Student Profile
Little Tony
- Class: Freshman
- Major: Other Humanities
- Gender: M
- High School: Smithtown High School East
- Transfer Student: N
Big Picture
I didn't want to come to a small school at first, but Vassar surprised me. Instead of the intense scrutiny that tends to come with a small school, Vassar gives a personal feel without being smothering. That is to say, you don't have to try that hard in order to stand out, but you're not exactly under the microscope either.
Academic Life
If you come to Vassar, be prepared to read. No, seriously - I mean it. Vassar is well-known for emphasizing the use of primary sources in both teaching and research - a facet of the experience which I am intimately familiar with, being a Medieval Studies major. Your biggest class, with the exception of maybe Intro to Art History, will be around thirty students. And yes, you will be on a first-name basis with a good percentage of your professors. People teach at Vassar because they enjoy teaching, so be prepared to learn. Don't come in with any delusions of grandeur; they will be smashed upon the rocks of higher education ever so quickly. Your professors will ask you to back up what you say with evidence; if you can't you're up a certain creek without a paddle.
Student Body
Liberal. Liberal to the core. And for the most part, at least comfortably well off. We love to talk politics here, and we're a fairly hardcore "Barack Obama" institution. There's a student activist group for pretty much anything one can think of - yes, even anti-Coke and anti-Barnes & Noble groups exist. Sometimes it gets a little ridiculous, but for the most part, they mean well. Also, there's a large LGBT population; the Queer Coalition - as it is so named - holds a lot of power at this school. IF you find homosexuality even slightly unacceptable, you may want to look elsewhere. Everything here is gender-neutral, down to the bathrooms, so you'd best be comfortable with yourself, or you'll become so quite quickly.
The Best Things
Most of the time, they AREN'T!
The Worst Things
Sometimes people are the walking, talking pretentious hipster stereotypes.
