Vassar College Top Questions

because we have such small class size, most professors make it their responsiblity to know their students by name. the teachers i have had so far are mostly very knowledgeable and passionate about their field of study and sharing it with the students. some people that i've met here are consistently stimulating academically, philosophically, and spiritually. i'm a premed music major. the music professors here are amazing, and so are the music majors here. they are all very friendly and relaxed, but when it comes to music, they couldn't be more serious, fierce and passionate. i think many students in vassar major in areas that don't necessarily guarantee jobs. However, most of them do it out of their true passion for that subject. Many students believe that even though the content/material of their study might be seemingly-irrelevant, the personal and wholistic growth that arises from such academic pursuit gets them ready for the real world.

The academics at Vassar are perfect for someone who wants a rigorous curriculum, but also wants freedom to choose what academic route to take. There is essentially no core curriculum, although students tend to take a wide variety of courses anyway, because there are so many interesting ones to choose from. Students are noticeably not competitive (at least not with one another, though each individual strives to outdo him or herself each time they tackle an assignment). Classes are small, professors work hard to know students' names and encourage participation in every class. This is also a common stereotype at liberal arts colleges, but the individual attention given by professors as well as their accessibility is truly outstanding, especially after having spent a semester abroad in a large university where I was a number rather than a name.

The student-professor ratio is excellent, and most classes are well under 30 people, so you really have a lot of opportunities to get to know professors. Students are generally not competitive, and will help each other figure the answers out- particularly in the computer science department. Of all the majors, I've noticed that cognitive science majors are most likely to engage in class-related conversations outside of class, and it's rare to get a couple of them together without some healthy bashing of classical AI or dualism. A Vassar education intends to feed curious minds rather than necessarily prepare them for jobs, but that depends largely on what classes you take. (Hint: being a drama-English double major will be less likely to get you a job right out of college than, for example, being a chemistry major.) There's far too many classes I want to take for me to be able to take them all in time, alas.

Professors know name - yes Students study quite a bit Class participation is often required Intellectual conversations do occur outside of class Students are not particularly competitive I am a double major in film and political science. The film department is still small and doesn't have quite as many offerings as I'd like, but there is truly a plethora of great political science classes Vassar's academic requirements - a handful of required courses, but overall a lot of freedom - are about right Geared toward learning for its own sake.

FIRST name basis with professors, the biggest class I have is BioChemistry with excellent brilliant D. Jemiolo.... 30 some people and he still does personal consultations and keeps lab sizes small and knows at least 2 facts about every person in the room. Vassar is a fantastic learning community, but there is also alot of so called "fucking around" that goes on.. we procrastinate just like everyone else, except that most would consider it productive in some way... learning learning learning never just restricted to the classroom. I cannot speak for other disciplines (namely those that deal w/numbers, I'm a science and poetry kinda girl) but I seem to have the most passionate interesting engaging personable professors... I'm a neuroscience/biology major that has dabbled in EVERYTHING except math and classical language and sociology (yet)--- but seriously, all of my experience with professors here has been positive and progressive and exciting and damn I'm running out of adjectives I think you know what I mean and I should be working on a lab report right now but instead I'm doing this no prob.

Classes tend to be small, professors tend to be nice, and students tend to be supportive and cooperative, never competitive and certainly never cutthroat. Since many professors live in the dormitories, you can get to know them really well as your neighbors. They're very approachable (for the most part). My only real qualm is that the religion department is almost indistinguishable from the anthropology department. In other words, you don't really study different traditions as much as you study the sociopolitical aspects of religion.

Academics are fabulous. All of the professors I have experienced are incredibly knowledgeable, interactive, fair, and pretty funny. (What's worse than a professor with NO sense of humor?) For the most part, professors are very willing to work with you to help you get what you're seeking to gain from the class. They're always available by office hours or appointment. And most are super-quick on their email. That being said, there's a lot of work. No, really, a lot. Be prepared to put a lot of effort into your academics. The workload can get pretty intense at times, especially around midterms and finals. You should be prepared to devote Sunday afternoon-Thursday afternoon to schoolwork and extra-curriculars. Students are really helpful and supportive-- hardly competitive. It sort of comes back to our sense of community. I mean, I've heard of nasty stuff at some other schools, like stealing notes, ripping pages out of textbooks, sabotaging research; I've never even heard of any of that nonsense here. We all like seeing one-another excel.

Academics at Vassar are no joke. What you hear is true: they're rigorous, mind opening, and often intense. I'd say that Vassar students take academics seriously, though like most college students, we're known to blow off responsibilities every now and again. Class participation is vital in almost every class I've ever taken at Vassar. Often, it's a large chunk of your grade. It's not difficult to get Vassar students to talk in class--you'll hear us joke a lot about those kids who start every phrase with "I feel like..." or "I think that...." Sometimes, though, it can be a little bit frustrating to have so much participation. Some students talk just to listen to themselves. In other classes, you'll suddenly realize that the class has been discussing something for 45 minutes but everyone's essentially saying the same thing. Because Vassar is so politically homogeneous, there's not a lot of challenging debate that occurs. It does happen occasionally, but often times, it's just the same stuff being said over and over again in a different way from a different mouth. Academic competition, I'm happy to say, is at a minimum on this campus. Everyone takes academics seriously, but at least in my circle of friends, we don't often disclose grades or compete with one another to see who's doing better. We understand that grades at Vassar are often extremely subjective and vary from department to department. Vassar students certainly have intellectual conversations outside of class. I'm always impressed by the staying power that conversations in class may have, and if I'm inspired by a class topic, I'll bring it up with my friends. But even without our classes as inspiration, we definitely discuss current events, ideals, opinions, and the like. But we also talk about, like, celebrity gossip and ridiculous things like that, too. We strike a balance--we are college students, after all. Vassar has so many unique course offerings. I'm taking an Adolescent Literacy class right now where we actually go into a public middle school and tutor a student. There's one class that has students visit prison and get to know inmates for a semester. There are other classes that meet at professors' homes. Other classes take trips into New York City for some real-life application. Academics at Vassar are impressive, and it's apparent that the vast majority of professors are passionate about their jobs. Are there occasional duds? Absolutely, both in reference to classes and professors. But the other incredible classes make up for it. I'd say the academics at Vassar could be argued as geared both toward getting a job AND learning for its own sake, depending on what students study. I don't think any of us are under any kind of false pretenses being at a liberal arts institution; we know that job allocation is not the highest priority, and that's okay.

The Vassar campus is quite academic. Although there is a great deal going on beyond the scholarly sphere, and academic competition is virtually non-existent, I often encounter intellectual conversations an activities outside of class. The courses offered are extremely varied and often quite unique, even though I do wish there more sections offered for some to accomodate the schedules of more students. Most professors are quite approachable, stimulating in class, and grade quite fairly (perhaps even a bit too fairly; grade inflation, as with other "upper-tier" colleges and universities, is a definite factor here). I have had a few mediocre and even outright bad professors but for every one of them, I've also had one that made a great impression on me. And as for the former, I hear that the administration is fairly good about removing professors who perform badly on the end-of-semester student evaluations.

I talk about my classes with friends all the time, they're amazing. My favorite right now is Religion and Sexuality. Bringing up even the name of that class can start a long conversation with my friends, it's fantastic.

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.

The best thing about going to a small school (2400ppl) is that you tend to have pretty small classes which means that your professors will know you by name and you will usually develop a pretty good relationship with them. It's also really easy to get involved in something that you're interested in. For example, I'm a bio major and so through the bio department, I got a job working in a lab. My boss is super cool, is now a reference for job apps and has written me really good letters of recommendation. I took a class with a professor, liked the class and the professor, and am going to be doing research with her in her lab next year. She is also a reference and has written many letters. One of the things that attracted me to Vassar was that there are very few course requirements. You have to take some sort of quantitative course (math, science, psych, etc), an english course (there are some very cool ones), and show some proficiency in a language (intermediate courses). Compared to a lot of other schools, that's pretty easy.

Academics at Vassar can be tough. However, I've found professors always to be incredibly available to talk to, and they know the real deal. There isn't really any busy work. Classes are small, professors really get to know you and there is a mutual level of respect that is unusual to find. Most classes are based on discussion, but I think this changes for the more science/math-y classes. Students are always helping each other out and working in groups, so the atmosphere isn't competitive.

-classes are small and intimate. conducive to speaking up. -everyone here is intelligent in their own way. -competitiveness is not an issue at all -DO NOT COME HERE IF YOU WANT TO LEARN A TRADE. you learn how to learn at vassar. -professors are across the board. i've run into a few at parties.

Competitiveness is the last thing I'd associate with my classes at Vassar; it's a very cooperative environment. My friends and I bring up issues from our classes in casual conversation all the time. Though we're studying in very different areas, I think the perspective we all seem to share is that our major and our classes should be in the areas that help us relate to the world and see it most clearly--whether that is through cognitive science, philosophy, economics, political theory, or education. Making sense of the world and our places in it isn't just personal or just academic; when you're involved in something meaningful that boundary is erased. I think that's the kind of education Vassar encourages and the students who are willing to engage in that kind of learning are the ones who belong here.

People don't care too much about academics.

Amazing, amazing professors! My classes are a complete dream not only because they are taught by those who really know their stuff but also because of the inquisitive student body and an emphasis on small classes and discussion.

Vassar's academics are the best. Classes are small and professors are there for you. They'll lovingly edit your papers and give you advice and practically beg you to come into their office hours. If you take advantage of a good professor-student relationship, you can get killer recs.

Academics at Vassar are great. I feel like my mind has really been exploded here. I've been exposed to whole new worlds through a plethora of really amazing classes. Professors are, on the whole, extremely accessible and personal. I feel more than supported in all my endeavors. Most Vassar professors really care about their classes and their students. The other wonderful thing about Vassar academics is that, on the whole, students are not competitive with one another at all. I've had some of the best discussions of my life in these classes and made some of the best of friends. Learning for its own sake is almost revered at Vassar and I appreciate that incredibly. Vassar is all about interdisciplinary subjects and they really strive to creatively expand their Academic repertoire. For example, as of next year, students will now be able to get a minor in Native American Studies.

Students study a lot, but that's combined with a lot procrastination. Class participation is common, and there is an expectation that you know the reading. Classes are relatively small and professors do know your name and face, so skipping class is not really an option. Students are competitive but do not make it a rivalry. Many students spend time with professors outside of class and some even have dinner. The requirements are not too great, and is intended that way so students can take a diverse course load while still fulfilling their major. The professors are OK. I've had a few good ones as well as some bad ones. The professors teach the courses, but that doesn't mean they are good at teaching.