I graduated from Vassar in the 1980s, and I always enjoy bumping into videos created by current students talking about what the school is like today. When I was a student, Vassar did not have any quantitative requirement. That was actually one of my criteria for choosing a school --- I found Math to be unbearably boring, and I didn't want to have to take any Math. Although, I did end up having to take Statistics for my major. I could be misremembering, but I seem to remember there being a 2-year language requirement. One thing I loved about Vassar was the ample freedom to explore, in many different areas. And for me it's this creative spirit that defined the school. One thing I really took advantage of was creating my own full-credit independent study courses. In my major I did two separate independent studies on my own. To do this you simply have to find a professor who agrees to sponsor you. When you do these independent studies you simply find your sponsor, set a general area of study, and then just work independently reading, researching, and studying the subject throughout the semester. You meet occasionally with your sponsor to discuss what you're doing, and then write a term paper at the end of the semester. I was so engaged in these independent studies that I put more time and effort and work into them than my regular courses. And I still remember the thrill of discovery, the intellectual breakthroughs I had, as a result of having this freedom. My senior year I got together with 2 friends in my major who had a common interest, and the 3 of us got 2 professors in our major to sponsor us in an independent study on that topic. We met once a week for 3 hours --- the 3 of us, plus the 2 sponsoring professors. During that meeting we would discuss what we had read in the past week. Then, at the end of the meeting we would collectively decide what to read and discuss over the next week. We had a large paper due at the end of the semester on a topic of our choice. So we didn't plan our curriculum in advance --- it evolved each week in reaction to what we had discussed that week. This was an incredible academic experience for me. It was especially fun to participate in the class as peers with our professors. Oh, and we drank lots of coffee together. Similarly, I took advantage of what Vassar calls Field Work. Vassar has a Field Work Placement Department. It's basically a way to do an internship during the semester for full course credit. So you simply go to the Field Work office, tell them what type of work you want to do, and the Field Work Placement staff will do research and network and find a placement for you. I would guess that today the placements don't necessarily have to be local. Once you get a placement, then you set up a schedule with the employer, and they give you nearly complete latitude to do what you want to do --- you create your own projects, and define your experience. This too was fantastic. It wasn't like getting a formal internship where they have certain job functions already defined for you. At one of the placements I worked directly with the president of the company, who was a Yale graduate. I was hungry to learn about his business, and I remember sometimes I would spend the entire 2-3 hours on-site just asking him questions. He clearly enjoyed having someone to mentor. Other times he would suggest a general area for me to do something that would really benefit him, and I would take on this task, which could be a 2- to 3-week project. Other times I would have my own ideas and propose them, and he would help me define a project so it both gave me the experience I wanted, and at the same time helped him improve the business. At my other placement what I most remember is developing public service announcements to run on a local radio station. So I went around to meet with various community leaders to record the PSAs, and they actually ran on that station. I saw more flexibility and creative spirit in other ways at the school. For example, during my sophomore year I considered becoming a Studio Art major. The department has a requirement that you at least take the full year introductory course to be accepted as a major. I had not taken this course. I met with the department chair, and showed him my portfolio. He told me that he couldn't accept me as a major with my skill level --- he told me I lacked this skill, and this skill, and this other skill. Plus, I hadn't taken the course. So I spent the next 2-3 months working on my own to develop skills in the areas he said I was weak, and I went back to him. He was so impressed with how rapidly I had advanced --- he told me I had taught myself more in 2-3 months than most students learn during the full-year intro course --- that he broke the rules and accepted me as a major. I ultimately chose a different major, but he then allowed me to skip the intro course and take the second year Intro. Painting course, which was a year-long course. I suspect that at many schools you would not have seen the faculty taking this latitude to go outside the established protocols. Final point about the creative spirit there. My main extracurricular interest was acting. I acted in many plays, musicals, and student films. I saw the creative spirit really active in this realm, with students engaging in major risk-taking and experimentation. For example, I did a play in which there was no director --- it was an ensemble direction. This meant that all the actors collectively decided on the direction of the play. That was fantastic. I also acted in a play that had 2 directors. One student directed the first half of the play, and the other student directed the second half. They did not coordinate or co-plan their direction --- they worked completely independently. This also was a very bold experiment that was thrilling to participate in. It's this creative spirit of freedom, and risk-taking, and trusting in students' creativity and ingenuity and work ethic, that really for me defined my experience there. And I really took advantage of this, and I'm very grateful for it.

@soelinhtet4103

5 ай бұрын

bro wrote an entire essay... anyways thx for sharing

@HomeAtLast501

5 ай бұрын

Took typing in high school. Type 70 wpm. No biggie. @@soelinhtet4103

I'd just like to add, for anyone interested in a multidisciplinary approach and the liberal arts style ability to take a bunch of different classes- many smaller liberal arts colleges offer very similar things, within flexible required courses, or, like Vassar or Wesleyan, without any required courses at all. Both styles can give you the freedom to explore different interests, so don't be afraid to figure out what works best for you!

My "dream school" was in New Haven, Connecticut. I don't think I need to expand on that, it's enough of a clue. I got wait-listed as an undergrad, but was fortunate enough to get in there for grad school. I went to Hampshire College in Amherst, MA for my Bachelor's which is part of the Five College Consortium and featured a LOT of the social/academic aspects of a small college that you mentioned. Amherst would have been my guess for your dream school (also no core curriculum and is a small LAC), but Vassar is set up VERY similarly, so that makes sense. I never applied to Brown, but I applied to RISD, and they have an educational co-op with Brown.

hi! thankyou so much for making this video it was really helpful. I'm an international applicant from southeast Asia and was wondering if u could tell me how good the computer science program is at Vassar and if ED here is a good choice?

Hi! I really appreciate this video, I've been looking at colleges but I was unable to tour Vassar. The most important thing to me is getting a feel for what students like and don't like about each place, so I'm really grateful for this. May I ask, did you consider other liberal arts colleges? If so, what made you choose Vassar over them? Based on what you said, I'm guess the completely open cirriculum was a huge selling point for you, but I don't want to assume :)

@daniellerecco4591

Жыл бұрын

I also applied to Williams, Hamilton, F&M, and Wesleyan. To be honest, my decision came down to the distance from my hometown. The open curriculum and environmental preserve were the major selling points for me as well, though!

This is a really great video! You might not know the answer to this question, but I'll ask anyway. In your opinion, do you think that a college like Vassar that emphasizes interdisciplinary academics would be a better choice for a prospective law student then a research institute, (for example, U of Rochester)?

@daniellerecco4591

2 жыл бұрын

Ooh ok so here's my two cents (as someone who applied as a prospective environmental law student): I realize now that law schools actually don't care about your undergraduate major. I've met quite a few students who majored in math, psych, or history that go on to law school. My understanding is that law schools care first and foremost about your LSAT score. I think that coming from a liberal arts college makes you a well-rounded candidate. Liberal arts colleges allow you to take different classes in different subject areas, which allows you to learn how to dissect and approach different problem areas, which is a vital skill in law. Liberal arts colleges also stress writing and critical thinking skills, which are some of the most important skills as a lawyer. Like I said in the video, law school is really where you learn the actual law you need to do your job. Undergraduate colleges, in my opinion, should give students critical thinking and writing skills that will help them to excel in their future, more specialized studies. Ultimately it just comes down to where you want to spend the next four years, because the undergraduate school and major doesn't matter as much as a lot of people think for law school. There are differences between Vassar and U of Rochester (a place I was also considering), so where you decide to go to college should be where you feel like you can thrive the most.

Do you have any change of perspectives one year later?

hi! i’m a junior, considering applying to vassar next year. i want to go to a smaller school because id really like that sense of community, but you mentioned that it’s really hard to make friends outside of sports and the clubs aren’t particularly engaging. would you mind elaborating on that? making friends is suuuper important to me

@daniellerecco4591

2 жыл бұрын

Sure! Tbh I think it just depends on the person - I'm not involved with sports or theater groups, so I think it's harder to meet people because those activities are more conducive to making friends, especially theater groups at Vassar. I've been to different clubs, and it seems like not many are well attended. This is also during the pandemic, so keep that in mind, and I'm not sure how this compares to other schools - just in my opinion, it seems as if not many people go to club meetings outside of theater. Some orgs get more ppl attending, like Quiz Bowl and NSO (a board game/video game club), but other groups like environmental/humanitarian/etc. clubs don't get many attendees. I would def recommend visiting campus and asking around to get more perspectives!

hi hi. thanks! this vid was really helpful. Do u have any tips for the waitlist status? I'm an international prospective student willing to find a seat in the class of 2026. I got waitlisted by Vassar in the RD. Do you know anyone I can seek to talk to about this or any other steps I should take forward to improve my chances? Thanks a million😃

@daniellerecco4591

2 жыл бұрын

I would just email your admissions officer stating that if you were to get accepted from the waitlist, that you would definitely attend Vassar. Just make sure you stay on their radar. Good luck!!

I got in ED1 and am so excited to attend in the fall! Any advice for a freshman?

@daniellerecco4591

2 жыл бұрын

I would just say to be kind to yourself - there are a LOT of changes and adjustments, so don't worry if it feels overwhelming at first. Trust me, everyone will be in the same boat as you, but it will get better once things settle in! Something that helps is going to club meetings and events for freshmen so that you can start to meet other members in your class. Good luck!! I'm always around if you need :)

@sococomfort22s34

Жыл бұрын

It’s a little late but shower shoes is always a good idea. The place is extremely dirty and things aren’t set up to benefit the students as it pertains to cleanliness. Mouse Traps for your dorm rooms and sticky traps for the cockroaches is another good idea. Great academics but just nasty dirty college.

I m applying this year for the batch of 2027 :)),, in ed1 ig,,,,any suggestions??

From a UK perspective, the core curriculum is the key advantage of US university education over ours.

@directorngc7182

6 ай бұрын

How so? Because from my understanding based on the UK programs I've looked at, UK schools do have a core curriculum that is followed and doesn't allow for taking many, if any, modules outside of your major? And there are no Minors, for example, at most schools. And not much room to change your major.

Can u share some info about financial aid for intl students?

@rookie1491

Жыл бұрын

Hey bro did you applied??

@MrNobody6311

Жыл бұрын

@@rookie1491 nahhh And I want to but unfortunately deadline passed :(

Your dream school was Brown? Wesleyan?

@daniellerecco4591

Жыл бұрын

It was Brown University 🥲

Hi beautiful Very Infom video nice 😊

The campus kinda gives 🌽ell's vibes :)

vassar isn't in the middle of nowhere. its easily commutable to the biggest economy of usa.

@richardfriedman600

2 ай бұрын

PULEEZE. Vassar is in Poughkeepsie. I rest my case.

Прикольно, только почему мне рекомендовали это видео?)

I was considering majoring in arctic studies, but then I realized that you need to be the son of a billionaire to actually research the arctic and fund a expedition there. So I majored in hedge fund accounting instead.