April Days...

Looking around campus, I can see the buds beginning to form on the trees, the grass beginning to green, and of course, the ubiquitous squirrels beginning to emerge and make their presence known. But I see something else - hundreds of prospective students! Campus tours seem to be everywhere. April can be a difficult time for high school students; the decisions that they make among the often numerous schools to which they are admitted can be complex. Should you choose based on the buildings? Based on the class size? Based on the people you meet? 

As I hear the guides talk about the Vassar's founding or the huge number of books in the library, I can't help but remember my days as a high school senior on that same tour. Though I'm already a sophomore, it seems like it was just yesterday that my dad and I came up to Poughkeepsie to see the campus. We had a wonderful trip up along the Hudson from New York City, where I live. After the info session and tour, we walked to Vassar's huge sports fields, where we had a catch and talked about all of my college choices. I later visited Vassar for a second time with one of my best friends on Admitted Students Weekend.

Honestly, the process of selecting Vassar as my clear first choice was not an easy one. I had numerous conversations with friends and parents, teachers and college counselors, all of whom seemed to give me different advice. I think there were two aspects of the College that sold me. The first is superficial: the Library. If you haven't been on a tour and walked inside the unbelievable Thompson Memorial Library, you're missing out. Not only is the building itself magnificent - complete with imposing spires and cathedral-like ceilings - but it contains over a million printed books, plus untold numbers of electronic journals, magazines and newspapers. As a history major, I love the process of research. Nothing has facilitated that research more than the Library, a building that I fell in love with from the moment I saw it.

Second, the people that I met when visiting Vassar struck me as some of the most thoughtful and ambitious that I have ever encountered. I met one guy who was working to raise money for schools in Haiti, another girl who was pre-med with a double major in biology and English with a minor in Math (!) and another guy who was on three varsity teams. Not only are the students here interested in so many different things, but they also excel at all of them. That first impression has wrung true with the people that I've met since I arrived as a freshman.

Coming to Vassar was one of the best decisions I've ever made. All of my gut feelings about the students and the campus proved correct. I'm always happy to answer any questions about Vassar from prospective students... just shoot me an e-mail at brfarkas@vassar.edu.