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Vassar College
- Campus Housing

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Vassar College - Campus Housing - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.08

Campus Housing

B-
Where does this grade come from?View all Campus Housing rankingsReview this school to add your opinion

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Quick Stats

On-Campus Housing Available? Yes
Campus Housing Capacity 2,390
Average Housing Costs $5,470
Freshmen Required to Live on Campus? Yes
Undergrads Living On Campus 98%
Number of Dormitories 10
Number of Campus-Owned Apartments 3
Best Dorms
  • Jewett
  • Main
Worst Dorms
  • Noyes
  • Strong

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Vassar dorms are not only elegant—with their Elizabethan-style architecture—but most feel very much like homes. Similar to a living room, the parlor of each dorm has a Steinway piano, coffee tables, and couches used for group meetings, studying, weekly dorm events, study breaks, and napping. Dorms are equipped with house kitchens, TV lounges, and laundry facilities. Also, two or more members of the faculty—complete with families and pets—live in each dorm. As much of the social life of Vassar happens in the space of the dorms, students value the laid-back atmosphere that allows for a fun environment. Each dorm plans all-campus parties and weekly get-togethers.

There are no designated freshman dorms at Vassar. All students live intermingled on coed floors with coed bathrooms except for the all-female dorm, Strong. The charm of each building is in its personality, which is upheld by the incoming class placed there every year. Freshmen are not given a room choice, but they are usually placed in one-room doubles. Most students are happy with their placements, as the Residential Life Office makes a substantial effort to sort students accordingly. Generally, students stay in the same dorm until their senior year when they move to Vassar-owned apartments, which serve as the hub of party life for most of the student population.

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Vassar Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Campus Housing at Vassar College

wendeljohnsmith

'14

Chemistry

3.8
B+

Range from Great to Okay

It really depends on where you live. There are many options for housing. The nicer dorms are Jewett and Davison as they were just recently renovated. The older dorms like Main Building have not seen major renovation since the creation of the school. But overall, the quality of the dorms are above that of most universities and colleges. There are nice apartments and houses available when one becomes a junior/senior.

Jun 26, 2011

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Campus Housing at Vassar College

Dafiles

'11

Film and Video Studies

3.8
B+

Uneven but Charming

On Campus housing varies wildly from dorm to dorm and room to room, which is great if you land that two-room double in Cushing with its own private bathroom or if you nag the stain-glassed bejewled suites in Joss, but terrible if you live in a musty closet of a room on the 5th floor of Raymond. Dorm communities can be fun and homey but also obnoxious.

Apr 09, 2011

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Campus Housing at Vassar College

dsas06820

'14

Political Science and Government

5.0
A+

Overall Good

When I first moved into my dorm room, I thought it was a piece of crap. But as you live in it, it becomes more and more of a home. Even though most of the dorms are old and seem dilapidated, it is something that you grow to love. Each of the dorms has its own personality and type of student who lives there and it is very Harry Potter-esque. After you are a freshman you can move out of the tiny doubles which makes housing even better.

Dec 10, 2010

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Page 1 of 6

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate campus housing on the following subjects

Facts

Room Types
  • Doubles
  • Quads
  • Singles
  • Suites with three or four singles with a common living area
  • Triples
  • Two-room doubles – a single off another single room
  • Two-room triples – a single off a one-room double
Bed Types
  • Standard twin
  • Twin extra-long available upon request
What You Get
  • AppleTalk computer/phone jack
  • Bed frame
  • Desk and chair
  • Mattress
  • Mirror
  • Recycling bins in the hallways
  • Security box
  • Trash can
  • Wardrobe or closet
  • Window coverings
Also Available
  • Vassar also offers a vegan cooperative living situation in Ferry Cooperative House, where students cook and clean as a group.
  • Wellness Corridors are offered as an alternative within the dorms for students who prefer a quiet, non-smoking, alcohol and drug-free environment.

Available for Rent

Microwaves

Minifridges

Cleaning Service

All public/common areas and bathrooms are cleaned daily.

Did You Know?

At Vassar, we do not have RAs (Residential Advisors); we have Student Fellows. Unlike RAs, Student Fellows are not there to baby-sit or reprimand students, but instead to help make the transition to college easier for freshmen. They buy you cake on your birthday, give you advice about how to live with your impossible-to-live-with roommate, and act as a liaison between the Residential Life Office and freshmen.

All dorms have a “Free Box,” a cardboard container in which students recycle their used clothing and items to the first lucky forager to find them.

Since moving in to your college dorm is probably one of the most stressful times—disorienting, boring, inevitably hot and sticky, frustrating, and embarrassing—on move-in day at Vassar, upperclassman from each dorm, called “Bandana People,” descend upon each car that pulls up to unload like professional thieves. Your boxes, suitcases, shopping bags, fridges, and various other trappings will be waiting for you outside of your dorm room (even on the fifth floor) before you can say, “Wow.”

Every dorm is outfitted with a Steinway piano available for student use. Students can often be found running their fingers across the keys or belting out show tunes with friends.

As long as your pet can fit in a cage (humanely), you can bring it to live with you in your dorm room at Vassar.

DormitoriesWhat's This?

Cushing House
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 202
Bathrooms: Shared by hall
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: One-room doubles, two-room doubles and triples, singles
Special Features: Laundry, computer cluster, multi-purpose room, kitchen in building, most gorgeous parlor on campus.

Davison House
Floors: 5
Number of Occupants: 191
Bathrooms: Shared by hall
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: One-room doubles and triples, three-room triple, singles
Special Features: Laundry, computer cluster, multi-purpose room, kitchen, parlor in building, on the Quad, and campus bands practice in the basement regularly.

Dexter M. Ferry Cooperative House
Floors: 2
Number of Occupants: 20
Bathrooms: Shared by house
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen (freshmen must be in second semester)
Room Types: Singles
Special Features: Lounge, kitchen, laundry, responsible to others, environment that is unique and supportive of individuality.

Emma Hartman Noyes House
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 178
Bathrooms: Shared by hall
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: One-room doubles and triples, singles
Special Features: Laundry, computer cluster, multi-purpose room, kitchen, parlor in building, built by renowned architect Eero Saarinen, with a “Jetson-” style lounge.

Lathrop House
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 180
Bathrooms: Shared by hall
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: One-room doubles, three-room triples, singles
Special Features: Laundry, computer cluster, multi-purpose room, kitchen, parlor in building, located on the Quad.

Main House
Floors: 5
Number of Occupants: 351
Bathrooms: Shared by hall
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: One-room doubles and triples, suites, two-room doubles and triples
Special Features: Laundry, computer cluster, multi-purpose room, kitchen, parlor in building, bottom floors house many offices and parlors.

Milo Jewett House
Floors: 4, plus a 9-floor tower
Number of Occupants: 195
Bathrooms: Shared by hall
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: One-room doubles and triples, suites, two-room doubles, singles
Special Features: Laundry, computer cluster, multi-purpose room, kitchen, parlor in building, has a lot of legends.

Olivia Josselyn House
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 237
Bathrooms: Shared by hall
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: One-room doubles, triples, and quads, two-room doubles and triples, singles
Special Features: Laundry, computer cluster, multi-purpose room, kitchen, parlor in building, largest freshman rooms.

Raymond House
Floors: 5
Number of Occupants: 200
Bathrooms: Shared by hall
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: One-room double and triples, three-room triples, singles
Special Features: Laundry, computer cluster, multi-purpose room, kitchen, parlor in building, located on the Quad.

Strong House
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 162
Bathrooms: Shared by hall
Coed: No
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen; women only
Room Types: One-room doubles and triples, three-room triples, singles
Special Features: Laundry, computer cluster, multi-purpose room, kitchen, parlor in building.

Campus-Owned ApartmentsWhat's This?

South Commons
Floors: 3
Number of Units: 50 (5 in each apartment)
Bathrooms: Shared by apartment
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles
Special Features: Own living room and kitchen

Terrace Apartments (TAs)
Floors: 3
Number of Units: 246 (4 or 5 in each apartment)
Bathrooms: Shared by apartment
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles
Special Features: Own living room and kitchen

Town Houses (THs)
Floors: 3
Number of Units: 250 (5 in each apartment)
Bathrooms: Shared by each apartment
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles
Special Features: Own living room and kitchen

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Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Vassar

Name: Sam Murray

Hometown: Bend, IN

Major: Philosophy/Economics

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