Campus Life

There's one dining hall, a pay-as-you-go cafe-type place, and a bunch of places to get coffee and snacks. A lot of people get sick of the dining hall, but I don't mind it. They have a decent variety. They always have a salad bar, bagels, fruit, a stir-fry station, cereal, a sandwich bar, dessert, a grill option, and a hot-food option. They often also have other options, though they have less on the weekends. The cafe, called The Retreat, is much better, but it works on a different paying system, so you can't just eat there all the time. There's also a smoothie/milkshake type place above the dining hall that opens after the dining hall closes that many students frequent. It's open fairly late into the night.

Vassar has been contracting with Aramark for a past couple years, which hasn't had a good track record when it comes to quality of food. Food on campus is also outrageously overpriced. The good thing is that the ACDC is all you can eat for a meal swipe, and taking fruit with you or containers full of food help you get what you paid for. However, some days, the food is almost inedible. Luckily, there are many cheap eats off campus and the Retreat, which is a grab-and-go dining option, usually has something for everyone's taste buds.

It's hit-or-miss....Some days it's amazing, some days it's unsatisfying, boring and/or gross. It really depends on the day, but that seems to be the case at most schools for the most part. Luckily, we get meal swipes and a ton of dining bucks, so when the ACDC (Deece) sucks, we can go to the Retreat and get food from there, or even get something from either the Kiosk, Express Lunch, or UpC (from 7 pm - 2 am).

We have tons of vegan/vegetarian/gluten-free options.

I really liked the on-campus food, although I know not a lot of people share this view. I wasn't offered a lot of variety in my household, so I really enjoy the variety at ACDC. And the food is always fresh, so I don't see what the problem is.

We have so many cool eateries on campus alone; the Deece, the Retreat, the Mug, the Express AND a food truck that goes around campus. Not to mention, the school hooks you up with a card that you can use at the food places off campus. That being said, the food can get kind of repetitive, and it'll be hard not to use up all your card money in one semester out of two.

beautiful dorms