm focusing more on Vassar. Back to my question, any news on their science program? Anyone?

By Chasgoose (Chasgoose) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 02:27 am: Edit

I am not sure about science at Vassar. My mom went there and in the alumni magazine they always tout all the cool new science buildings and equipment they have, but my read on it is that Vassar tends to skew more towards humanities. Amherst, however, is not any better. For example, they barely offer enough Physics classes to constitute a major. They both have jaw-droppingly beautiful campuses and buildings (Vassar's campus is prettier). I think sciences are going to be a problem at any small LAC. From an admissions standpoint, Vassar is definitely going to be easier to get into, especially if you are a boy because they desperately need boys.

By Spiffybrownboy (Spiffybrownboy) on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 10:20 pm: Edit

Yeah, I know most small colleges focus on humanities, but I read about Vassar's biopsych major (something I really love and not many colleges offer). They also focus on research and have this research institute in biology. I know small LAC's aren't like ivy leagues in the sciences, but I think Vassar's science program is worthwhile, or so it seems. I'm still not sure but thanks for the advice!

By Spiffybrownboy (Spiffybrownboy) on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 10:20 pm: Edit

Yeah, I know most small colleges focus on humanities, but I read about Vassar's biopsych major (something I really love and not many colleges offer). They also focus on research and have this research institute in biology. I know small LAC's aren't like ivy leagues in the sciences, but I think Vassar's science program is worthwhile, or so it seems. I'm still not sure but thanks for the advice!

By Jjsmom (Jjsmom) on Friday, May 30, 2003 - 09:15 pm: Edit

Glad Vassar is being mentioned! It is one of the schools on our "to visit" list. I wonder if it's pretty much closed over the summer?

My son also is into the sciences, and although he doesn't have a career firmly in mind, he was leaning toward chem, which is why we're concerned about Vassar. He is *very* into instrumental music too (not as a major, but for extracurriculars, perhaps a few classes), and he was going to find out about their music options there.

Another concern is social life. I've heard Poughkeepsie isn't exactly a rockin' town. And, please don't take this the wrong way, but.. will a heterosexual male not into "hooking up" but into the boyfriend/girlfriend thing find happiness there? The only people I know who went to Vassar were gay, this was back in the 70s. Ack, that sounded like I'm homophobic, I'm not at all, nor is my son. But I'd like to know if there is a dating scene for him there.

Thanks in advance for any input!

By Spiffybrownboy (Spiffybrownboy) on Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 11:58 pm: Edit

Vassar, I would think, has some great music programs. I too would like to pursue music as an extracurricular (obsessed singer haha). I was under the impression there were a lot of things to do AROUND Poughkeepsie but maybe not in Poughkeepsie itself, but I do know Poughkeepsie is gorgeous, and I have heard from every person who visits Vassar that the campus is stunning. As for the dating scene, I haven't a clue. I have also heard that there is a strong gay community there. I'm not homophobic, but I'd like to have a social life as well. And yes, the sciences may be lacking... I guess I'll have to look into it more.

By Chasgoose (Chasgoose) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 02:09 am: Edit

A strong gay scene plus a disproportionately female student body means that straight men should find it easy when they want to date women. It's all about supply and demand...

By Chiangkaishrek (Chiangkaishrek) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 07:04 am: Edit

Are you kidding me?

Amherst of course!!!!

I heard the student body at Vassar is very liberal, and there are some weird gay students there.

By Listentome (Listentome) on Friday, September 19, 2003 - 08:53 pm: Edit

I stumbled upon this thread months after the original post, but I hope this reply will clear things up.

I am a junior at Vassar. Just so you know, I turned down Cornell and Tufts to come here. I hope you don't have the impression that admission here is easy, because that is simply not the case.

Yes, the school is liberal. However, if you think the campus is crawling with hippies you are totally mistaken. I believe that the majority of Vassar students lean towards the left, but the notion that we are a population of lesbian, tree-hugging, vegan, anti-war protesters is completely false.

Do we have gay students? Yes, but the proportion is not likely any different from Boston U, NYU, Wesleyan, etc. Rather, we are simply more accepting of others. Personally, I'm all for environmental and animal rights causes and would support more attention to said campaigns, but the truth is that students here all have their own agendas and interests.

In addition, Vassar has very strong science programs. I, myself am a neuroscience (AKA biopsycholoy) major with a chemistry minor. I have spent a lot of time at several other liberal arts colleges (including Swarthmore and Williams) and have friends at a variety of other well respected universities. I have an aunt who teaches Biology at Dartmouth and a cousin who is a chemistry professor at UPenn. Both agree wholeheartedly that Vassar's programs are without a doubt, on part with any other school in the country. I have not encountered any faculty members who are more qualified or personable or than the ones here.

I get the impression that most people who post here consider the U.S. News rankings as the be all and end all in terms of college information and admission. Perhaps Harvard has a higher alumni giving rate than Brown. Maybe Tuft's retention rate is 2% better than Colgates. But newsflash: any source that tells you that MIT is better than Yale, or that Swarthmore is better than Wesleyan is, to a huge degree, presenting some very arbitrary information.