Vassar Admissions Blog

I know most of the readers of this blog, like myself not too long ago, are probably thinking about where they want to go to college and what their freshman year will be like. So it probably makes sense that before last year, I had never heard of the sophomore slump before. What the what?

Sophomore slump is the phenomenon of second-year college students struggling to stay motivated and engaged in school. To be honest, I was a little worried about experiencing it going into this year. Even though I’m only two months in, I’m so glad to say that   I’m experiencing a sophomore surge! This year has been great!

In general, I’m feeling so much more engaged in my schoolwork. Whatever I’m working towards with my education at Vassar, though still vaporish and foggy, seems increasingly tangible and real to me now than it did last year. For one, I’ve decided on my major (doubling in International Studies and French with a correlate in Economics). Writing my International Studies major proposal (multidisclipinary majors sometimes require them) and turning it in last week really helped me define and solidify my academic goals that I want to achieve before I graduate.

And, even though it’s still October, I’ve also been thinking about studying abroad. Many students at Vassar will spend a semester or the full academic junior year abroad, what we call JYA. And, even after attending a JYA mixer earlier this evening with seniors who went abroad last year, a lot of reflection has led me to be 99% sure that I’m JYStaying! As someone who has been diagnosed with Rampant Indecision (but really), it feels so good to be slowly and kind of surely make some decisions!

It’s definitely been difficult–my workload is a lot more difficult and days are still pretty busy. But, the time I find to go to a lecture or spend with friends is that much more enjoyable. Last week, the Econ department hosted a teach-in on the economic issues of the political campaign that had one of our bigger lecture halls packed. Also, last Thursday night, even though I had a paper due the next day that I hadn’t quite finished (yolo!/carpe diem!), some friends and I went to see “Perks of Being a Wallflower!” It takes some reflection, a lot tough decision making, and a few doses of spontaneity, but thus far, there’s no slump in sight!

This summer was LONG. In good ways and bad ways. I made a decent amount of money but I worked so much it seems like a million years since I’ve been back at school. I kind of worked the summer away to be honest. I had a bunch of odd jobs including a restaurant gig, babysitting, and working at the Kentucky Horse Park. My favorite job though, besides the restaurant job which was a blast, was working at a summer program for dyslexic kids that helped with their reading, writing, and other skills. It was so incredible and rewarding (when people say it was “rewarding” I sometimes take that as a cop out, like you have nothing else to about an experience? But trust me. This program was REWARDING).

First of all I should explain that I don’t like children usually. But in the context of tutoring it’s a wholenother story– these kids (ages 7-13) worked so hard every single day of “camp” when they could have been running around outside like other kids their age. There were definitely some challenges at first because they were just as aware of the fact that they did not have to be there and that they were missing some prime summer goof off sessions with friends… also some breakdowns occasionally. But our staff was so great and we had such interesting kids to work with everyone just stepped up and did their best. It really made me want to continue working with children with learning differences here in Poughkeepsie. I’ll be checking that out as soon as my schedule is straight.

Now that I’m back I’ve made a bunch of changes… Changed my major (again), which is not typical for a junior let me tell you. Anyway I’m now a Latin American and Latino/a Studies major. It’s such a wonderful department and really gets at what I want to learn here at Vassar. It combines my language interest with anthropology, sociology, political science, etc. I’m so psyched I finally feel settled with a major and am lucky that I could change my mind so often and still graduate on time… and go abroad!

Argentina t-minus one semester. At the end of February I’m headed to Buenos Aires for 5 months. Cannot. Wait.

Things are a little crazy still with add drop period– I have to change up some classes. I’m going to get on that now so that’s all I have to say for this post!

Dear Vassar and friends,

I’m writing to you to let you know that on this fine afternoon, May 10, 2012, I am officially done with my sophomore year. Yes. It is true. After hours of studying molecules and mechanisms and resonance structures in the retreat, I approached Rocky 200 with dread. My organic chemistry final was drawing near. I did ten push-ups outside the building to ready myself for the torture I knew was to come. Two hours later I crawled from the building, crying and bleeding profusely. I actually think the exam was fine (KNOCK ON WOOD, AHHH!), but everyone associates organic chemistry with trauma, so I might as well keep up the reputation! I then proceeded to frolic through the halls of Main building by myself, because none of my friends are done with their finals. My end of finals has come rather anti-climactically, as most people are not done and are therefore unwilling to celebrate and frolic with me. Ah, well.

This summer I’m staying on Vassar’s campus and doing URSI (Undergraduate Research Summer Institute) with one of my psychology professors. I’m going to be doing research on how people’s personalities change when they interact with different people. Cool, huh?! Well, I suppose it is goodbye for now, but I will see you all when I’m a junior! Huzzah!

Love,

Anna

This past weekend was the Office of Admission’s annual FOCUS on Vassar Weekend, the main event of the Multicultural Recruitment Intern team. Nearly eighty admitted high school seniors and prospective members of the Vassar College Class of 2016 (affectionately called prospies when they visit) came to campus this weekend to see all the countless reasons why they (and you) should matriculate to Vassar. Basically, it was the weirdest!

Calendar time will tell you that I myself had the lucky opportunity to attend FOCUS a little over a year ago. Benedict time is quite sure that I just wandered around campus with other prospies during FOCUS just yesterday. Seeing students just like me asking the same questions, experiencing the same confusion and excitement that I felt just a year ago was… Yikes! Going full circle!

All in all, it was a great weekend! If the group of students who came is any indication of what the Class of 2016 is like, then I could not be more excited to meet the incoming freshman class. I loved having the opportunity to give back the experience I had last year to this year’s students. It’s really such a magical time to be a high school senior. All the students I got to know were so energetic and curious and their enthusiasm for getting to know Vassar really reminded me why I love this school so much.

Focus has been kind of a key theme for the week. The semester is starting to wrap up and everything’s happening at once. In between meetings with professors, elections for VSA (go student government!), meetings for meetings, etc., I’m somehow trying to find time to do my schoolwork and study. What a concept: doing your schoolwork in college!

As the seasons are tentatively shifting towards a warm and sunny spring, I often find fellow students bathing in the sun on the many expanses of green grass on campus. We’re stressed about finals but ultimately so glad to soak up that pure sunshine and just enjoy an afternoon. It’s a beautiful busy time of year—a time to focus on everything academic, everything frivolous, and everything Vassar!

This week has been pretty exciting. Took my last Italian midterm before the final, turned in one of the last Spanish essays of the semester, started planning my schedule for next semester, and last but not least, I got to watch my hometown win the NCAA tournament. The last piece of news is a bit bitter sweet because I couldn’t be home to celebrate, but it feels good knowing UK got their 8th.

So here we are at the end of the week (almost. I still have a couple classes and some work standing between me and the weekend) and I find myself in the Jewett MPR (multi purpose room: a large room with sofas and chairs and a flat screen tv!) watching the second day of the opening week for the major league baseball season with my friends. One of them is a die hard Mets fan while the other is a Red Sox fan, so I’m splitting my time between the two TVs in the building, each with a different game playing. I grew up in a college basketball town– not MLB– so I’ve had a good time getting “educated” about this culture. It’s easy to get caught up in the thick of it as my friend next to me yells expletives at her beloved team when she feels they’ve let her down.

Side note, I just found out I’ll be leading an outing club trip to the inner wall in New Paltz in a week. That’s not true, I knew I was going to do it; I just wasn’t sure how many people would want to go. Turns out I’ve got more people than I have transportation, so we’ll have to work that out somehow. But it’s going to be a great time– I haven’t been rock climbing in a couple years since the place I used to go back home got shut down. I guess I have no excuse though since I live near one of the most beautiful national and state parks ever AND I go to school in the equally lovely Hudson Valley area. Plus, the outing club subsidizes half of our entry fees. It’ll be a good week.

3/29/12

First of all, I’d just like to say CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! to all the newly admitted Vassar students! Yayyyyyy!

In other news, I had a Frisbee tournament this weekend at Haverford, which was just wonderful. Frisbee is a three-season sport here at Vassar; We play several tournaments in the fall, practice indoors during the winter when there’s snow on the ground, and THEN drive for 18 hours to Savannah, Georgia over spring break, where we spend four days playing in a tournament and the rest of the time hanging out on the beach and having a good time. I’ve been both my freshman and sophomore years, and it’s an amazing trip… It didn’t hurt that it was 80 degrees and sunny nearly the whole time.

And now, of course, it’s back into the swing of things! I have an organic chemistry test next Wednesday that I’ve been studying for well in advance, just because I have to know a gazillion pages worth of reactions and other chemical things. It’s a good thing, though, that organic chemistry is one of my favorite classes at Vassar. My professor rocks. It’s awesome how a good professor can make you enjoy a class you never thought you’d like. And off to study!

I’ve been meaning to do a blog post on awesome alums for a few weeks, and Lisa Kudrow’s video above is the perfect excuse. She mentions some great ones in there: in case you didn’t have a piece of paper handy, she names Meryl Streep, Noah Baumbach, herself, John Carlstrom, Judge Richard Roberts, Matthew Brelis, Phil Griffin, Chip Reid, Vera Cooper Rubin, andSau Lan Wu. What she doesn’t touch on is a few of my favorite, more historical alumnae; the pioneering Vassar women who changed the world after leaving Vassar College. Let me introduce you, very briefly, to a few…

Ellen Swallow Richards, class of 1870, was the first woman ever admitted to M.I.T., and later taught there, essentially founding the field of ecology. On top of all that, she was featured in a Wonder Woman comic for those groundbreaking accomplishments.

Grace Murray Hopper, class of 1928, is one of my favorites. She was the inventor of the first complier in computer programming. After graduating from Vassar with a degree in mathematic and physics—and remember, this is 1928—she went on to a Ph.D. at Yale. She returned to Vassar to teach math, and then enlisted in the Navy, eventually becoming a rear admiral. While in the Navy, she worked on the “Harvard Mark I,” the first computer. While doing so, she gave the world the term “debugging,” when she fixed a computer glitch by literally removing a moth from the machine. You can see an old video here in which she explains what a nanosecond is. And here’s an old video interview with David Letterman in which she proves her considerable wit and charm.

Last but not least, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Elizabeth Bishop, one of the most important poets of the 20th century and a member of the Vassar class of 1934. She was the poet Laureate of the United State from 1949 to 1950 and receives a Pulitzer Prize in 1956. Of course, she was hardly the first Vassar woman to win the prize; Edna St.Vincent-Millay, Vassar class of 1917, won a Pulizer in 1923, only six years after she graduated.

There are many, many more, but you’ll have to look them up on your own. Have fun!