November 12, 1950

Working under the Mary Conover Mellon Foundation, established at the college for administering the $2 million gift to the college in 1949 from the Old Dominion Foundation, the Research Center for Human Relations at New York University presented to the faculty an extensive survey of Vassar as a residential college. Eschewing conclusions, the 250-page report presented data as a basis for study and interpretation by the faculty and the student body.

Students reported that they had improved most during their college years in “happiness,” “making friends” and “definiteness about life plans.” The great majority of students considered themselves “happy” at college, although ten percent said they were “not so happy.” Most of the respondents said that they felt “liked by the faculty,” and nearly all of them reported that a more personal relationship with faculty members would “enrich their intellectual development.”

Twenty-three percent of the students in the study were engaged by the end of their senior year. Ninety-five percent hoped to have a family by the age of 30, and about 15 percent said they hoped to be in a full-time career by that age. About half said that they planned on seeking employment at graduation, while one-third said they would probably seek further education.

Seventy-seven percent of the student respondents reported that they would choose Vassar again.

The New York Times