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Vassar College

Type	Private liberal arts college
Established	1861; 164 years ago (1861)
Academic affiliations	Annapolis Group CLAC COFHE NAICU Oberlin Group
Endowment	$1.22 billion (2023)
President	Elizabeth H. Bradley
Academic staff	355 (2019)
Undergraduates	2,441 (2019)
Location	Poughkeepsie Town, New York , U.S. 41°41′15″N 73°53′45″W / 41.68750°N 73.89583°W / 41.68750; -73.89583
Campus	Suburban, 1,000 acres (400 ha)
Newspaper	The Miscellany News
Colors	Burgundy and gray
Nickname	Brewers
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division III – Liberty League
Mascot	The Brewer

Vassar College is a private college in Poughkeepsie, New York. It was started in 1861 by Matthew Vassar. At first, it was only for women, making it one of the first colleges in the U.S. to grant degrees to women. In 1969, Vassar started admitting both male and female students.

The college offers many different subjects, leading to a BA degree. Vassar's sports teams are called the Brewers. They compete in the NCAA's Division III. About 2,500 students attend Vassar College.

Vassar is one of the historic Seven Sisters colleges. These were early colleges for women in the U.S. The campus is huge, covering over 1,000 acres and having more than 100 buildings. It's also a special arboretum, which means it has over 200 types of trees. There's also a 530-acre ecological preserve on campus.

History of Vassar College

An 1861 painting of Matthew Vassar, who founded the college.

Vassar College began as "Vassar Female College" in 1861. Its first president was Milo P. Jewett. After just one year, the founder, Matthew Vassar, changed the name to "Vassar College." Some people joked that he thought boys might attend one day. They were right, as the college became a co-ed school in 1969.

Vassar was the second of the Seven Sisters colleges. These schools were created for women, similar to the all-male Ivy League colleges. The college was founded by brewer Matthew Vassar in the Hudson Valley, about 70 miles north of New York City. The first person to teach at Vassar was Maria Mitchell, a famous astronomer, who joined in 1865.

After World War II, Vassar allowed a small number of male students to attend. The big decision to become fully co-ed happened after Vassar's leaders decided not to merge with Yale University. Many other all-male and all-female colleges were merging around that time.

The Main Building, built in 1861, was once the largest building in the U.S.

Liberation Lawn at Vassar College, a place for student gatherings.

In its early days, Vassar was a popular choice for children from well-known families. Before he became President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was on Vassar's Board of Trustees.

Today, about 2,450 students go to Vassar, and almost all of them live on campus. About 60% of students come from public high schools, and 40% come from private schools. Vassar has slightly more women than men, which is common for liberal arts colleges. Over 336 teachers work at Vassar, and most have advanced degrees. There are 8 students for every teacher, and the average class has 17 students.

In recent years, about 32–38% of new students have been students of color. International students from over 60 countries make up 8-10% of the student body. Since 2007, Vassar has had a "need-blind" admissions policy. This means they accept students based on their abilities, without looking at how much money their family has.

Elizabeth Howe Bradley became Vassar's president in 2017.

College Presidents

Catharine Bond Hill was president from 2006 to 2016.

Name	Dates
Milo P. Jewett	1861–1864
John H. Raymond	1864–1878
Samuel L. Caldwell	1878–1885
James Monroe Taylor	1886–1914
Henry Noble MacCracken	1915–1946
Sarah Gibson Blanding	1946–1964
Alan Simpson	1964–1977
Virginia B. Smith	1977–1986
Frances D. Fergusson	1986–2006
Catharine Bond Hill	2006–2016
Elizabeth H. Bradley	2017–present

Campus Life and Buildings

Vassar's campus is in Poughkeepsie Town, right next to Poughkeepsie City.

Campus Architecture

The Vassar College Observatory is a historic landmark.

Vassar's campus is also an arboretum, with over 1,000 acres and more than 100 buildings. These buildings have many different styles. The most important building is Main Building. It is a great example of Second Empire architecture. When it first opened, Main Building was the largest building in the U.S. It used to hold all of the college, including classrooms, dorms, a museum, library, and dining halls. The famous architect James Renwick Jr. designed it, and it was finished in 1865. The observatory was built even earlier. Both buildings are special National Historic Landmarks.

College Libraries

Vassar's Thompson Library.

Vassar has one of the biggest library collections for undergraduate students in the U.S. The library has about 1 million books and many magazines, newspapers, and other materials. It also has special collections, including papers from famous people like Albert Einstein and Elizabeth Bishop.

The Van Ingen Art Library was updated from 2008 to 2009. This was done to make it look like its original design from 1937.

Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center

The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center.

The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center is a gallery on campus. In 2016, a new photography gallery opened on the second floor.

Campus Improvements

The Bridge for Laboratory Sciences, completed in 2016.

In 2011, Vassar started a big project to improve its science buildings. A major part of this was building a new Bridge for Laboratory Sciences.

Some of Vassar's dorms have also been updated. Davison dorm was renovated in 2008–2009. Jewett dorm was renovated a few years before that.

Student Housing

Vassar provides housing for its teachers and their families. The newest housing complex opened in 2023. Children of Vassar faculty who live on campus go to schools in the Arlington Central School District.

Academics and Learning

Rockefeller Hall, home to Political Science, Philosophy, and Mathematics.

The most popular subjects for students graduating in 2021 were:

Biology/Biological Sciences
Economics
Political Science and Government
English Language and Literature
Biochemistry
Neuroscience
Computer and Information Sciences

Admissions to Vassar

**New Student Statistics (Fall Enrollment)**
	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Applicants	12,145	11,412	10,884	8,663	8,961	8,312	7,746	7,284	7,556
Accepted	2,153	2,129	2,193	2,126	2,127	2,043	1,842	1,964	1,947
Acceptance Rate	17.7%	18.7%	20.1%	24.5%	23.7 %	24.6%	23.8%	27.0%	25.8%
Enrolled	689	681	679	594	691	685	625	659	667
SAT Middle 50%*	1450-1530	1420-1540	1420-1540		1380-1500	1370-1510	1370-1510	1330-1500	1330-1490
ACT Middle 50%	33-35	32-34	32-34		31-34	31-33	31-33	30-33	30-33
* SAT out of 1600

For the class entering in fall 2023, Vassar received over 12,000 applications and accepted about 17.7% of them. The average SAT score for accepted students was 1489, and the average ACT score was 33. Many of the students who enrolled were in the top 10% of their high school class.

Students of color made up about 45.5% of the new class. International students were about 8.8% of the new students.

College Rankings

U.S. university rankings

USNWR Liberal Arts College	16
Washington Monthly Liberal Arts	11
Forbes	73

U.S. News & World Report ranked Vassar as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the U.S. In 2024, it was tied for 16th place. The magazine also ranked Vassar highly for veterans, value, and social mobility.

Washington Monthly ranked Vassar 11th among liberal arts colleges in 2021. This ranking looks at how much colleges help the public good.

The Princeton Review has often ranked Vassar first for "Best Financial Aid." This means Vassar is very good at helping students pay for college.

Vassar's former president, Catharine Bond Hill, said that college rankings are only one piece of information. She believes that other things, like how a college feels, are also important when choosing where to go.

After Graduation

More than half of Vassar graduates go on to study for advanced degrees within five years of finishing college. About one-fifth go straight to graduate school after Vassar. In 2017, 76% of seniors who applied to medical school were accepted, and 96% of those who applied to law school were accepted.

Student Life at Vassar

College Traditions

Vassar students celebrating Founder's Day in 1935.

Founder's Day is a yearly campus festival at Vassar College. It usually happens in late April or early May. It started as a surprise birthday party for the college's founder, Matthew Vassar, when he turned 74. Over time, it became a yearly celebration with plays, fairs, and music events. Recently, themes have been added, like Alice in Wonderland or Candyland.

Student Groups

The Vastards performing in 2014.

The Night Owls started in the 1940s. They are one of the oldest singing groups without instruments (a cappella) in the U.S. Vassar has nine vocal music groups in total.
The Philaletheis Society is the oldest theater group on campus, founded in 1865. It is completely run by students. Other groups focus on different types of theater, like experimental plays or musical theater.
Happily Ever Laughter ("HEL") is the college's oldest comedy group, started in 1993. There are also other comedy groups that perform stand-up or improv.
The Vassar Greens are the college's environmental group.
Vassar College Television (VCTV) is the student-run video production company.

Campus Publications

Front page of The Miscellany News from 1922.

The Miscellany News is the college's weekly newspaper. It has been published since 1866, making it one of the oldest college newspapers in the U.S.
Boilerplate Magazine is a student-run publication that shares alternative news and creative works.

Radio Station

WVKR-FM, 91.3 FM, is Vassar's radio station. It started in 1971.

Athletics and Sports

The Butterbeer Broooers, Vassar's Muggle Quidditch team.

Vassar's sports teams are called the Brewers. This name comes from the college's founder, Matthew Vassar, whose family owned a brewery. The teams compete in Division III of the NCAA.

In 2008, the Vassar men's volleyball team played in the national championship game. In 2018, the Vassar women's rugby team won the school's first team national championship.