First-Year Students

Pre-Arrival Checklist

Questions?

For answers to frequently asked questions, visit New Student FAQs, or contact the Dean of First-Year Students.

May

In mid-May, the Office of Admission emailed instructions for activating your Vassar account. You will need your login credentials to complete many of the tasks listed below.

  • Claim Your Vassar Email: Log into the status portal to set up your Vassar email. Your Vassar username and activation code, as well as instructions on activating your Vassar account, are available in your status portal. (Note: Students who deferred their entry from last year will not have access to the status portal. Your Vassar username, activation code, and instructions for activating your account are being emailed to you.)

    Once activation is complete, your Vassar email account can be accessed at mail.google.com or from any Google login prompt; log in with your full email address and password. Your email address will be your username followed by @vassar.edu (i.e, jodoe@vassar.edu).

    For more information, please visit the Computing, IDs & Phones FAQ. If you have questions or require assistance, you may contact the CIS Service Desk or call (845) 437-7224 during normal business hours.
  • Get Your Physical: Schedule an appointment with your physician for a physical examination.

June

  • Complete the New Student Information Form: Starting 6/1, you will be able to begin the New Student Information form either at the New Student Information form website or from the New Student screen on the Student Profile in the Vassar Mobile App. Important note: You must complete this form using your Vassar credentials so if you have not claimed your account as outlined above, please do so before proceeding.

    In this form you will be able to:

    • Provide information that will help us to make a housing assignment
    • Request disability accommodations
    • Share information about other special interests such as Religious and Spiritual Life, Technology, Campus Life and Diversity and more
    • Deadline: June 15
  • Look for Pre-Reg Communication: The Office of the Dean of First-Year Students will provide information about the pre-registration process, pre-major advisors, etc. Information about tuition payments and student finances will also be communicated in June.
  • Submit your ID Card Photo:
    Important note: You must submit your ID photo using your Vassar credentials so if you have not claimed your account as outlined above, please do so before proceeding. 
  • Complete your Statement of Academic Interests. Your thoughtful answers to these questions will help the dean place you with a pre-major academic advisor with expertise in your areas of interest.
    Deadline: July 1
  • Submit Final High School Transcripts: must be sent directly from the high school to the Office of Admission. You can email us your transcript, submit it via the Common Application website, or fill out and mail the Final Academic Transcript form. You must confirm with your high school that the guidance office/registrar’s office has forwarded your final transcript to us. You will need it on file at Vassar to finalize registration for first-semester courses.
    Deadline: July 1
  • Submit Medical Information: Complete your entry medical requirements as soon as possible by registering and logging into the Vassar College Health Service Patient Portal (available early June.) If you are unable to access the portal, please contact Health Services at health@vassar.edu.
    Note: You will not be able to access the Health Service portal until you have your Vassar email address
    Deadline: July 1
  • Pre-register for classes: (available in late June). You will receive more information soon regarding this process.

July

  • Take Required Training: Vassar is committed to supporting a caring, supportive, and safe campus, so we’ve partnered with Get Inclusive, an online education provider, to educate College community members about issues that may impact each one of us. As an incoming student, you must complete an online training course: Get Inclusive: Voices for Change. You will receive a notification through your Vassar email address with detailed course instructions, including the due date for completion. Available in July. Deadline: Tuesday, August 1 at 5:00 p.m.
  • First Year Housing Assignments: Made by July 31. You will receive a notification through your Vassar email address with detailed information about house, room, and if applicable, your roommates information.
  • Deposit funds to your VCash Account.

August

  • Submit Common Reading Response: Post your response, along with comments on two other student responses on the First-Year Common Reading Assignment (details provided in June).
  • Campus Arrival: Arrive on campus August 21, 2023. Begin New Student Orientation on August 21, 2023.

Pre-Matriculation Credit

Vassar may award a maximum of 6 units of pre-matriculation credit of any type.

Students may not apply for these credits until after they matriculate and are active students at Vassar.

Credit for Pre-Vassar College Work

To apply for credit for a course or courses you completed at another institution, you must present an official transcript sent from the registrar of the institution to the Dean of Studies, Vassar College.

Not all courses are eligible for transfer credit. See the First-Year Handbook section on Pre-Matriculation Credit for eligibility requirements.

AP and IB Credit

You may not apply for AP or IB credit until after you matriculate and are an active student at Vassar. AP and IB credit will be issued only upon receipt of the original testing service transcript. Scores of 4 or 5 on AP exams are eligible for 1 unit of credit, and scores of 5, 6, or 7 on higher-level International Baccalaureate exams are awarded 1 unit of credit, subject to the maximum of 2.0 units of exam-based, pre-matriculation credit.

If you wish to request a transcript, please write to:

Advanced Placement Services
Box 6671
Princeton, NJ 08541-6671
(609) 771-7300 or (888) 225-5427
apexams@info.collegeboard.org
CEEB code: 2956

IB Americas Global Centre
7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 200 West
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 202-3000
ibid@ibo.org

For more information on pre-matriculation credits, see the First-Year Handbook section on Pre-Matriculation Credit.

Registration and Advising

Before arriving at Vassar, you will begin to plan your course of study by exploring the Vassar College Catalogue, reading the Academic Information section of the First-Year Handbook, pre-registering for the fall semester, and filling out and returning your Statement of Academic Interests (due July 1).

Statement of Academic Interests

Once you declare your major (usually at the end of sophomore year), you will choose an advisor from the program or department in which you are majoring. Until that time, you will be assigned a pre-major advisor by the dean of first-year students. The only tool the dean has to match you with an appropriate advisor is your Statement of Academic Interests (due July 1). During New Student Orientation, you will meet with your pre-major advisor to finalize your fall schedule.

Pre-registration

Pre-registration will begin on June 19 and end on July 21. You will be able to access the registration program beginning June 19 using your Vassar One account login.