<p>Lafayette was under in consideration for my son also. He loved the size of the school and the beautiful campus and the tight-knit community there as well. So he was deciding between a small liberal arts school with engineering (Lafayette) and a small engineering school (WPI).</p>
<p>He decided he wants to pursue computer science rather than EE. When he started analyzing the course offerings and the list of professors, that’s when he decided on WPI.
The CS department is much larger, and has much broader set of course offerings and areas of specialization at WPI. Lafayette has only a few kids in the CS program and only 5 professors. It seemed a little too small.
My son chose WPI because it is small enough to feel comfortable to him, and yet has a great range of engineering programs, professors and facilities.
WPI is a geekier school to be sure, no one majoring in liberal arts(!) so it depends on what kind of students your son wants to be with. My son preferred the geekier vibe at WPI. Hopefully, you have visited both?</p>