<p>I would follow what Lafalum says regarding deadlines.</p>
<p>Jan. 15 Regular Decision applications must be postmarked. Applications postmarked after this date will be considered on a space-available basis.</p>
<p>Jan. 15 - Deadline for Regular Decision applicants to submit the CSS Profile if seeking need based financial aid. This is the last date that Early Decision II candidates can submit the CSS Profile for financial aid consideration…</p>
<p>Regarding your son’s homeschooling, I wouldn’t be concerned. It is quite likely that the reason for the low number of homeschooled students at Lafayette is simply the fact that (in comparison to public school/private school students) there aren’t that many homeschooled students out there.</p>
<p>I am a first year neuroscience major and pre-med myself, and so far I have really enjoyed my time here at Lafayette. I look forward to my future semesters…</p>
<p>If your son is definitely interested in Lafayette, I would look into it. Go on the tour, and try asking your tour guide for some helpful general information about Lafayette (the kind that you would get at the info session). He/she will be happy to tell you anything you need to know. I do not think it is too late to start looking at Lafayette, but I would definitely start soon! Academically, your son definitely has a good shot, especially with that 34 ACT score.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions before or after your tour feel free to post them here.</p>
<p>^^ Thanks - I had missed the actual deadline dates on their website. I got stuck on the request info date with Jan 1st.</p>
<p>We’ll see what the weather is like for next Monday. </p>
<p>How competitive is it to get into their research program (specifically for Neuroscience research)?</p>
<p>Taylor, do you know if there are pre-med stats anywhere online (acceptances into med school - specifically where recent grads have been accepted and average MCAT scores - and/or MSTP programs)? I know you’re a year ahead of the MCAT change, but has anyone mentioned what/how Lafayette plans to adjust to the test changing? Those are usually stats/info we ask to see on our visits, but we’ve had more time to set up visits before. With their office opening back up the same day we’re going to be there, I’m unsure of who we might get to talk with or if it will just be the tour and tour guide.</p>
<p>Creekland - If you are close to Lafayette and want to see the school, then go by all means. But the campus will be pretty empty since school is not in session and you likely won’t get a great sense of the place. Still, if you are not too far away, it doesn’t hurt to drive over and do an information session/tour before submitting an application. If your S has a strong interest in the school, I’d consider trying to schedule a day to see the school when it is in session and do an interview – an interview would help to get some of your questions answered and (especially with no formal GPA), it might help admissions to get to know him a little bit.</p>
<p>^^^Yeah, I’m thinking this morning that he ought to just go with the schools he’s already finished applications and scholarship applications for. Lafayette seems like a great school and one that would have been a contender for him if he’d discovered it a couple of months ago when we had more time to prepare, but trying to add one last minute just seems like too much of a hassle right now. He won’t be able to see it in session before applying to even see if he really likes it and that application fee of $65 just turns me the wrong way at this point (his other schools ranged from free (3) to $50 (1) ).</p>
<p>I’ll still mention the school when others ask for recommendations of places to check out. It does seem like a nice place for those wanting an LAC. To those heading there next year (or already there), enjoy!</p>
<p>^^ It’s not just the $65 application fee. While that is annoying and overpriced compared to his other options (even the higher ranked options), it’s also a combo of trying to get it all in last minute without a visit to know if he even likes the school in person.</p>
<p>Lafayette seems nice with their website and their merit aid opportunities, but they may be too Greek according to some hearsay. If we were back in Nov, they’d definitely be worth a look to see. Right now in Jan when we’d have to take time off work and still not see the place with students - it’s just too much hassle for us. He has other options (including significant merit aid) in the bag as well three schools he’s waiting on. We might have shelved one of those three if we’d found LC earlier, but we didn’t.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t count on the Greek thing… there’s a lot of controversy now but the college administration has made it clear they’d like to see a lot of changes in the Greek system. The feeling among many students and alumni is that it’s just a smoke screen for an excuse to abolish the Greek system altogether. There is a 3 year timeline being developed for all of this, but the likelihood of the Greek system diminishing or vanishing from Lafayette in the next few years seems very high. </p>
<p>I’m not sure what you consider “too Greek”, but if your hearsay is from more than a couple of years ago, it may be dated. The number of fraternities has been dwindling in recent years. In my day ('78-'82), there were 14 fraternities on campus; now there are 5. As Lafalum84 notes, soon there may be none.</p>
<p>I stand corrected. It is hard to keep up with the ones that are eliminated. The college’s website still says five (in some places), but I don’t think that accounts for the last one to go, Phi Gamma Delta.</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore and I’ve never heard of Phi Gamma Delta. The latest one to go was Kappa Delta Rho (revoked by national charter, not by the administration). With that gone, the ones still on campus are:</p>
<p>Phi Gamma Delta is also known as FIJI.I believe they were deactivated two or three years ago by the college, so you as a soph probably wouldn’t have heard of them.</p>
<p>Sorry this response is a bit late. There are many opportunities for research for neuroscience, but the ones that immediately come to my mind are the EXCEL and LEARN programs. EXCEL is an on-campus research program open to all students, while LEARN is off-campus and more geared for neuroscience majors. General information regarding these programs is below.</p>
<p>That last link has information about other off-campus research opportunities. Specifically I’m not sure how competitive they are, but they are at least somewhat competitive based on the fact that there is a minimum GPA requirement. </p>
<p>Students can also get involved in research through their coursework by taking an independent study or advanced research (more info on this can also be found by clicking that last link)…</p>
<p>Pre-med statistics can be found all over the internet. All you have to do is google the information you want and you can find numerous sites giving you the statistics. As a rule of thumb, I have heard that in order for a student to be competitive for medical school, he/she should shoot for at least a 3.6 GPA and a 31 MCAT score.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear you won’t be looking into Lafayette further. Good luck to your son in whatever college he chooses!</p>
<p>I agree that the administration is attempting to diminish Greek Life, as Lafalum explained and as I described earlier in this thread. There was a time in Lafayette’s history in which frats and sororities were thriving–this is no longer the case. Hopefully this has been cleared up by now for all the prospective students…</p>
<p>Hi Taylor,
You have been posting such helpful responses and the more I read them the more I feel that Lafayette is for me. One issue I have though is that I intend to major in business. It has been pretty important for me to look at colleges with strong business programs and career services. I read in a book that Lafayette has a strong business program, but then I read on another website that it really doesn’t have any business program at all. Do you know anything about that business program at Lafayette?
Thanks for your help,
Sophie</p>
<p>Lafayette does not have a business program. They have a few business courses in the Economics dept but there is no business major or minor at lafayette. If you like Laf but want business, have you looked at Bucknell?</p>
<p>Hello-
I appoligize for posting this twice (I started a new thread before I realized this would be a better option…)!</p>
<p>I am wondering if Lafayette is a Green campus? Is there effort to improve its sustainability? Are there student-run groups/organizations focused on these efforts?</p>
<p>Lafayette is definitely trying to be more green. There is effort on the school’s part and the student body as well. I live on a floor dedicated to living in a sustainable way. It’s called the TREEhouse floor. We have different awareness events, the members of our floor try and live sustainably, and a lot of my floor mates are members of campus clubs promoting sustainability. Some of the (green) campus organizations include:</p>
<p>SEES (Society of Environmental Engineers and Scientists)
LEAP (Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection)</p>
<p>Lafayette also has an organic garden, vegetated roof, composting (done by LEAP usually), a car share program and recently, Lafayette has done some campus projects, replacing roads with pedestrian friendly walkways. The school is also trying to launch a bike share program.</p>
<p>Also, on a side note, we have a competitive club soccer team.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information! And in regards to the club soccer team, I would definitely join! I am actually talking to the lacrosse coach, but as a soccer lover (duh!) I wouldn’t be able to resist playing soccer as well!</p>
<p>sophiesm - Lafayette has economics, but not a business major. If you want business, I agree with Lafalum84 that you should look at some other schools including perhaps: Muhlenberg, Bucknell, URichmond, Fordham, and (as much as I hate to say it…) Lehigh. And schools like Babson and Bentley are primarily business schools. Lafayette is a great place, but if this (or any) school doesn’t have the major you are interested in, you need to keep looking.</p>