Stories

Six hundred twenty six freshmen began classes this week at Vassar College from an initial pool of 7,746 applicants. Of these, only 23.8 percent were offered admission into Vassar’s class of 2021.

Academic achievement is the backbone of the new class: of those with class rank, 65 percent were ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class and thirty-one were valedictorians. The class includes twenty-two National Merit Finalists or Semi-Finalists and twelve National Hispanic Scholars. The class also reflects Vassar’s ongoing commitment to fostering a diverse community: 35 percent are students of color, 13.4% are first-generation college students, and 12.5% percent are international students with either foreign or dual citizenship. One hundred forty-five students are fully bilingual or speak English as a second language. Sixty-three percent are receiving need-based financial aid from Vassar.

Marked by strong leadership skills, this class includes: sixty-five founders of a high school club; forty-seven students who were editors-in-chief of a major high school publication; nearly two hundred school club presidents; and one hundred thirty two were varsity sports captains.

This class comes to Vassar from 46 states (and Washington D.C.) and 28 foreign countries, with international students hailing from: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China/Hong Kong, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Lebanon, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

Members of this class already have a varied array of accomplishments to their credit. Two have sung at Carnegie Hall.  One memorized Pi to 320 digits. Two students are circus performers/aerialists. One is a reptile handler and another is a beekeeper. Another student hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro. Two are aquaculturalists (fish cultivators) and one is an aquascaping (underwater gardening) enthusiast. The class also includes a Martha Graham Dance Company soloist, a professional tap dancer, a sign language interpreter, an accordion player, a Tae Kwon Do black belt, and a figure skating champion.

Nine members of the class are veterans of the United States armed services, the fifth group of vets to enroll as freshmen as part of the college’s partnership with the Posse Foundation that began in 2013.

In descending order, the top U.S. feeder states for the class of 2021 are New York (142), California (67), New Jersey (53), Massachusetts (48), Pennsylvania (25), Connecticut (19), Washington (18), Florida (13), and Georgia, Texas, and Maryland (12 each).

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.