Vassar

I heard of Vassar after my college counselor suggested it. I became interested in Vassar when I learned that my friend Erina would be attending this fall. After looking at the virtual tour online, I wanted to visit this college more than any of the others. Hardwood floors in your dorm, anyone? I liked the school. It definitely wasn't Princeton, but it's like Yale for women (they were asked to be Yale's sister school in 1969 but chose to go coed instead). I liked the atmosphere and the sense of community at Vassar. It also helped that I knew Erina and she introduced me to some great people, but I really did think that the administration acted like they cared a lot about getting to know you and the students were all really friendly. When we first drove in, I almost thought that Vassar was France or England, but it's an eclectic mix of old architecture, 60s architecture, and more modern facades. Vassar really values the arts, which I think is important. And each of the residential halls has a Steinway, as well as all of the practice rooms--pretty awesome if you ask me.

Vassar statistics:
Location: Poughkeepsie, New York
Students: 2,389 (just undergrads)
Acceptance Rate: 29%
Setting: Small town
Cost: $51,370 (ala forbes.com)



the drama building is a little strange--the brick facade and the modern looking entrance are all the same building.



vassar has a mix of architecture, which i found to be interesting and confusing at the same time.



My mother said the main building looks like one you'd find in France or England.


longest freestanding horizontal branch in the world for a long time...until a chain was used as support due to safety issues.

the library was by far my favorite building. it was relaxing and so beautiful.



the dorms are really nice! i didn't take a pic when i went up to erina's dorm, but the bathrooms are clean and the rooms have a lot of space (not to mention generous closets!)





Bottom line: It's not the top of my list, but I would be very happy to go to Vassar. After all, their students are some of the happiest in the country (besides Brown. but we'll get to that later.).