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Vassar College
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Vassar College - Diversity - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.85

Diversity

B+
Where does this grade come from?View all Diversity rankingsReview this school to add your opinion

Comparable Schools' Diversity Grades:

Quick Stats

African American 5%
Asian American 10%
Hispanic 7%
International 6%
Native American 0%
White 72%
Unknown 0%
Historically Black College/University? No
Tribal College? No
Out-of-State Students 74%
Common States of Residence
  • California
  • Connecticut
  • Foreign Countries
  • Massachusetts
  • New Jersey
Student Age Breakdown Under 18: 1%
18-19: 47%
20-21: 45%
22-24: 7%
25+: 0%
Female Faculty 48%
Male Faculty 52%
Faculty Diversity African American: 7%
Asian American: 9%
Hispanic: 4%
International: 4%
Native American: 0%
White: 74%
Unknown: 1%

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Diversity is a term that is constantly being redefined by colleges who strive to be progressive and support a diverse campus. Vassar has worked hard to increase the number of minority students and improve race relations within the Vassar community. Still, diversity is a complicated identity to strive towards. Vassar is dominated by white culture and white privilege. All College Day at Vassar promotes discussion and expression on race. Many courses, particularly those in the African Studies Department and the Asian American classes, strongly support emotional and intellectual interaction between students in a more “diverse” setting, as more minority students tend to populate these classes. Vassar needs to continue to actively recruit minority students and to help make the voices of the students of color already on campus more prominent.

What should be noted is that Vassar can sometimes feel like a close-minded place. Students are overwhelmingly liberal, sometimes oppressively so. It can definitely seem like there is a lack of diversity of opinion at times. The College is trying expand not only diversity, but conversations on diversity as well. Diversity has become an obvious goal of the administration. While diversity at Vassar is increasing, there is still a preference toward a certain ideological profile, which poses serious problems for a chance at real diversity.

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Vassar Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Diversity at Vassar College

xjools

'13

Drama and Theatre Production

3.5
B

Pretty Diverse, Still North-Easterny Liberal Artsy Though

The biggest lack of diversity we have is in regards to political beliefs. Liberal is the norm, and people easily gang up on groups that express more conservative values. However, ethnic and racially Vassar is pretty diverse. The community of international students is very strong, and the school's financial aid can be very generous, allowing people of diverse backgrounds to attend.

Jan 25, 2011

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Diversity at Vassar College

dsas06820

'14

Political Science and Government

4.2
A-

Still a White School, but Definitely Diverse.

Overall, Vassar is still much of a "white and privileged" school. Almost half of the school isn't on financial aid. Despite this, rarely can you tell who is "from money" and who isn't. There are definitely still students of color and people from all around the country which definitely spices things up. When it comes to sexuality, it is definitely very diverse. People here rarely seem stagnant.

Dec 10, 2010

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Diversity at Vassar College

jmoliere

'12

Arts

3.8
B+

Liberal

There is a relatively small community of students of color, but it is by no means impossible to have an ethnically diverse group of friends. Politically, Vassar tends towards the left so if you're more to the right, I would either get ready for four years of spirited debate or apply for transfer. Along that same note, we are one of the most accepting colleges in terms of sexual orientation.

Jul 07, 2010

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Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

How diverse is the student body in the following areas?

How diverse is your personal circle of friends in the following areas?

How accepting is the campus community as a whole toward someone who falls into the minority (ethnic, sexual, or religious)?

How would you best describe your personal political beliefs?

How would you best describe the political beliefs of campus as a whole?

Facts

Gay Pride

Students at Vassar are extremely accepting of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. While the percentage of openly gay students may seem high to students when compared to society as a whole, it is not as high as Vassar’s reputation might have you believe that it is. Vassar is just an environment in which students of all sexual orientations experience a “freedom” that only becomes defined in such a way when compared with what is essentially a homophobic American society. At Vassar, it is just living.

Political Activity

Conservative students complain of intolerance, and the school is trying to fix up the “super liberal” stereotype into something more accepting.

Economic Status

Look at any of the parking lots on campus, and you’ll see that Vassar has a number of wealthy students. A common joke is that “students drive their BMWs to the Salvation Army.” Contray to this assumption, more than 60 percent of students receive some form of financial aid, and 52 percent receive assistance from Vassar.

Most Common Religions

Vassar is independent of denominational ties. Religion doesn’t play a large role in most students’ lives, but Vassar isn’t as “Godless” as students often think it is. There are several student-led communities of faith at Vassar that are very active, and are supported by an Office of Religious and Spiritual Life.

Minority Clubs on Campus

There are several student-run groups ranging from the Black Student Union to the Asian Film & Media Club to the Queer Coalition. The Alana Center, the resource center for African American/Black, Latino, Asian/Asian American and Native American students on campus, provides support and programming for students of color.

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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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