A demonstrated commitment to academic excellence is the primary consideration in admission to Vassar College, but candidates should illustrate that they will contribute to and benefit from the range of intellectual, leadership, artistic, and athletic opportunities offered by the college community. The Admission Committee is particularly interested in candidates who have made effective use of all opportunities available to them.
Vassar adheres to a need-blind admission policy, which means that admission decisions for all first-year students who are U. S. citizens or permanent residents are made without regard to the students’ financial situation. Vassar meets 100% of the full demonstrated need of all admitted students for all four years.
Admission to the Freshman Class
Vassar welcomes applications from candidates of varied backgrounds and does not require a specific secondary school program. However, Vassar does expect candidates to have elected the most demanding course work offered by their high schools. Therefore, we recommend that students elect four years of English, mathematics, laboratory science, history or social science, and foreign language. Students should take a substantial portion of their work in enriched, accelerated, or honors courses or in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate programs when these options are available. Special attention is given to the academic breadth, depth, and rigor of candidates’ junior- and senior-year programs.
Early Decision Plan
The Early Decision Plan is intended for candidates who have explored and researched their college options carefully and concluded that Vassar is their clear first choice. Vassar has two early decision deadlines: November 15 and January 1. Candidates who use the first deadline will hear from Vassar in mid-December. Candidates who use the second deadline will hear from us by early February. Candidates will receive one of three decisions: admission, a deferral of our decision until the regular decision period, or denial, which is our final decision. The Office of Financial Aid makes preliminary financial aid awards at or near the same time to admitted candidates who have demonstrated financial need. Successful early decision candidates are expected to return the Candidate’s Reply Form within three weeks, pay the required fee deposit, and withdraw any applications submitted to other colleges and universities.
Regular Decision Plan
Candidates who wish to be considered under Vassar’s regular decision plan should ensure that the application is submitted by the January 1 deadline, and that the nonrefundable $70 application fee (or a formal request for a fee waiver) has been submitted. Candidates are notified of the Admission Committee’s decisions in late March or early April. Regular decision candidates must respond by May 1, the Candidate’s Uniform Reply Date. Admission to the freshman class is contingent upon maintenance, throughout the senior year, of the level of academic performance on which admission was based.
Required Credentials
In addition to the completed application forms and the nonrefundable $70 application fee, candidates must submit the following credentials: a transcript of high school courses and grades, the scores of the College Board SAT Test and the scores of any two SAT Subject Tests or the results of the ACT with writing, an evaluation from the high school counselor that addresses the candidate’s qualifications for admission, a recommendation from a teacher in an academic subject, and a personal statement or essay.
Admission of International Students
Vassar College welcomes applications from international students. These candidates must take the College Board SAT Test and any two SAT Subject Tests or the ACT. In addition, if English is neither your first language nor the primary language of instruction you have used throughout secondary school, you should submit the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). We generally expect a minimum TOEFL score of 100 on the IBT or 600 on the paper test.
Need-based financial aid is available to international freshman applicants who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Applications from noncitizens who apply for financial aid are considered on a need-aware basis. Vassar College also welcomes transfer applications from international students. However, we are unable to offer any financial aid to transfer candidates who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States.
Vassar College will give admission applications submitted by undocumented students the same consideration given to any other applications it might receive. Undocumented students who are admitted to Vassar will be offered financial assistance based on demonstrated need following the same procedures Vassar uses to grant aid to accepted international students.
Campus Visits
Vassar welcomes visits from high school students and their families. Guided tours of the campus led by Vassar students and group information sessions led by an admission officer and/or a Vassar senior are available Monday through Friday and on selected Saturday mornings in the fall and spring. Please call the Office of Admission at 845-437-7300 845-437-7300 or consult our website for the seasonal schedule. Appointments are not necessary for tours and information sessions.
Interviews
An interview is not required for admission. Most students and their families find that they have a clear understanding of Vassar’s academic and extracurricular offerings and admission standards after attending a group information session and going on a campus tour. However, candidates may feel that further dialogue with a Vassar representative would be helpful. Applicants may request a conversation with an alumna or alumnus in their local area when completing the application for admission. While interviews are not offered on campus, admission officers are always available after information sessions to advise students and their families on the admission process and to discuss special circumstances and needs.
Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and International Credentials
Every effort is made to ensure that students do not find college work to be a repetition of high school work. Appropriate placement is made by departments at the time of registration or within the first two weeks of classes. Students who have taken Advanced Placement examinations will receive one unit of credit, equal to one semester course at Vassar, (or one-half unit for the Physics “C” examination) for each examination in which a score of four or five is earned. Students may then be permitted to elect an intermediate-level course after consultation with an advisor and if given permission by the department chair.
Vassar welcomes applications from students who have participated in the International Baccalaureate program, and awards credit for scores of five, six, or seven on the Higher Level examinations. No credit will be given for work done in IB Standard Level courses.
The college also grants credit for sufficiently high marks on certain foreign advanced programs of study. Common examples include: GCE/Cambridge A-Level exams with a grade of A or B; French Baccalaureate exams with a minimum coefficient of 4 and a minimum score of 11; German Abitur exams with minimum score of 10; CAPE exams with a grade of I or II. Students possessing such credentials should consult with the Office of the Dean of Studies.
A maximum of 4 units of credit is allowed for examination results.
College Work Before Admission as a Freshman
Vassar may accept the equivalent of, and not more than, four courses of comparable work taken at a college or university prior to a student’s admission as a freshman. Transfer credit for work completed prior to admission to Vassar must be applied for within one year of matriculation. The student must list such courses and the colleges at which they were taken on the application for admission. Transfer of this credit will require departmental approval as well as approval of the Committee on Leaves and Privileges.
Credit will be granted only for coursework completed on a college campus and not used to meet high school graduation requirements nor granted high school credit. Students involved in college-level work during high school may wish to supplement their request for credit with the result of an Advanced Placement examination, even if they were not enrolled in an Advanced Placement course.
Deferring Admission
Admitted freshman students may, with the permission of the Office of Admission, defer matriculation for one year. The student should first confirm his or her intent to enroll at Vassar by submitting the Candidate’s Reply Form and the required enrollment deposit by May 1. A written request for deferral should also be submitted, preferably along with the enrollment deposit but by no later than June 1. If deferred status is approved, a formal letter stating the conditions under which the deferral has been granted will be sent to the student. However, students who may be offered admission to Vassar from the waiting list after May 1 are not eligible to request a deferral of admission.
Admission of Transfer Students
Students from two- and four-year institutions are typically admitted as transfers into the sophomore or junior classes for either the fall or the spring semester. The college may also admit some highly qualified freshman transfer candidates for the spring semester. All transfer students must complete a minimum of 17 Vassar units to be eligible for the Vassar degree. Thus, students with more than four semesters of college-level work are generally not eligible to apply for admission.
To be considered for admission, candidates for transfer are expected to present a strong college record with at least a B average in liberal arts courses comparable to those offered at Vassar. Candidates should be enthusiastically recommended by their current dean and college instructors. Those denied admission to the freshman class who want to reapply should complete a minimum of one year of college with an exemplary record before submitting a transfer application. Vassar may also accept transfer applications for the spring semester of the freshman year from new candidates with very strong high school records who have performed well during the first semester in college. Credit toward the Vassar degree for courses of comparable quality taken elsewhere is determined after admission by the Office of the Dean of Studies. No transfer credit will be assigned without an official transcript.
Please note that financial aid is available on a limited basis for transfer students. Students who are considering applying for financial aid should consult the Financial Aid Office for eligibility requirements, policies, and information about application procedures and deadlines. We regret that we cannot offer financial aid to international transfer applicants.
Credentials and Application Deadlines
Transfer candidates are required to submit the application forms, the nonrefundable $70 application fee, and all required credentials by March 15 for admission to the fall semester and by November 1 for admission to the spring semester. Required credentials include official college transcripts from all schools attended, an official transcript of the secondary school record, recommendations from the college dean and a college professor, standardized test scores, and a personal statement or essay. The application fee may be waived upon written request from the dean or adviser substantiating reasonable need for the waiver.
All transfer applicants are required to submit scores from either the SAT Test or the ACT. Along with the SAT scores, we also require two SAT Subject Tests. However, the SAT Subject Tests are waived for students who are returning to college after a lengthy hiatus or who will have completed one full year of college. Consult with the transfer coordinator for more information. In addition, the TOEFL exam is required for candidates whose primary language is not English.
Notification
Candidates for transfer admission to the fall semester are normally notified of our decisions on their applications in early May. Candidates for admission to the spring semester are normally notified of our decisions by mid-December. Transfer candidates for both semesters are expected to respond to offers of admission within two weeks. Admission to Vassar is contingent upon the maintenance, for the balance of the term, of the standard of academic performance upon which the Admission Committee based its decision. Students admitted as transfer students are expected to enroll in the semester for which they have been offered admission. Deferrals of admission to later semesters typically are not granted, except under extraordinary circumstances.
Admission to Exchange Programs
Students attending colleges or universities that have established exchange programs with Vassar who wish to study at Vassar for a semester or a full academic year should make arrangements directly with the exchange coordinator on their own campuses and consult the office of international programs and the dean of studies office at Vassar. Exchange students are expected to return to their home institution following their time at Vassar.
Visiting Students
A limited number of places are typically available (depending on space) for full-time visiting students in the spring semester. Visiting students are not admitted for the fall term. To be eligible, a student must be currently enrolled in college and have completed at least one year of full-time work. Students interested in visiting student status at Vassar should contact the Dean of Studies Office for further information and an application. Please note that enrollment at Vassar as a visiting student is typically a one-term option designed to allow an individual to experience a different educational environment and is not viewed as a route to transfer admission. It is also important to understand that on-campus housing may not be available for visiting students each year, depending on enrollment and housing capacity.
Special Students and Part-Time Students
Well-qualified nontraditional students who live within commuting distance of the campus and who wish to study on a part-time basis are encouraged to discuss special-student status and resumption of work with the Advisor to Special Students in the Office of the Dean of Studies.
Student Right-To-Know Act
Under this act, educational institutions are required to disclose to current and prospective students their completion or graduation rate. This rate is defined as the percentage of students who complete their degree program within 150 percent of the normal completion time for that degree. For Vassar College, this means the percentage of entering students who complete their degree within six years. The most recent Vassar class graduation rate is 91 percent. Additional graduation and retention rate information is available from the Office of the Registrar.
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