LAFAYETTE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Part I!

Colleges & Universities Lafayette College
61

<p>Hey livn487,</p>

<p>Lafayette students do various things on the weekends. Many students are busy with team/club sports, and other students enjoy attending games (for example next weekend is the football game against our rival Lehigh, which almost everyone is attending). Also, there are many parties that students go to on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights; some are frat parties (which freshmen are not allowed to attend), while others are for particular sports clubs/teams. Additionally, there is a club called “The Spot” right off campus where lots of people go on Friday and Saturday night to dance, play pool, hang out, and eat free food! Also, for those who are interested, there is an Easton’s Farmer’s Market every Saturday morning in the fall where seasonal foods are sold. Lastly, homework unfortunately has to be a part of everyone’s weekend, especially if you’re an engineer. It’s not at all hard to have a good time on the weekends with friends as long as you manage your time well.</p>

<p>I would say the Greek system does play a somewhat significant role in the social scene. As I previously mentioned, fraternities throw a lot of parties. However, at the same time I would say that the Greek system has dwindled significantly. Over the past 15-20 years, the number of fraternities and sororities has dropped, and I don’t think the administration is particularly pushing for them to thrive, because unfortunately Greek life has been correlated with disciplinary/alcohol problems. 1/3 of Lafayette students are currently in a fraternity or sorority. That being said, it is not necessary to be in Greek life to have an active social life.</p>

<p>To answer your last question, I would say that it is true that there is a sizable number of athletes here who were athletes in high school. If I remember the statistic correctly, I believe 50% of the students here are involved in a sport in some way (either IM, varsity, etc). Not EVERYONE is an athlete, but yes, a good number were former high school athletes. If you want sports to be a big part of your life, you’ll have no problem living here. Likewise, if you don’t want to be too involved in sports, there is no pressure to be.</p>

<p>Does that answer your question?</p>

<p>Taylor</p>

62

<p>As an addendum–</p>

<p>Other events on campus during the weekends include:</p>

<p>movies shown in Farinon College Center
occasional comedians, student plays/musicals
guest speakers</p>

<p>Taylor</p>

63

<p>Hi Busybeemom,</p>

<p>First of all, I strongly encourage you to contact the fencing coach. Whether it helps your son’s chances for scholarship/acceptance or not, it can only have a positive effect. It will show initiative, and will demonstrate interest in the school.</p>

<p>As for merit scholarships, there is only 1 that Lafayette offers–the Marquis Scholarship. The criteria for this scholarship, as well as for athletic scholarships, can be found in the link I posted below.</p>

<p>[Lafayette</a> Scholarships Tuition & Aid Lafayette College](<a href=“http://finaid.lafayette.edu/financing-your-education/types-of-financial-aid/scholarships/]Lafayette”>http://finaid.lafayette.edu/financing-your-education/types-of-financial-aid/scholarships/)</p>

<p>I don’t know very much about the recruiting process, so I suggest you call Lafayette or the fencing coach to find out more about that.</p>

<p>Fencing, as far as I know, isn’t a huge deal here. There are many sports here, and like you said, fencing is not quite as popular as some of the other ones. However, I have a feeling that those on the team probably become close to one another, as is with some other sports teams.</p>

<p>Taylor</p>

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<p>Taylor,</p>

<p>I saw your post to me when we were done there today, but they had a whole list of classes that prospectives could sit it on and my DS chose a physics class.About 20 students and the prof chatted with us extensively after class. DS would have liked to sit in on classes all day but of course we also did a tour and info session. Since DS is interested in engineering, we haven’t been to any LACs but he really did like the smaller size college. He was really disappointed, however, with the food! (We ate lunch at Marquis.) I’m sorry to tell you that DS says that your crosstown rival beat you out in that category hands-down!</p>

<p>If we have further questions as DS goes through this process, I will let you know. All I could get out of him in our car ride to our next campus to visit was which two schools are at the top of his list right now - but it’s still early!</p>

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<p>Taylor-- YES you answered my questions. It sounds like there is plenty to do. So, the freshman cannot attend the frat parties? Can the sophomores? When is sorority rush? Do the fraternities host cocktail parties anymore after home football games like WAY back when? Yes, we know about the infamous Lafayette/Lehigh rivalry!</p>

<p>Is it pretty straight forward to change majors? What is the process?</p>

<p>Is there an annual Open House schedule to showcase the Engineering department? We’ve seen them advertised for some schools.</p>

66

<p>Hi livn487,</p>

<p>Freshmen are not allowed to attend frat parties, and that is a rather strict rule. Frat/Sorority rush takes place in the fall of sophomore year. There was a previous post in this forum regarding Greek Life that I suggest you read to get more specifics. I don’t know if cocktail parties are held before football games, but if I find out I’ll let you know.</p>

<p>Students declare their major at the end of sophomore year. I have no personal experience with changing majors (at least not yet), but I’ve heard it’s not a big challenge. Of course, you want to avoid changing your major late to avoid not graduating on time. All students have an academic advisor, which is the person you would go to ask about a major change. What needs to be done to change a major varies based on each student’s situation.</p>

<p>Lafayette does hold open houses for engineering. The most recent one was held on October 21 of this year.</p>

<p>Taylor</p>

67

<p>Hi Taylor!
I’m form New Jersey too! :D</p>

<p>I was wondering if Lafayette College has a good Engineering School?</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

68

<p>Hi Pueblahan,</p>

<p>The short answer to your question is undoubtably “YES.” Lafayette has a top-notch, highly ranked, and well known engineering program. It is arguably the college’s greatest strength. Since it doesn’t seem that you have done much research of Lafayette on your own, I suggest you look online for information about Lafayette’s engineering program. There is an endless amount of information regarding the subject. I myself am not an engineering student, but if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask me and I’ll get an answer for you.</p>

<p>Taylor</p>

69

<p>Hi Taylor,
Since we are on the topic of Engineering, can you tell me when students start being engaged in projects? I know in schools such as Rowan and WPI, students engage in project based learning from the first semester. I am hoping Lafayette does the same since I think this approach is outstanding.
Thanks,
Busy Bee</p>

70

<p>Taylor</p>

<p>Wanted to see if the process was the same as Candyman posted back in 2006 regarding the recaluclation of GPA for admisssion. He wrote:</p>

<p>“Your GPA of 3.82 is just fine…it puts you square in the running! Please know that the admissions officers recalculate each applicant’s GPA according to our grading system (A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.4, B = 3.1, etc.). They do not really consider the weighted GPA since weighting systems differ dramatically by high school.”</p>

<p>Is that still the way it is done?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

71

<p>Hi MSMUSTANG,</p>

<p>Yes, Lafayette still recalculates GPAs based on their own system, although the one that candyman provided is a bit off. The scale at Lafayette is–</p>

<p>A =4.0
A- =3.7
B+ =3.3
B =3.0
B- =2.7
C+ =2.3
C =2.0
C- =1.7
D+ =1.3
D =1.0
D- =0.7
F =0.0</p>

<p>However, keep in mind that Lafayette looks at GPA in the context of the curriculum. In other words, taking AP and other high level classes looks a whole lot better than a less rigorous schedule. In fact, SLIGHTLY lower grades in AP classes are preferred over “normal” classes (ie a B+ in AP is better than an A- in “normal” ). Lafayette likes to see students who are willing to challenge themselves.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Taylor</p>

72

<p>Hi Busy Bee,</p>

<p>I’m going to ask some upperclassmen engineers for details regarding the answer to your question. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Taylor</p>

73

<p>Regarding the Lafayette GPA recalculation, where does and A+ fall in the mix? Also are all grades taken into consideration such as electives and health, or just the core curriculum courses (math, science, english, social studies, language)? Thanks.</p>

74

<p>The answers to Lafayette’s GPA calculation can be found on their profile of incoming students:

[Entering</a> Class Profile About Lafayette College](<a href=“http://www.lafayette.edu/about/lafayette-at-a-glance/entering-class-profile/]Entering”>http://www.lafayette.edu/about/lafayette-at-a-glance/entering-class-profile/)</p>

<p>They “recalculate” using CaptainClueless’s scale above.</p>

<p>Lafayette does not weight GPAs because, frankly, if you’re not taking honors or a demanding/rigorous courseload, they’re not going to consider you. The assumption is that you are taking at least some honors, some AP/IB if your school offers it, or if your school does not have honors/AP you are taking very demanding courses. (Some private or magnet schools may have such demanding curricula such that ALL of their classes are at an “honors” level.) That does not mean you have to take honors everything or every AP your school offers, but you should be challenging yourself.</p>

<p>So, with that assumption and with a view to the difficulty of what you have taken, they look at an unweighted GPA for major academic subjects. That would generally exclude Phys Ed, Health, etc. However, if you manage to earn a D or F in Phys Ed they are probably going to want to know why. </p>

<p>I don’t know about A+ but I would assume it ranks the same as an A. Lafayette does not give A+ in its courses, their highest grade is an A.</p>

75

<p>Just curious…when decision time comes, does Lafayette let people know by email or snail mail?</p>

76

<p>Hi Happy1,</p>

<p>Unfortunately, Lafayette still sends its decision letters via snail mail…</p>

<p>I applied early decision and received my acceptance letter on December 17.</p>

<p>It’s a waiting game!</p>

<p>Taylor</p>

77

<p>Good to know…</p>

78

<p>How is the food at Lafayette, and please be honest! Can you summarize the places available to eat at, which are part of the meal plan?</p>

79

<p>Overall, the food at Lafayette is “just okay” in my opinion. Let me summarize the places to eat on campus…</p>

<p>UPPER FARINON—buffet located on the 2nd floor of Farinon College Center. For breakfast, they have various cereals, eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, muffins, etc. For lunch and dinner, Farinon has plain pizza and 1 specialty pizza (pepperoni, sausage, buffalo chicken, etc), 2 soups of the day, a salad bar, a sandwich station (a food services employee makes whatever sandwich you want), a “fusion” specialty (varies…can be a pasta dish, tacos, chicken marsala, etc), a station with various vegetarian options, grilled vegetables, a burger/hotdog station, and various deserts. In addition, they have a small “Porter’s Diner” station that serves typical diner food, often with breakfast foods. The food is not too bad, but it can be repetitive after eating there for most of your days. This student restaurant is on the meal plan.</p>

<p>MARQUIS—This buffet, located in Marquis Hall, is the 1 other student restaurant on the normal meal plan. It is very similar to Upper Farinon but is simply at a different location on campus.</p>

<p>LOWER FARINON—food court located on the 1st floor of Farinon College Center. It has some pizzas, some hot sandwiches, various snacks (chips, etc), and salads. The food here is decent, but it is NOT on the normal meal plan. However, most students can use “meal equivalency” to pay for food there. In other words, they can get up to about $5 worth of food “free”, but if they buy more than about $5 worth of food, they have to pay the difference via student food accounts (referred to as “flex”).</p>

<p>GILBERTS—student restaurant located at Kirby Hall. This place is only open at night (I believe they open at 8PM), and it’s a place to get a late night snack/meal, such as a salad, nachos, hot sandwiches, etc. Students like to hang out at night here, often to just chat with friends and sometimes do homework. Meal equivalency applies here.</p>

<p>SIMONS—student restaurant located at Kamine Hall. Simon’s opens at 6pm, and specializes in salads and sandwiches. It’s the kind of place where the menu consists of sandwichs that all have names (ie “the kicker”). Meal equivalency applies here.</p>

<p>SKILLMAN CAFE—small cafe located in Skillman Library. Skillman just has casual snacks (like muffins), and they serve Starbucks coffee. It’s a convenient place to get food if you’re busy studying/working in the library.</p>

<p>Overall, like I said for Upper Farinon, the food is decent, but after a while it gets rather boring. The only food that I would say really needs some improvement is the pizza. </p>

<p>If there is anything else you would like to know about dining on campus, refer to the link below. Just as a note, if you look at the meal plans, keep in mind that freshmen are restricted to “tier 1” meal plans.</p>

<p>[Dining</a> Services Lafayette College](<a href=“http://dining.lafayette.edu/]Dining”>http://dining.lafayette.edu/)</p>

<p>Taylor</p>

<p>PS: I’m currently on Thanksgiving break, but once I return to Lafayette I’ll find you the answer to that engineering question you asked previously.</p>

80

<p>Just to jump in on the food discussion. Our impression of the food during our visit was it was about what you would expect for a college of this size, just as Taylor has stated. Obviously, if you look at larger schools, they usually have wider variety and more dining options than schools the size of Lafayette. </p>

<p>If you do visit and what a good meal off campus, I would suggest MeGs and MaDs.</p>

<p>[MeGs</a> and MaDs - Restaurant/Cafe - Easton, PA | Facebook](<a href=“Facebook”>MeGs and MaDs)</p>