How to Apply to Life Sciences and Pre-Health Study at Vassar College: Biology, Biochemistry and Neuroscience and Behavior Majors, Pre-Health Advising in the Center for Career Education, a Columbia BA/MPH Dual Degree, No Nursing Major Found in the Pages We Read, for US, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Vassar College is a liberal arts college. This guide covers fall 2027 entry for U.S. applicants, international applicants (including those from China) and transfer applicants, based on Vassar’s own pages. What we could read: Vassar’s course catalogue is a third-party hosted catalogue site that we did not open, so full credit tables are not covered. The major information below comes from the course paths, declaration steps and pre-health pages on Vassar’s own site.

1. Relevant undergraduate majors

• Biology major: the department describes courses from molecular biology and genomics to physiology and behavior, and from microbiology and public health to ecosystems and restoration ecology, taught by inquiry with emphasis on experimental biology, data analysis and reading scientific papers.
• Biochemistry: an interdepartmental program of the Biology and Chemistry departments; the page says students “elect a concentration” in it, moving from introductory studies to advanced courses, with a capstone laboratory research experience in the senior year.
• Neuroscience and Behavior: a multidisciplinary program of biology and psychology; its page says it can prepare students for graduate study in biology, psychology or neuroscience, and that it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021–22.
• Related options: a BA/MPH dual degree with Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health (section 4); the majors list also includes Cognitive Science, Chemistry, Environmental Studies and Science, Technology, and Society.
• Undergraduate nursing, public health, kinesiology, nutrition or pharmacy: none in the majors list we read; the pre-health office covers nursing, public health, pharmacy, optometry, physical and occupational therapy as health professions to pursue after Vassar. We found no undergraduate nursing major.
• STEM designation: not stated in the pages we read; ask admissions.
• BS/MD programs: none found.

2. Admission and entering a major

• The application checklist has no intended-major item, and the pages we read do not say whether you name a major on the application; not published there, so go by the application form.
• Biology: ask a Biology faculty member to be your major advisor, build a plan of study in Degreeworks, send the PDF to the Biology chair and submit a Declaration of Major request on the Registrar’s website. The page gives no GPA or capacity condition and no deadline term for declaring.
• Biochemistry: you may declare the major after completing your first year; you find an advisor in the program, build a Degreeworks plan the director reviews, and then submit the declaration form.
• Neuroscience and Behavior: interested first-year students are advised to take BIOL 107 and 108 and NEUR 105.

3. Course sequences (from the department pages)

Biology major

• Required: BIOL 107, BIOL 108 with its lab, and CHEM 125.
• Three 200-level courses, at least one in each of two content areas. Area 1 includes Plant Physiology and Development (BIOL 202), Animal Physiology (228)*, Human Physiology (217)*, Microbiology (205), Plants and Fungi (208), Animal Structure and Diversity (226) and Ecology (241); Area 2 includes Cellular Structure and Function (218), Developmental Biology (232), Molecular Genetics (238)**, Genetics and Genomics (244)**, Evolutionary Genetics (248)**, Biochemistry (272) and Epidemiology (246). (*one of these only; **one of these only.)
• Two 300-level “CLS” biology courses (the abbreviation is not expanded on the page), a half-unit “Intensive”, and two additional courses chosen with your adviser (another 200- or 300-level biology course, a natural-science-division course outside Biology, or another course the adviser approves).
• This is the department’s list; the catalogue may hold finer rules we did not read. Biology also offers a correlate sequence, but a major that requires BIOL 107/108 cannot also complete the Biology correlate sequence.

Biochemistry (the page gives planning advice; the full requirements are in the catalogue)

• By the end of the first year, complete CHEM 125 and BIOL 107 (and possibly 108); students with limited chemistry take CHEM 121 first (fall only). In the second year take CHEM 244 and 245 and possibly BIOL/CHEM 272 or genetics; by the third year BIOL/CHEM 272 and the genetics and cell biology requirements, plus an intensive in the third or fourth year; in the senior year BIOC 326 and BIOC 356. Recommended physics and math can be done around the third year.
• For a semester abroad in junior year, take CHEM 125 and BIOL 107 in the first year so CHEM 244/245 fit in the second.

Neuroscience and Behavior

• Pathway: BIOL 107 → BIOL 108 → one approved BIOL 2xx → one approved BIOL 3xx; NEUR 105 (core, taken after BIOL 107 or with AP 5 / IB HL 6–7 equivalent credit) → NEUR 301 (core); psychology line: PSYC 200 and PSYC/NEUR 241 (core) → PSYC/NEUR 229 or 249 (core) → one approved PSYC 3xx. PSYC 105 is optional but can be used as a prerequisite to speed up. Other recommended courses include COGS 100 and CHEM 125.

4. Pre-med: what Vassar says

Vassar has no pre-med major. Pre-health advising is run by the Pre-Health and STEM advisor in the Center for Career Education, working with a Pre-Health Committee of faculty members.

• Scale and majors: the office says that over the last decade roughly 100–150 first-year students have expressed interest in one or more health professions; preparation for most health professions does not require a natural science major and students are advised to choose the major that interests them most, though some professions make a science major the more straightforward path.
• How to reach advising: PreHealth@vassar.edu, (845) 437-5285, or an appointment through Handshake; the page says even the first semester of the first year is not too soon, and that applications to health professions programs are submitted early, most between April (PA school) and June (medical, dental and others).
• Prerequisites (page updated January 2025; schools vary): for medical, dental, podiatry and veterinary schools the common requirements are two years of chemistry (CHEM 125, 244, 245 and 272; the page prefers CHEM 272 over BIOL 272; CHEM 121 has no lab and must be followed by all four), a year of physics with lab (PHYS 111 and 112, or 113 and 114), a year of biology (BIOL 107, 108 and an upper-level course with lab), math (statistics and/or calculus) for some, and English or writing courses for many. It adds that some medical schools no longer list specific courses since the new MCAT and only recommend biology, general and organic chemistry, biochemistry, physics, psychology and sociology.
• Other health professions: PA, optometry and nursing programs commonly ask for three to four semesters of chemistry, a year of biology, microbiology (BIOL 205) and possibly genetics, a year of anatomy and physiology (not offered at Vassar; contact the advisor), a semester of psychology and, for most nursing schools, Developmental Psychology (PSYC 231); physical and occupational therapy lists are separate. The page also notes that Vassar’s chemistry curriculum differs from the usual year of general chemistry and offers help explaining it to programs.
• Timelines: the page gives common timelines with no gap year, one gap year and two gap years; in the no-gap-year plan the MCAT/DAT/GRE is taken no later than the spring of junior year and applications go in during May–June; if you want a committee letter you complete the Pre-Health Advisory Committee process in junior year (no gap year) or senior year (one gap year).
• Dual degree: BA/MPH: you earn a Vassar BA and then an accelerated Master of Public Health at Columbia’s Mailman School; accepted students spend the fall semester of senior year at Mailman and return to Vassar in spring. Admission conditions for it are not stated in the pages we read.
• International students: the page says green-card holders are generally treated like U.S. citizens in health-professions applications; for non-citizens without permanent residence, opportunities for U.S. medical education are less available, the numbers admitted each year are small, and most acceptances are from private schools; since U.S. government loans are unavailable to them, many medical schools require proof of the ability to pay independently, sometimes with funds in escrow before enrollment. It points to the AAMC guide for international applicants, F1 Doctors and Pre-Health Dreamers.

5. High school preparation and credit

• High school courses: Vassar recommends four years each of English, mathematics, science, history or social science, and a language other than English, with a substantial portion of work in AP, IB or the highest level available, and pays special attention to the breadth, depth and rigor of junior- and senior-year programs. No extra requirement for the life sciences is stated.
• AP and IB credit: credit is awarded for 4 or 5 on select AP exams and 5, 6 or 7 on select IB Higher Level exams, with a maximum of 2 units of pre-matriculation examination credit.
• Biology: students with AP Biology 5 or IB Biology HL 6 or 7 may place out of BIOL 107 after confirming with the coordinator for BIOL 108; students with AP/IB or advanced courses who did not take the exam or scored too low may take a department placement exam. Those with two semesters of college introductory biology with lab who want to skip BIOL 107 and 108 must present a transcript, descriptions and syllabi to the chair.
• Biochemistry: if you opt out of BIOL 107/108 the program “highly” encourages extra laboratory experience (a lab-based cell biology course, summer research in the biological sciences, BIOL 298 or a year-long capstone research experience).

6. Rounds, deadlines and materials (the pages carry no year; confirm fall 2027)

• Early Decision I: 15 November. Early Decision II and Regular Decision: 1 January. Financial aid deadlines: ED I 15 November, ED II 1 January, RD 1 February. Decision-release dates for first-year rounds are not given in the pages we read.
• Materials: the Common Application or Coalition Application (QuestBridge also accepted); $65 fee or waiver; School Report with counselor recommendation and transcript; one teacher evaluation; mid-year report (Early Decision applicants send a fall progress report); and TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo if English is neither your first language nor the language of instruction for the last three years.
• Testing: SAT or ACT is optional; declare whether you will include scores on the applicant portal’s test-optional form by 22 November (ED I) or 8 January (ED II and Regular Decision); self-reported scores and superscoring are accepted, and enrolling students who self-report provide official scores in the spring.
• Optional: “Your Space”, non-evaluative alumni informational interviews, and music, art or dance portfolios.
• Vassar sets no separate deadline or materials for the life-science majors.

7. U.S. applicants

• The cost page lists a single tuition figure with no in-state or out-of-state distinction and says nothing about in-state preference.
• Aid: Vassar says it is need-blind (applying for aid does not affect admission) and meets 100% of the demonstrated need of admitted students; over half of students receive aid and the average scholarship is $63,033. Applying requires the FAFSA (code 002895) and the CSS Profile (code 2956, available after 1 October).
• Whether the life-science majors cap places or favor U.S. applicants is not stated in the pages we read.

8. International applicants

• Who counts: anyone who is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, including someone who has applied for a green card but not yet received it. Students come from more than 50 countries.
• English: required if English has not been the language of instruction at your secondary schools for the last three years: the TOEFL iBT, PBT or Home Edition (not TOEFL Essentials), the IELTS Academic (not General Training) or the Duolingo English Test. Vassar gives no minimum scores on the pages we read. Agency-sent TOEFL/IELTS results are strongly preferred (a counselor’s PDF is accepted in financial hardship, with agency results needed at enrollment); Duolingo results must come from Duolingo.
• School materials: a complete record of coursework and grades for each marking period, certified by your school; required national or international exam results (for example GCSE, IB MYP, CBSE board exams) go with the transcript; terminal exams (for example A levels, IB, French Baccalaureate, CBSE) are required for enrollment. Supporting documents must be in English, with a certified copy of the original and a translation (by an agency, or by a school official or English teacher in hardship); translated recommendations need a signed copy of the original.
• Interviews: applicants submitting TOEFL/IELTS are recommended to complete an interview; Duolingo’s interview portion is reviewed; InitialView and Vericant are accepted. International applicants cannot request alumni or student interviews, but Vassar will reach out if it has interviewers in your area.
• Financial aid: Vassar is need-aware for international students. A non-citizen non-permanent resident who wants aid at any time during their years must apply for it with the admission application; those admitted without aid in the first year are not eligible for Vassar funding later; international transfer students receive no aid. A separate international aid form is not described in the pages we read; the CSS Profile applies to all students, domestic and international.
• U.S. medical school: see section 4. Whether international students face limits on laboratory or clinical placements in these majors is not stated in the pages we read.
• Services: the Office of International Services (OIS) and the student-run VISA.

9. Applicants from China

• The pages we read do not say whether the Gaokao is considered and give no China-specific requirement; not published there. The terminal secondary exams named as examples are A levels, IB, the French Baccalaureate and CBSE, and the Gaokao is not among them, so ask the Office of Admission directly.
• Rules that apply: the English requirement and its exception (section 8); the translation and certification requirements for documents (section 8); required national exam results sent with the transcript.

10. Cost and research

• 2026-27 (USD): tuition $76,140, housing and dining $19,800, fees $1,020, plus $2,250 suggested for books, supplies, personal expenses and travel. No extra surcharge for the life sciences is listed. Students living on campus join a college board plan, and all students need health insurance (through Vassar, or a waiver if already covered).
• Research: the Biology Department offers independent research through BIOL 178, 298, 399 and 303, best arranged one or two semesters ahead, and small-group Intensives each semester (for example “Biology in the Community: Public Health, Restoration and Management on the Preserve” and “Applied Biostatistics”). The Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI) has run since 1986 as a ten-week summer program; Neuroscience and Behavior majors also take part and present at an annual symposium.
• Honors: Biology majors may receive honors for meeting two or more of: outstanding academic achievement; initiative and integrative ability in advanced courses; creativity and initiative in independent or intensive work; significant contribution to the biology community, with the department keeping full discretion. Neuroscience and Behavior needs a GPA of at least 3.7 in the major, integrative ability in the senior seminar and independence in research (usually through NEUR 395).
• Study away: Biology allows up to two units from off-campus or study-abroad programs, pre-approved by the advisor and chair; Biochemistry allows up to two units, after consulting the advisor and director.
• Limits on these opportunities for international students are not stated in the pages we read.

11. Transfer

• Who counts: anyone with a high school diploma or GED who has enrolled at a college. You may apply as early as the first term of the first year of college. You must complete the equivalent of at least four full-time semesters at Vassar to graduate. Transfer admission is need aware and places are limited.
• Deadlines: 15 March for fall, 1 November for spring. Spring applicants hear in mid-December and fall applicants in early May. Aid deadlines: 15 March (fall) and 1 November (spring).
• Materials: the Common Application and $65 fee; transcripts from all high schools and colleges; the Transfer College Report; a recommendation from a college instructor (a second college instructor, high school counselor or teacher, or employer is optional); mid-term grades if enrolled; optional SAT/ACT; English scores if required.
• Credit: liberal arts and sciences courses roughly equivalent in content, methodology and rigor to catalogue courses; no credit for physical education (except dance), pre-professional or vocational hours, courses under 2 semester hours or distance learning.
• Moving into a life-science major: Biology allows up to two units from off-campus courses (pre-approved by the advisor and chair before the program starts); with two semesters of college introductory biology with lab you may ask the chair to waive BIOL 107/108 by submitting your transcript, descriptions and syllabi. A GPA or required-sequence threshold for transferring into these majors is not published in the pages we read.
• International transfer students: no financial aid.
• Summer program: the five-week Exploring Transfer program brings students from select community colleges to campus each summer.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• ED I 15 November, ED II and RD 1 January; $65 fee; testing optional
• In the first year take BIOL 107 and CHEM 125 and contact the pre-health office in the first semester

International applicants (including China):

• English scores if your instruction language was not English; certified translations; terminal exam results due at enrollment; apply for aid with the admission application
• If your goal is U.S. medical school, read the pre-health office’s note for international students first

Transfer students:

• Fall 15 March; at least four full-time semesters at Vassar
• Contact the Biology chair first to check how outside courses count toward the major

Sources: Vassar College, Biology: Courses and Requirements; Biology: Intensives and Research; Biology: Honors; Biology: Post-Vassar Planning; Biochemistry: Courses and Requirements; Neuroscience and Behavior: Curriculum and Requirements; Pre-Health Advising; Pre-Health: For Students; Pre-Health: Committee and prerequisites; Pre-Health: four-year planning; Pre-Health: international students; Columbia BA/MPH dual degree; First-year applicants; How to apply; International applicants; Transfer applicants; Applying for aid; Tuition and fees. The deadline pages carry no year, so confirm they apply to fall 2027 entry; costs are 2026-27 figures. Full degree requirements sit in the college catalogue, which this article did not read. Check Vassar for the latest details.