Vassar College
Location and Contact Information
124 Raymond AvePoughkeepsie, NY 12604
USA
Main Tel: (845) 437-7000
Web Site
The campus is in a small city.
Overview
Vassar College is located in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. It was founded in the year 1861 by Matthew Vassar, a brewer, and the college has been named in his honor. It was originally a women’s college and became coeducational in 1969. It is ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the United States. The campus is also an arboretum and occupies a large land space of approximately 1,000 acres. Students are offered degree and certificate programs in various fields of study including Asian studies, chemistry, education, political science, and women’s studies.
Students can participate in the many clubs and organizations at Vassar College. These include the African Students Union, Amnesty International, Barefoot Monkeys, Christian Fellowship, Ceramics Club, Debate Society, and College Democrats.
Highlights (vs. Other Schools)
- Many students concentrating in art studies, liberal arts, science, drama and performing arts, therapy and counseling, music, and photography and commercial art.
- Number of dorm rooms for students.
- High SAT scores (combined Verbal and Math).
- Good faculty-to-student ratio.
- High percentage of students are from out-of-state.
- Selective admissions.
- High faculty salary.
- Large number of programs of study offered.
School characteristics:
- The school is private, not-for-profit.
- Academic calender: Semester.
- Carnegie classification: Baccalaureate Colleges, Liberal Arts.
Features of note:
- The school offers a faculty tenure system.
- There are one or more libraries on-campus.
- Campus housing is available.
- Students may study abroad.
- Part-time classes are available.
Tuition and Financial Aid (2009-2010)
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| State Tuition and fees | $ 41,930 |
| Room | $ 5,090 |
| Board | $ 4,280 |
| Books and supplies | $ 860 |
| Other | $ 1,290 |
Financial Aid
Vassar participates in US Title IV financial assistance programs.
In 2009-2010, 70% of students received financial aid of some sort.
| Grants | % of Students | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Any Grant | 59% | $30,815 |
| Institutional Grant | 57% | $30,050 |
| Federal Grant | 14% | $5,476 |
| Pell Grant | 13% | $3,588 |
| Other Federal Grant | 13% | $2,279 |
| State or Local Grant | 12% | $2,827 |
| Loans | % of Students | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Student Loan | 39% | $4,206 |
| Federal Loan | 34% | $3,600 |
| Other Loan | 6% | $6,499 |
(Please refer to BrainTrack's financial aid articles section for background information.)
Similar Schools
Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Vassar College:
Click a column header to sort.
| School | Location | Enrollment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reed College | Portland, OR | 1,471 |
| 2 | Williams College | Williamstown, MA | 2,072 |
| 3 | Colgate University | Hamilton, NY | 2,844 |
| 4 | Davidson College | Davidson, NC | 1,668 |
| 5 | Lafayette College | Easton, PA | 2,382 |
| 6 | Amherst College | Amherst, MA | 1,697 |
| 7 | Occidental College | Los Angeles, CA | 1,868 |
| 8 | Grinnell College | Grinnell, IA | 1,678 |
| 9 | University of Puget Sound | Tacoma, WA | 2,844 |
| 10 | College of the Holy Cross | Worcester, MA | 2,898 |
Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)
| Degree | Total Earned | Different Programs |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor | 616 | 49 |
Faculty
Tenure (2009-2010):
| Full-Time Faculty | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| With tenure | 175 | |
| Without tenure; working toward tenure | 69 | |
| Without tenure; tenure not available | 52 |
Students
Student enrollment was 2,389 in 2009-2010 (2,477 full-time equivalent).
About 40% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 60% of the class.
Undergrads are 100% of enrolled students.
Students under 25 years old represent 98% of the student body. About 1% of the school is at least 40 years of age.
Admissions Summary (2009-2010)
Applicants Admitted Men 35% Women 20% All 25%
SAT Test Scores:
SAT Middle 50% Verbal 660-750 Math 640-720 Writing 660-750
Room and Board
Vassar provides on-campus housing for 2,390 of its 2,477 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.
Athletics
The school is in the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association for major sports.
Graduate School Focus
Vassar offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Master.
Programs of Study
(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)
ART STUDIES
- Art/Art Studies
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
- Computer and Information Sciences
CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
- Environmental Studies
DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS
- Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts
LIBERAL ARTS
- African Studies
- American/United States Studies/Civilization
- Ancient Studies/Civilization
- Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature
- Anthropology
- Asian Studies/Civilization
- Chinese Language and Literature
- Economics
- English Language and Literature
- French Language and Literature
- Geography
- German Language and Literature
- History
- International Relations and Affairs
- Italian Language and Literature
- Japanese Language and Literature
- Latin American Studies
- Latin Language and Literature
- Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
- Medieval and Renaissance Studies
- Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
- Political Science and Government
- Russian Language and Literature
- Social Sciences
- Sociology
- Spanish Language and Literature
- Urban Studies/Affairs
- Women's Studies
MATHEMATICS
- Mathematics
MEDIA
- Mass Communication/Media Studies
MEDICINE
- Neuroscience
MUSIC
- Music
PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMMERCIAL ART
- Film/Cinema Studies
RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
- Jewish/Judaic Studies
- Philosophy
- Religion/Religious Studies
SCIENCE
- Astronomy
- Biochemistry
- Biology/Biological Sciences
- Chemistry
- Geology/Earth Science
- Physics
- Science, Technology and Society
THERAPY AND COUNSELING
- Cognitive Science
- Psychology