<p>My son, a HS junior is beginning his college search. He has become very intrigued by Lafayette, partly because of the engineering option in a small LA school. Here are his bona fides: unweighted gpa-3.65 (all honors or AP); class rank-school does not report (highly competitive public school in WMass); first attempt at SAT-570/680/720; ECs: baseball team (4 yrs), golf team (4 yrs, captain, 12), ski team (4yrs, captain, 12), yearbook staff (11), possibly editor(12), several clubs, summer job, some limited community service-volunteer, meals on wheels, local soup kitchen, crop walk, Sunday School teacher. Interesting fact–has taken 5 years of honors Chinese (and won two academic excellence awards), will be taking AP Chinese next year (he’s not Asian) as well as two other AP courses. He believes he can improve his SATs in rdg and math with some additional prep work.</p>
<p>The questions: how does he fit as a candidate?
We’ve read that there will be a Chinese language program starting this fall. He would like to minor in Chinese. Any info on this?
He’d like to play golf in college (he shoots mid to upper 70s with two summers to improve). Anyone know who the golf coach is (no listing on the Web site)? Would a good word from the coach help the admissions process? Is a summer visit likely to be as useful as a spring one?
Thanks</p>
<p>Beardog,</p>
<ol>
<li><p>As you are well aware, his SATs are below average by Lafayette standards, but not horrible by any means. To see where his scores fall compared to students of the Class of 2010, please visit: <a href=“http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/requirements.html[/url]”>Lafayette College. With that said, his athletic participation is quite impressive! The extent to which he has involved himself in athletic leadership positions will be noted. He is taking a rigorous courseload and performing well considering his extracurricular commitments, which is VERY important in college admissions. His study of Chinese will definitely set him apart from similar applicants.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, starting next fall, we will be offering Elementary Chinese (CHN 101) as well as a course on Civilization and Culture (CHN 231). I’m sure we’ll eventually start to offer both Intermediate and Advanced language courses. A new professor was hired to teach these courses (Dr. Song). However, there are currently no plans to offer a Chinese major or minor. If students demonstrate enough interest, though, a minor may be created.</p></li>
<li><p>The golf coach is Mr. James (Jim) Hutnik and his email is <a href=“mailto:hutnikj@lafayette.edu”>hutnikj@lafayette.edu</a>. Here is a link to some background information on the coach: <a href=“http://goleopards.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/hutnik_jim00.html[/url]”>http://goleopards.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/hutnik_jim00.html</a>. A good word from an athletic coach could definitely help your son in the admissions process. Visit this link to reach the golf portion of our athletics website: <a href=“http://goleopards.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/lafa-m-golf-body.html[/url]”>http://goleopards.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/lafa-m-golf-body.html</a>. From the team schedule, it seems that the team plays at many golf courses. However, I do know that there are a good number of courses in the area, such as the Club at Morgan Hill right in Easton, PA.</p></li>
<li><p>You will not get a true sense of the campus if you visit in the summer, as classes are not in session. If you want to meet with students and professors, you should probably visit in the spring (now) or in the fall (before applying). Of course, that’s just my opinion.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I hope this helps!</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>Thank you for your thoughful and comprehensive reply</p>
<p>Beardog,</p>
<p>You’re very welcome!</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>