The Devil Wears Prada, and the devil also wears Vassar College burgundy. That’s right: Meryl Streep attended Vassar while it was still a women’s college, and her Devil Wears Prada 2 co-star Anne Hathaway majored in English at Vassar in the early aughts. If your child wants to be in front of the camera or behind it, they might get a better start in Poughkeepsie than in Hollywood. Director Noah Baumbach graduated in 1991 and went on to film scenes on Vassar’s Poughkeepsie campus for the 2012 indie hit Frances Ha, starring his wife, Barbie director Greta Gerwig. Jane Fonda, Justin Long, Lisa Kudrow, Ethan Slater, and other Hollywood stars count themselves among Vassar alumni. 

You’re probably wondering, though, if your child has what it takes to get into Vassar. Never fear: we at Ivy Coach are the experts in college admissions, and we’re going to help you work your way through that question. But first, let’s learn what makes Vassar such an impressive school beyond its Hollywood acolytes. 

About Vassar College

Vassar is nationally recognized for its progressive history and forward-thinking ideology: founded in 1861 as one of the first U.S. colleges to grant women degrees equal to men’s, Vassar became coeducational in 1969. The campus is a registered arboretum and is known for its large, beautiful Main Building, which is a National Historic Landmark, though modernist connoisseurs will also appreciate the Marcel Breuer building on Vassar’s campus.

There are around 2,500 undergraduate students at Vassar College. Almost all students live on campus and spend the first three years in nine distinct residential houses. Each house is unique not just in its architecture and history but in the personality of its residents and the ways they choose to live. Most Vassar seniors live in one of the college’s three apartment complexes. Though Poughkeepsie offers a quiet and idyllic Hudson Valley backdrop for four years of creation and contemplation, Vassar students also enjoy easy access to New York City via the Metro-North Railroad Hudson Line and Amtrak. 

Academically, Vassar offers an open curriculum, ample funding and faculty support for independent research, and strong programs across the arts. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center is a teaching museum with over 18,000 works of art, from antiquity to the present. And theater majors at Vassar have over three stages on which they can stage productions. 

The acceptance rate for the Vassar College Class of 2029 was 20.93%. That means getting in will require some strategic planning (and the help of Ivy Coach’s former college admissions officers certainly wouldn’t hurt). 

Vassar College Admissions Requirements 

Unfortunately, Streep, Hathaway, Fonda, and Kudrow didn’t all follow the same formula for getting into Vassar. Just like today’s applicants, they were each considered holistically. But we at Ivy Coach would wager that they had great grades, high SAT scores, and strong extracurricular achievements. Let’s look at what these three factors look like among Vassar’s recently admitted classes. 

What Kind of GPA Is Necessary To Get Into Vassar College?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a clear answer to this question. Vassar College has not reported the GPA of its incoming first-year students to The Common Data Set Initiative since 2012. The Common Data Set Initiative is a voluntary effort among colleges to help all of those involved with a student’s transition into higher education. We at Ivy Coach combed through every single one of Vassar’s available Common Data sets, and the last available GPA numbers are from a now bygone era in terms of understanding the college admissions landscape.

Vassar College could use a dose of statistical transparency. Their motto is “Purity and Wisdom,” so they should release the pure numbers and make all of us wiser. We at Ivy Coach call upon Vassar to do us all a favor and be more forthcoming about its academic profile. 

In their own words, Vassar conducts a “whole-person” review of each applicant. They say that a student’s academic record is the first and most important thing they consider. In other words, they are weighing your GPA heavily in their consideration. 

What Kind of SAT or ACT Scores Are Needed To Get Into Vassar College? 

The average SAT score for the Vassar College Class of 2029 was 1490, and the average ACT score was 34. Although Vassar is test-optional, 46% of applicants to the Class of 2029 submitted test scores, to say nothing of the percentage of admitted applicants who did. Though Vassar doesn’t officially report that number, we’d wager it’s much higher than 46%, as not submitting test scores can only ever hurt an applicant’s chances, even to supposedly test-optional schools. 

What Classes Do Students Need to Take to Get Into Vassar College?

Vassar does not explicitly state any minimum high school course preparation for applicants. However, we at Ivy Coach know that colleges want to see students excelling in each core subject (English, history, math, science, and foreign language) all four years of high school. Additionally, they expect students to take advantage of any AP or other advanced courses on offer to them. 

What Kinds of Extracurriculars Does Vassar College Like To See?

We’re going to stick with Meryl Streep as we answer this question. Did Meryl Streep become the most Oscar-nominated actress of all time by being a good actress, a good chef, a good runner, a good painter, a good cello player, and a good mathematician? No, of course not. Meryl Streep became the most Oscar-nominated actress of all time by being great at the one thing she does. 

So, if your child wants to get into Vassar, have them follow the way of Meryl: rather than trying to be “well-rounded” and merely good at lots of unrelated things, have them become great in one area. Colleges want a singularly talented student, not a kid who’s the jack of all trades but master of none. 

Vassar Application Requirements

Vassar College accepts The Common App. and Coalition App. They ask for one letter of recommendation from a counselor and one from a teacher. They ask students a supplemental question, and the prompt varies from one admission cycle to the next. 

Who Should Students Ask For Letters of Recommendation For Vassar College? 

Vassar applicants should ask a junior year teacher in a core subject with whom they’ve had a good relationship and in whose class they excelled. In addition, the recommender’s subject areas should fold in neatly with the rest of the student’s application: if an applicant wants to be Vassar’s next great Jane Austen scholar, they should probably ask their AP Lit teacher to be one of their recommenders. 

Does Vassar Require an Interview? 

They don’t require one, but they offer one! Pro tip: take them up on that offer.

What Are Vassar College’s Application Deadlines? 

Early Decision I applications to Vassar are due November 15th. Regular Decision and Early Decision II applications are due January 1st.  

How Ivy Coach Helps Students Get Into Vassar

If you’re interested in discerning if your child has a shot of getting into Vassar College, we recommend setting up Ivy Coach’s Strategy Session. Not only will you find out if your child has a chance of getting into Vassar College, but you’ll receive a game plan of how your child can optimize their admission to the best school possible.