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Case Study VassarCollegeAdmissions 1

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Everyone has seen the average college viewbook. On the cover, there’s typically a gorgeous shot of an idyllic campus with someone who’s clearly a professor in the background, chatting affably with a guy and a girl. Nothing wrong with that. Except that they all kind of look the same.

But Vassar College isn’t average. Founded in 1861, Vassar was the first college to provide an Ivy-equivalent education for women. A hundred years later, Vassar was the first of the top single-sex colleges to go coed. Coming from an institution with a history of innovation, its graduates are known for their independence of thought, their penchant for challenging the status quo.

Over 10 years ago, Nesnadny + Schwartz won the commission to redesign Vassar’s admissions portfolio by doing exactly that—challenging the dominant paradigm. Strong typograph-ical treatments and in-your-face portraits. Now in their second iteration, Vassar’s admissions publications and website have consistently produced record-breaking results, including the most selective incoming class in the college’s distinguished history. And awards. Did we mention awards? All that—on a tight budget.



Cover and selected spreads from Vassar admissions viewbook.

Up until now, a lot has been decided for you. But from here

on out, you get to choose. What are you going to put on the canvas? Your canvas. What are

you curious about? Fascinated by? What are your dreams?

What do you want to make? What do you want to learn?

Who do you want to become?

what’s it going to be?Okay Picasso,

02 Define Your Life04 Who12 What22 Where

Vassar At A Glance06 Liberal Arts The World According to Luke08 Community Rooted in Tradition 10 Academic Life The End Is Insight14 Residential Life Family Matters16 Athletics A Question of Balance

18 Location Ahead of the Pack20 Student Life On Her Toes24 Internships Wheeling and Dealing26 Faculty Sound Research28 Outcomes A Case for Girl Power

Vassar Interviews31 Academics36 Student Life38 Apply40 Facts

Vassar In Depth

vigilant

confident

happy

collaborativejudicious

ardentdevoted

organized

wise

possibilities

a thousand acres

The empty canvas, the blank page — it’s a little scary, but in a good way, an exhilarat-

ing way. If there’s one thing Vassar is good at, it’s giving smart, creative, independent

thinkers the tools to make it happen, whatever “it” is. There is no intellectual or creative pursuit that’s out of the question here. Defy gravity.

Juggle fire. Recite Hamlet’s famous soliloquy in Russian. Make a film in 48 hours.

What’s it going to be? You get to choose. Finally.

define your life by living it

logical

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coherent

receptive enterprising

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define your life by living it

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wheeling

When Christian Rose and his teammate Peter Horn put in a bid to host the Eastern Conference Collegiate Cycling Champion-ships at Vassar, they didn’t really expect to get it. But six months later, after an incredible amount of work and not too much sleep, they watched as 500 cyclists poured into the Hudson Valley for an event a lot of people said was the best race in decades. Rose is now in an MD/PhD program at Columbia.

Christian Rose ’07, columBia universitY mD/PHD Program

Working Connections

Internships are extremely useful — first, because they help you make the connection between what you’re learning in class and the real world, and second, because you make contacts and get experience that will look good on your résumé whether you’re applying to graduate school or looking for a job. There are lots of internship opportunities right on campus — research internships, department internships — and these are usually paid experiences. Off-campus internships, coordinated by the Field Work Office, are supervised by a faculty member and awarded academic credit. Through this program, about 500 students each year are placed in social service agencies, businesses, and nonprofits.

Q What was the impetus for organizing the cycling championship?A We [the cycling team] got an email from the guy who runs the conference that said, if you’re planning on putting a bid in, we’re going to have a meeting at West Point in No-vember. Two days before the meeting, we decided to do it. So I threw together a Power-point, and the next day, Peter Horn and I went down to West Point. We were sort of sit-ting there, just the two of us, and all these other teams, really big teams, were there. It was very intimidating. Luckily, I’d done a lot of Powerpoint presentations for my physics research. So I got up there, very professional, and presented this thing that I’d worked on all through the night, and they were floored. It went to a vote, and we wound up winning the bid for the championship over three other cycling powerhouses. Then, the guy who runs the conference said, basically, “Say goodbye to your GPAs, guys.”

Q Did you have to say goodbye to your gPA?A Not exactly. But from that moment until race day, it was nonstop — going to town board meetings, meeting with mayors,

meeting with the sheriff, coordinating with the state police, getting cavalcades for the riders to keep the roads clear. And then when race day finally came, it was mind-boggling how successful it was and how wonderful it was to see all these people come to our neck of the woods and really love it. Every person that came up to us said it was the best race they’d been to in decades. It was definitely a great adventure getting it all set up, and it was wonderful to see how much people enjoyed it. They told us they thought we should host nationals!

Q Did you come to vassar knowing that you eventually wanted to go to medical school?A I knew from the beginning that I wanted to go into medicine, although I wasn’t really sure where in medicine I would fit in. I did a couple of “shadowing” experiences. Last summer and then once a week during my se-nior year, I shadowed Doctor Lloyd Gayle in Manhattan. He’s absolutely amazing. He’s the head of surgery at Weill Cornell — a plas-tic surgeon who works in reconstructive sur-gery for oncology patients. He works nonstop. I didn’t see him eat the entire time I was

shadowing him — all day, we’d do patients nonstop from 7:00 in the morning until 9:00 or 10:00 at night. So I just hung around and got to see everything he did. I don’t happen to want to go into plastic surgery, but seeing what he did and how he interacted with his pa-tients — people just felt so comfortable with him — it was great. He was such a cool guy.

Q so eventually you want to have a practice?A Doing these things — the research and the shadowing — made me realize that I want to go into an MD/PhD program and do research. I love seeing patients, but when I look at doc-tors — even Doctor Gayle, a plastic surgeon who does try new procedures and stuff like that — I don’t think I would like to do the same set of procedures day after day after day, as opposed to working on something new, learn-ing something new every day. That would be a great way to live, I think. Biophysics is where I’ll probably end up.

For the complete interview with Christian Rose, go to Admissions.Vassar.edu/Rose

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aCaitlin Ly ’10, tucson, aZ

According to Caitlin Ly, “There are not very many lackadaisical, I’m-just-kind-of-floating-around type people at Vassar.” That must be why it’s her kind of place. Ly is double-majoring in history and political science, playing three varsity sports — volleyball, squash, and rowing — and serving as the class of 2010 vice president. How does she manage to get her homework done? Playing sports, she says, makes her “a better student…. My sense of accomplishment in athletics carries over into other aspects of my life.”

Let’s say you’re a highly competitive athlete, seriously committed to your sport. Why would you choose to go to a Division III school like Vassar? Well, for one thing, because you might actually get to play rather than sit on a bench. And for another, because you might also be seri-ously committed to your education. At Vassar, academic work is always the top priority, but we also compete at a very high level. For example, our men’s volleyball team placed second at nationals in 2008. The women’s tennis team has captured league and state championships and qualified for the NCAA national team championship for seven straight years.

question Q How did you choose vassar?A Actually, I was dead set on another college. My guidance counselor suggested that I take a trip out here the summer before my senior year, so I spent about a week, visited a school a day. I hadn’t really researched Vassar, but I was going to be in the area, so it ended up on the list. I set up a meeting with Coach Penn … took the campus tour … and really, really liked it. It was just such a good feeling — the minute I drove in through Main Gate.

Q so volleyball is your main sport?A I played in high school, all four years, plus club during the winter. Obviously, I wanted a college with a good academic reputation, but volleyball was also a huge factor. We have a great program here. Over the past seven years, we’ve won our conference six times and gone on to the NCAA championship five times. Coach Penn’s enthusiasm and his ab-solute love for the game played a huge part in my decision to come here.

Q How would you describe the athletic-ac-ademic balance at vassar?A Our coaches realize that there are a lot of

academic demands on us, and if we have a commitment to some class, or if we have to go to a film screening, for example, or a lec-ture, they’re respectful of that. And at the same time, I think we get to enjoy it more. We get to focus on team bonding and going to games and just playing for Vassar.

Q you do a lot of stuff — you’re the vice president of your class, you’re a double major, you play three sports. How do you manage it all?A I think that playing sports makes me a better person and a better student. It’s not like D-I schools where your life revolves around sports 24-7, but the athletes I know here have a deter-mination to succeed that carries over into ev-erything they do — sports and academics.

My courses are harder this year and I’m going to have to devote a lot more time to ac-ademics. But I can’t imagine not doing the other things. My sense of accomplishment in athletics carries over into other aspects of my life. If sports are going well, then academics are bound to be going well. Also, you make really good friends from sports. Some of my best friends here are my teammates.

Q What’s your favorite class so far?A British History with Professor Murdoch. We learned about the agriculture and the economy and the politics and even the social customs of 18th-century Britain. Professor Murdoch is just so interesting — she could talk about anything and we’d pay attention. One thing I really like about the History De-partment at Vassar is its focus on primary sources. You don’t have a textbook, like you do in high school. You study primary docu-ments — letters, diaries, legal documents — that were written by people in the time period you’re studying.

Q Any advice for prospective students?A I would say come for an overnight, for sure, and go out and talk to as many people as you can. And talk to professors, sit in on a class, go to a practice, go to a drama performance — it’s a very distinct feeling on campus, and the more people you talk to, the more of a sense you’re going to have of whether it’s the right place for you.

For the complete interview with Caitlin Ly, go to Admissions.Vassar.edu/Ly

achiever

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caseaLife After Vassar

Most Vassar graduates pursue advanced study within five years of graduation, and Vassar’s accep-tance rates for medical, law, and graduate schools are significantly higher than the national aver-ages. Vassar graduates who go straight into the job market also do remarkably well. They have two important advantages: the Vassar name (it opens doors) and the Vassar network, 3,000 alumnae/i who serve as career mentors through the Office of Career Development. Whatever field you’re interested in, you can search the network and find a Vassar graduate who at the very least can give you the inside scoop on how to get started and sometimes can give you internship or job leads.

At the end of her senior year at Vassar, Leah Goodridge was awarded a Compton Mentor Fellowship which she used to design and implement a sex education program for girls in the Dominican Republic. She’d never been to the Dominican Republic, she’d never taught sex education, and she never imagined that her project would evolve into an ongoing nonprofit to help girls become leaders. We interviewed her at UCLA Law School, where she is currently pursuing her JD.

Leah Goodridge ’04, ucla scHool of law

Q tell me a little about your background.A My family is from Barbados, and I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, in a very Caribbean neighbor-hood — actually a mix of African American and Caribbean. I went to a private elementary and junior high school that was very Carib-bean and very strict. And then I went to pub-lic high school, which I was really ready for by that time — James Madison High School — a wonderful high school, extremely diverse.

Q senior year, you won a Compton mentor fellowship. tell me about that.A The project I proposed was to lead a series of seminars in sex education for young girls in the Dominican Republic over the course of a year. I’d never been to the Dominican Re-public. I never even knew a Dominican as a close friend or anything like that. I choose the Dominican Republic because there is a great need for such a program and I knew that the $35,000 grant would go a long way there. According to the United Nations, HIV is the number one killer of adolescent girls in the Dominican Republic. There’s a high teen

pregnancy rate, a high STD rate, and a lack of programs and resources for young girls.

My mentor, who was from World Vision, suggested that I work through the church in La Altagracia, which is one of the poorest sections of Santo Domingo.

The first meeting, about five girls came, and during that first meeting I asked them, “Who are you? What do you want to do with your life?” And they all answered, “I want to be a housewife and I want to have five kids.” And not only did they want to have five kids, they said they wanted to have “a nice looking husband” so their kids would be lighter than they were. I was a little shocked, and thought, well, I have a little bit more cut out for me than I anticipated.

They didn’t quite know what to make of me that first meeting. Who was I? I was a Vassar graduate and a foreigner, and I spoke with this big, thick American accent. But the five girls slowly grew into 20 because they told their sisters and their friends, and it gradually evolved into a nonprofit that is still going strong. I called the program Proyecto LIDER,

which stands for leadership, identity, devel-opment, education, and realization. And we now focus not only on reproductive health but also the arts and technology.

Q Do you see outcomes from the program?A Remember the five girls that I started with on the first day who said that they wanted to be housewives and have five kids? Before I left the Dominican Republic at the end of the Compton, I asked them, “Okay, what do you want to do?” And they answered things like, “I want to be a doctor, I want to be an en-gineer.” And I said, “Wait a minute — don’t you want to be housewives?” And they all just looked at me. They were all offended. They had come so far that they had actually forgotten that they once held that notion. And I said, “Well, don’t you remember? That’s what you told me!” And they said in a very business-like way, “Oh yeah, we did say that! Well, we’ve learned!”

For the complete interview with Leah Goodridge, go to Admissions.Vassar.edu/Goodridge

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You. We don’t know you yet. But we know some things about you. For example, you’re smart. You’re almost certainly near the top of your class. You’ve taken the most challenging courses your high school has to offer, and while you might not be in love with every subject, you do like using your brain. There is some-thing you are passionate about. It could be anything—sky diving, hip hop, existential philosophy, politics. You can’t remember a time before the Internet. You’re being inundated with college viewbooks. You use the word “friend” as a verb. Other than that, we don’t know much about you; we’d like to learn more.

Vassar. We’ve been in existence for almost a century and a half. We’re consistently ranked among the top one percent of colleges and universities in the U.S. We’re a college, not a university. That sets us apart from about half of the schools in the top one percent. We have a small student body (2,400 students) and a large faculty (290 members). What’s important about this is that you’ll never be taught by a TA, and you’ll never find yourself in a lecture hall with hundreds of other students. Small classes, lots of individual attention. You will get to know your professors.

We believe in the value of a liberal arts education. We don’t have “core” requirements—in fact, we have very few required courses— but we do believe in the importance of learning a great deal about a wide range of subjects because we think that prepares you to go out and conquer the world. You probably think you already know how to think, and of course, you do— but four years at Vassar will hone your thinking into a precision instrument.

Now. Everything isn’t for everybody—we realize that. You are a unique individual, with ideals and interests and aspirations. And Vassar is a unique environment. The opportunities here are truly limitless, but along with that freedom comes responsibility. You have to be ready for that—ready to be challenged intellec-tually; ready to connect with other people who have as much going on in their heads as you do; ready to take responsibility for your own learning. If you are, then we’ve got things to talk about. We’ll look forward to meeting you in person.

STUDENT/FACULTY RATIOVassar faculty are distinguished scholars and artists. They win big awards—Guggenheims, NSF research grants, and major artistic commissions. But they’re also master teachers. As one sophomore put it, “They really, really love their jobs.”

9:1

28%PERCENTAgE OF STUDENTS OF COLOR in the most recent incoming class

$34,000,000ThE AmOUNT VASSAR AwARDED this year in scholarships

WVKRVASSAR’S STUDENT-RUN RADIO STATION

SPIDER RESEARCh Professor of biology Bob Suter researches spiders who walk on water.

1,650NUmbER OF PLAYS, PARTIES, guest lectures, performances, athletic events, con-certs, symposia, art openings, etc., that take place annually on the Vassar campus

by living it.define your lifeVassar: NUmbER OF NCAA DIVISION III

VARSITY TEAmS fielded by Vassar

bAREFOOT mONkEYS Vassar’s circus troupe of acrobats and jugglers is one of 100+ student-run groups.

58%PERCENTAgE OF VASSAR STUDENTS who receive financial aid. Vassar adheres to a need-blind admission policy.

RObOT COmPETITION Annual event pitting student-designed robots against faculty-designed robots

1.75hoursAN hOUR AND 45 mINUTES on the train and you’re in the heart of Manhattan.

1861ThE YEAR VASSAR wAS FOUNDED

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1969 ThE YEAR VASSAR wENT COED and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon

ZEROThE NUmbER OF CLASSES TAUghT bY TAs (teaching assistants)wIRED AND wIRELESS

The entire Vassar campus—including student rooms—offers both wired and wireless data connections to the network, which has a full 45 Mbps connection to the Internet.

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Check out ScienceWeb.Vassar.edu for links to all of our science departments and programs, with information on courses, faculty, and research opportunities.

Why study science at Vassar rather than at a big research university? The answer is: access. Science students at Vassar have extraordinary access to faculty, to sophisticated instrumentation, and to research opportunities. At the big research universities, introductory-level courses are typically taught in huge halls with anywhere from 100 to 500 students, with lab and discussion sections led by graduate students. At Vassar, the average class size is 17, with upper-level courses much smaller. All courses and labs are taught by Vassar faculty, all of whom are actively engaged in their own research in addition to teaching, and many of whom are the recipients of major grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other prestigious science organizations.

Vassar students don’t have to wait until graduate school to do original research and coauthor articles in schol-arly journals. They do independent research for course credit, work as paid research assistants in professors’ labs, and do intensive summer work both on campus through the Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI) and at other major research laboratories and universities—NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mayo Clinic, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, to name a few.

Science majors at Vassar become adept in deductive reasoning, critical thinking, and precision of thought, while building familiarity with the scientific method and skill in using sophisticated technologies. They are extraordinarily successful in gaining admission to topnotch medical and graduate schools. They can—and do—go on to do just about anything.

Research OpportunitiesUndergraduate Research Summer InstituteEnvironmental Research InstituteKeck Northeast Astronomy Consortium

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Astronomy

Biochemistry

Biology

Chemistry

Cognitive Science

Computer Science

Environmental Studies

Earth Science & Geography

Mathematics

Neuroscience & Behavior

Physics

Psychology

Science, Technology, & Society

Science at Vassar

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Adam Jost ’08, earth science major, is a typical atypical Vassar scientist. He chose Vassar in part because of its strong film pro-gram, ended up never taking a film class because he became so immersed in earth science, did two summers of URSI (Under-graduate Research Summer Institute) and loved it, and says his favorite non-science course was Art History 105-106, a year-long survey of the history of art. “It was something I had never studied before, and it was just so fascinating. I think it’s really easy to corner yourself into one subject or one perspective. Science people and humanities people are constantly arguing about which one is more important. And they’re both essential because there are different aspects that make us human.” Jost is now working at Stanford University in the paleobiology lab.

Double major in environmental studies and biology Sean Beckett ’10 saw a notice on the biology bulletin board about the Northern Saw-whet Owl project and wandered out to the farm where research associate Glen Proudfoot was building nesting boxes. “I’ve been helping him out ever since—doing everything from video surveillance of nesting boxes to trapping owls for migration stud-ies. He invited me to be his research assistant on a trip to Mexico over spring break to study the Pygmy Owl with a team from the Arizona Fish and Game Department. I’ve been in the lab, too, doing genetic analysis and getting my feet wet in the whole process of being a wildlife biologist. I think that’s one of the things that Vassar offers that other schools don’t—the chance to work with a professor on extensive research one-on-one.”

Earth Science and Geography

Environmental Studies

The Program in Environmental Studies incor-porates the perspectives of the natural and social sciences as well as the arts and humanities, investigating the relationships between people and the totality of their environments—natural, built, and social. It encompasses the study of natural systems, policies toward the environment, and aes-thetic, ethical, scientific, and theoretical understandings of nature.

To foster depth as well as breadth of under-standing, environmental studies majors focus on a single field of their choice (any one of Vassar’s academic departments) and then link their studies to broader issues of the environment through team-taught multidisci-plinary courses. In addition, they undertake substantial work in at least one natural

science (biology, chemistry, or earth science) and engage in field work at conservation and preservation organizations in the area.

Environmental Studies benefits from the wonderful resources in the Hudson Valley, one of the world’s great watersheds. The Catskill and Adirondack mountains, the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the Daniel Smiley Research Center in the Mo-honk Preserve, and Vassar’s own 416-acre ecological preserve offer opportunities for the study of the natural environment. The City of Poughkeepsie and regional organiza-tions such as the Vassar-founded Pough-keepsie Institute as well as New York City, an hour and a half from campus, provide the urban complement.

Earth scientists study our planet as a system of interacting reservoirs (lithosphere, hydro-sphere, atmosphere, biosphere) that together determine the climate and environment of every location on Earth. As integrative scien-tists, they use biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics to investigate geologic processes, reconstruct Earth’s history of environmental and biotic change, assess a variety of natural resources, including water supply, study the causes and effects of natu-ral hazards, and understand the impact of human activities on the surface of the planet.

Earth Science at Vassar is very much an environmental science, and classes and faculty research projects emphasize sur-face processes and human-Earth interac-tions. Examples of ongoing projects include researching climate change in the Shawan-gunk Mountains (New York) since the last ice age 21,000 years ago, assessing the long-term impacts of the Indian Ocean tsunami, studying local sustainable agriculture prac-tices, creating an inventory of environmental hazards in the Hudson Valley, and determin-ing the impacts of urbanization on streams in Dutchess County. Working with departments and programs across the campus, Earth Sci-ence and Geography is a major contributor to our understanding of how humans can shape the future of the planet and how we can learn to live sustainably.

topology

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explorationfractal sedimentology

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You do not have to be wealthy or even well off to attend Vassar. Financial aid is awarded to over 58% of Vassar students, exclusively on the basis of need. The loan portion of the financial aid award is replaced with Vassar schol-arship funds for both new and returning U.S. students with calculated family incomes of up to $60,000. In 2008-2009, our students received financial aid awards ranging from $1,200 to over $52,000, depending on their financial situ-ations. Their families’ annual incomes ranged from $6,000 to $200,000.

If you are considering Vassar, do not hesitate to apply because you think your family cannot afford it. A Vassar education can be surprisingly affordable.

Applying For Financial Aid Applying for financial aid can be a confusing process — many forms, many dead-lines. To make this process as easy as possible, we have created a financial aid checklist for each applicant category (early decision, regular decision, transfer, returning) that you can download on our website in the section titled “Apply for Aid.” Print it out, follow the instructions, and comply with the deadlines. The only reason an applicant with demonstrated financial need might not receive aid is failure to meet the deadlines.

Why is college so expensive?When Vassar College opened its doors in 1865, the fees

for tuition, room, and board totaled $350. Today, that

sounds like nothing, but at the time, it was a lot of money —

well beyond the reach of many prospective students.

Matthew Vassar, the founder of the college, wanted to

make sure that no qualified student was turned away for

financial reasons, so when he died, he left $50,000 in

his will to endow a scholarship fund for students of

“superior mind and high scholarship” whose families

couldn’t afford the full cost.

Today, $350 doesn’t even cover the cost of books for one

semester, and $50,000 covers tuition and fees for just one

student. But even families who can afford to pay $50,000

a year are not paying the full cost of a Vassar education.

Tuition and fees cover only about 50% of what it ac tu ally costs to educate Vassar students. So in a very real sense, every student at Vassar is on financial aid. Why does it cost so much? In a nutshell, running a top-

notch educational enterprise is an expensive prop osition.

The first priority is to recruit and retain faculty members

who are leading scholars in their fields, which means

that our salary and benefits package must be on par

with our peer institutions. Some colleges and universi-

ties cut costs by hiring fewer full-time faculty members

and using teaching assistants or adjuncts (who can be

paid on a course-by-course basis) for introductory level

courses. At Vassar, we believe that introductory level

courses are just as impor tant as advanced work and

that fewer students in a class results in a measurably

different kind of educational experience.

An exceptional library, up-to-date technology, instru-

mentation for labs, one of the finest college art muse-

ums in the country — all of these cost money. But the

college is also very proactive in critically evaluating

costs and looking at ways to economize without com-

promising the quality of a Vassar education.

Costs will no doubt continue to rise. But there are two

commitments that haven’t changed since the college

began. One is, in the words of Matthew Vassar, “to do

all things material and intellectual the best,” not to

cut corners on excellence. And the second is to make

a Vassar education affordable and accessible to all

qualified students.

to afford aroom and board

commitment

expenses

grants

finances

supportassistance

need-blindscholarships

Vassar meets 100% of the full demonstrated need

of all admitted students, international and domes-

tic, for all four years. Vassar adheres to a need-blind

admission policy for all first-year students who are

U.S. citizens or permanent residents. This means

that admission decisions for those applicants are

made without regard to their financial situation.

Admis sion decisions on international can di dates are

not need-blind at this time, but international students

are also eligible for need-based financial aid. The goal

of the college is to make a Vassar education afford-

able and accessible to all admitted students.

Case #1 Jack Jones, from Louisiana, lives with

his parents and brother, who is also attending col-

lege. Both his parents work and earn a combined

salary of $89,000. In addition, they earn $3,300 in

interest on savings and investments. They have a

modest amount of equity in their home.

Case #2 Sally Smith lives in a rented apartment

in Brooklyn with her widowed mother and a younger

sister. Her mother earns $18,500 a year and receives

$11,000 in Social Security benefits.

Two Hypothetical Financial Aid Cases

Understanding the Financial Aid Award Vassar’s financial aid program is need-based, not merit-based. We don’t give schol-arships based on achievement in a particular arena (such as sports or music or even academics). We believe that every student we admit is outstanding and has the potential to make a significant contribution to the Vassar community — that’s why we admitted him/her. We determine how much financial aid the student needs by taking the personal and financial information provided by the student and his/her parents and using a nationally recognized formula to assess the family’s finan-cial situation. Once we’ve calculated the need, we put together a financial aid award to meet 100% of the need.

The financial aid award usually includes a loan, a campus job, and grants and scholar-ships. For U.S. students with calculated family incomes of $60,000 or less, the loan component of the financial aid package is replaced with Vassar scholarship funds.

Grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid. Loans (usually from one of two federal programs, Stafford or Perkins) are low-interest and can be repaid over a period of 10 years when the student either graduates or leaves the college. A campus job requires eight to 10 hours a week and generates enough income to cover most of the cost of books, personal expenses, and travel to and from campus.

If you are offered financial aid, you don’t have to accept the whole package. You can accept the scholarship and the loan, and not accept the job, for example. Some students who are worried about acclimating to college choose not to have jobs the first year. If you decline part of the package, however, it is up to you and your parents to make up the difference.

Total Cost $ 53,740(including $2,150 for books and personal ex-penses and $120 for travel to and from campus)Total Family Contribution $ 1,550

Parent contribution 0Student contribution $ 1,550

Financial Need $ 52,190Total Financial Aid Award $ 52,190

Vassar Scholarship $ 41,440Pell Grant $ 4,000NY State TAP $ 5,000Campus Job $ 1,750

Total Cost $ 54,530(including $2,150 for books and personal ex-penses and $910 for travel to and from campus)Total Family Contribution $ 13,120

Parent contribution $ 11,570Student contribution $ 1,550

Financial Need $ 41,410Total Financial Aid Award $ 41,410

Vassar Scholarship $ 36,160Federal Perkins Loan $ 1,000Stafford Student Loan $ 2,500Campus Job $ 1,750

www.Admissions.Vassar.edu/FinAid845.437.5320 or 800.827.7270

[email protected]

Will I be able education?VassarEarly Decision I Nov. 1Early Decision II Dec. 15Regular Decision Feb. 1Fall Transfer Mar. 15Spring Transfer Nov. 1Returning Students Apr. 19

Financial Aid Deadlines

Tuition $ 41,335Room and Board 9,540Fees 595Total $ 51,470

In addition, students should anticipate $2,150 for books, supplies, and personal expenses, and an allowance for transporta-tion to and from the campus.

Tuition and Fees 2009/2010

58%PErCENTAgE OF VASSAr STUDENTS who receive all types of financial aid

$36,100,000THE AMOUNT VASSAr AWArDED this year in scholarships

$34,600 THE AVErAgE NEED-bASED AID AWArD

www.Admissions.Vassar.edu/FinAid

affordable

tuition

investment

GARRett BeLL-GReShAM“When I started looking at colleges, I thought I wanted that big college experience—something totally different from my high school. But then I started thinking—maybe you do want to actually be able to talk to your teachers. I think I made a great choice.”www.Admissions.Vassar.edu/Gresham

aware

fluent

intellectual

fair

tenacious introspective

respectful

rational

optimistic

A highly selective, residential, coeducational liberal arts college—these words describe key elements of Vassar’s character as an institution, but they don’t really define Vassar. What makes Vassar Vassar are the amazingly talented, smart, inquisitive, open-minded, and idealistic students and faculty who together create one of the most vibrant intellectual communities in the country.

ANthONY LUCeRO“I’m a runner, so I know the Vassar Farm like the back of my hand. I’ve been down every single trail, every nook and cranny—and it’s just so beautiful. I almost have to stop in the middle of the forest and just take a moment to appreciate it.” www.Admissions.Vassar.edu/Lucero

ALLYSON WON“Last year, I was a member of the Daisy Chain, which is one of Vassar’s oldest traditions. this year, I’m chairing Founder’s Day, which is a huge outdoor event celebrating the birthday of the college’s founder. I love being part of these unique traditions.”www.Admissions.Vassar.edu/Won

CAItLIN LY“I think that playing sports makes me a better person and a better student. It’s not like D-I schools where your life revolves around sports 24-7, but the athletes I know here have a determination to succeed that carries over into everything they do—sports and academics.”www.Admissions.Vassar.edu/Ly

LUke PARkeR“I spent the summer on an archeological dig in kenchreai, the eastern port of Corinth in southern Greece, excavat-ing a Roman cemetery. At one point I found myself hold-ing a mostly intact lower jaw, 2000 years old—that was a pretty strange feeling.”www.Admissions.Vassar.edu/Parker



Top: Vassar admissions search brochure. Top middle: Vassar finances brochure. Bottom middle: Vassar science brochure. Bottom: Vassar facts brochure.

No matter how you say it, POUGHKEEPSIE (actu-

ally pronounced pe kip se) is the home of Vassar

College. A community of 75,000 located in the heart

of historic Dutchess County in the beautiful Hudson

River Valley, Poughkeepsie and the surrounding

area offer Vassar students a rich social and cultural

experience. And if you need a big city fix every now

and then, New York City is only an hour and a half

away via the commuter train.

We invite you to visit Vassar College and investigate all that we have to offer.

www.Admissions.Vassar.edu/Location

Vassar. Limitless Possibilities.

p kip see

Vassar College Office of Admission124 Raymond AvenuePoughkeepsie, New York [email protected] www.Admissions.Vassar.edu845.437.7300 or 800.827.7270

non-profit organization

u.s. postage p a i d

poughkeepsie, ny perMit no. 251

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1969x America lands on the moon.x First Earth Day is announced.x Woodstock rocks the planet.x The World Wide Web is born.x Vassar goes coed.

Vassar College made history in 1969. We invite you to make your own history at Vassar.

www.Admissions.Vassar.edu


out of this world events




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Vassar

january 1 is sooner than you think

Last minute questions?For last minute answers, check out our live web chat

session on the evening of December 4. For details

see www.Admissions.Vassar.edu/Chat

Last minute application?Log on to www.Admissions.Vassar.edu/Apply for

links to the Common Application and the Vassar sup-

plement. We look forward to reading your application

for admission to Vassar College.


possibilitieslimitless

but not limitless time





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limitlessindependent

motivated

confident

curious

intelligent

ambitious

relentless

creative

genuine

passionate

Vassarwww.Admissions.Vassar.edu

ABOUT VISIT APPLY ACADEMICS PEOPLE STUDENT LIFE FINANCIAL AID AFTER VASSAR CONTACT



Vassar admissions postcards.



Vassar admissions website.



Vassar admissions admitted students package.

Documents

Case Study Vassar College Admissions 1 - Nesnadnynsideas.com/pdf/casestudies/Nesnadny-Schwartz-VassarAdmissions.pdf · Case Study Vassar College Admissions 1 Cleveland + New York