Vassar College Overview
Vassar College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Poughkeepsie, New York. The suburban atmosphere of Poughkeepsie makes it a great place for students who want the amenities of city life without actually living in the middle of a constant hustle and bustle.
What Is Vassar College Known For?
- Students at Vassar may have an easier time interacting with their teachers since the student to faculty ratio at the school is 8 to 1.
- Students at Vassar have an easier time paying back their loans. The school's student loan default rate is only 2%, compared to the national rate of 10.1%.
- The highest award offered at Vassar is the master's degree.
- For the 2017-2018 academic year, 84% of the faculty were full-time.
- Students who graduate from Vassar with a bachelor's degree make about $54,600 a year. That's 34% more than those who graduate from other schools.
- The average Vassar student graduates in 4.1 years. That's better than the national average of 4.4 years.
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Vassar College Rankings
Vassar is ranked #158 out of 2,320 schools in the nation for overall quality on our 2021 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation. Vassar also holds the #18 spot on the Best Colleges in New York ranking.
These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.
Vassar has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.
Rank | Ranking Name | Share |
---|---|---|
#105 | Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Vassar.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards Vassar has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#8 | Best Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts | College Factual |
#47 | Best Colleges for General English Literature | College Factual |
#58 | Best Colleges for English Language & Literature | College Factual |
#66 | Best Colleges for General Biology | College Factual |
#68 | Best Colleges for Visual & Performing Arts | College Factual |
#78 | Best Colleges for Biological & Biomedical Sciences | College Factual |
Where Is Vassar College?

Contact details for Vassar are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 124 Raymond Ave, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604 |
Phone: | 845-437-7000 |
Website: | www.vassar.edu |
Facebook: | http://www.facebook.com/vassarcollege |
Twitter: | http://www.twitter.com/vassarnews |
How Do I Get Into Vassar?
You can apply to Vassar online at: www.vassar.edu/admissions/apply/
Admission Requirements for Vassar
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | required |
High School Rank | recommended |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | required |
Recommendations | required |
SAT or ACT Scores | required |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into Vassar?
Approximately 42% of accepted students are men and 58% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 35%, and the acceptance rate for women is 19%.
Average Test Scores
About 60% of students accepted to Vassar submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 670 and 750. Math scores were between 660 and 750.
Can I Afford Vassar College?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Vassar, approximately 43% of students took out student loans averaging $4,855 a year. That adds up to $19,420 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at Vassar is 1.5%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Vassar College Undergraduate Student Diversity

Gender Diversity
Of the 2,424 full-time undergraduates at Vassar, 41% are male and 59% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of Vassar College students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 287 |
Black or African American | 90 |
Hispanic or Latino | 268 |
White | 1,332 |
International Students | 224 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 223 |
Geographic Diversity
New York students aren't the only ones who study at Vassar College. At this time, 44 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 46 countries are represented at Vassar. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and South Korea.
Vassar College Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By Noteremote under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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