Calling Marquis Scholars, please answer my questions!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Lafayette College
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<p>Hi, I recieved a marquis scholarship and I was wondering if any current Marquis scholar could answer some questions about the program/school for me.
First, the brochure said that marquis scholars take several "trips" each semester. It seems like NYC and DC are the typicall destination, but i was wondering how do these work. Do all MS go? Are they typically educational trips or social trips? Do you have to miss class to go on them?
Also, I know that 60 MS are given each year, but if one doesn't attend does Lafayette give the scholarship to another student?
I'm really interested in forming a close knit group of friends in college, do the MS in all four grades tend to become close friends?
Also, the brochure said that MS get to meet/see special visiting artisits and speakers. Could someone share with me some of the people they have met/seen through this program?
And finally, do you feel Lafayette challenges you academically and prepares you well in your field?</p>

<p>Sry, for the bombardment of ?s but May 1st is around the corner and I'm still undecided.
thanks in advance!</p>

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<p>Hansel,</p>

<p>First off, congratulations on being selected as a Marquis Scholar! That is quite an accomplishment considering the scholarship went to students with an average SAT of 1460 for your incoming class.</p>

<p>In response to your inquiry on Marquis Scholar trips, it is true that most trips take us to New York City, Philadelphia, or D.C.. These cities are fairly close to Lafayette's campus by bus and have so many great options for potential trips.</p>

<p>For most trips, there is a limit as to how many Marquis Scholars may go. Usually, an email is sent to the Scholars with a description of the trip, time, date, etc. The first 10 or 20 or 30 or 40 students (it depends on the activity) who reply to that email and reserve their spot get to go on the trip. The trips typically have some kind of educational value (this IS college, after all!)</p>

<p>Most of the trips are scheduled for the weekend so that you will not miss any class. A few times, trips fell on a Friday afternoon, but most students do not have late afternoon classes on Fridays.</p>

<p>Actually, more than 60 Marquis Scholarships are given out to each incoming class...we expect that about 60 selected Scholars will actually take us up on the offer and enroll at Lafayette. If less than 60 students take us up on the offer, admissions will usually give those "left-over" scholarships to other deserving students.</p>

<p>If you take advantage of the opportunities presented to Marquis Scholars by going on a few of the trips each year, you will most certainly become good friends with other Marquis Scholars. If you do not go to any of the sponsored events, either on or off campus, then do not expect to form a close knit group of friends with other Scholars...it is as simple as that! I know that I have made many great friends from all grade levels within the program because of that commonality.</p>

<p>I am having trouble recalling any of the speakers that came to campus specifically for Marquis Scholars this year, but I do remember that students who were not Scholars wished they could attend. If I think of any names/topics of lectures, I will let you know. I attend the programs of so many guest speakers at Lafayette that I do not remember which ones spoke just to the Scholars. Sorry about that!</p>

<p>Lafayette's academics are top-notch. Courses are definitely challenging (just ask ANY Lafayette student you may come across). Professors expect a lot from their students, but they are ALWAYS willing to help a student reach his/her full potential. If you wish to really challenge yourself, you can do so by taking many upper-level courses as early as possible. Trust me, it'll keep you engaged and VERY busy!</p>

<p>Food for thought: even though I was accepted into both Yale and Princeton, I chose Lafayette. The $16,000 scholarhship did not make the decision for me...I chose Lafayette because of the quality of academics/professors. I hope that says something about how strongly I felt, and still feel, about this college.</p>

<p>I know that, after Lafayette, I will be able to do whatever I desire. I may wish to pursue a M.A./Ph. D in psychology, attend law school, go straight into a career...I'm not really sure at this point! Thank goodness I am only a first-year student.</p>

<p>If you feel you need additional information about the Marquis Scholar program, I'm here to answer your questions. If I do not know the answer to a question, I will make sure to get it answered by someone who can help you out.</p>

<p>I know how stressful this week can be for those students who are still deciding on a college. May 1st, as you said, is just around the corner. My advice: follow your gut instincts. Ask yourself, "Can I see myself at X College/University for four years of my academic career? Did I feel comfortable on that campus?" There are A TON of unknowns in this decision because you will NEVER truly know what it is like to attend a certain college/university until you are actually a student there.</p>

<p>I wish you the best of luck in your decision. From looking at your previous posts, it seems that you have a good handle on things. Even if you do not choose Lafayette, please let me know where you will be spending your undergraduate years. I am very interested!</p>

<p>All the best,</p>

<p>Justin Sayde</p>

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<p>Wow thanks for taking the time to respond to my post. </p>

<p>"even though I was accepted into both Yale and Princeton, I chose Lafayette. I hope that says something about how strongly I felt, and still feel, about this college."</p>

<p>Yes. That does refelect both your strong feelings and it reflects on thw quality education Lafayette must be giving its students. It makes lafayette seem even better to me. (Congrats on Yale & Pton. btw. I'm impressed)</p>

<p>I almost wish you would have had negative things to say. It would have made my decision easier. lol. Thanks so much for all the wonderful info. I'm still deciding but i will let you know where I end up choosing. ;)</p>

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<p>Hello again Hansel!</p>

<p>I hope your college deliberations are going well. I had actually already written about a few of the negatives of life at Lafayette in a previous post from 1/16/06 in the "I'll Answer Your Lafayette Questions!" thread. I have taken the liberty of pasting this post for you to read over:</p>

<p>Negatives you ask???</p>

<p>Probably that freshman don't get all the class they want (priority goes to upperclassmen of course!). Also, the campus can seem a bit small at times (sometimes a good thing, sometimes not). Laundry costs $1.00 to wash and $1.00 to dry IN QUARTERS. The college bookstore is an absolute rip-off for anything and everything. The freshman meal plan you are forced to take is inconvenient at times (you miss meals constantly!). You will eventually get sick of the food. There are a few graduation requirements you may wish you didn't have to fulfill (a math course, two lab sciences, three humanities, a first-year seminar, etc. - thank goodness for AP credits).</p>

<p>If I think of any more negatives, I'll add them later. Those are the ones that came off the top of my head!</p>

<p>Weigh those options well, my friend. Colgate and Vandy are great schools as well, so no matter which school you choose, I am sure you will have an amazing four years. Look forward to it!</p>

<p>J</p>

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<p>Haha, those negatives don't sound too bad. I think those are also probably true of every college. Thanks for posting those. I decided I'm not going to go to Vanderbilt. I really wanted an LAC. I think I'll fit in better at a smaller school. And I didn't really like the idea of being in a city, becuase it would draw people off campus on weekends. I think for undergrad. I want a more rural enviornment where I can enjoy the college experienc and the people there. For grad school, I'd want to be in a city.
So anyway I'm down to 2 choices. Hopefully I can make my decision tomorrow and send in my deposit on Friday.
Thanks for all your help. I hope your enjoying your school year (Which i'm guessing ends in a couple more weeks) and summer.</p>

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<p>Hi Hansel. I was in a remarkably similar (but different) situation. I initially narrowed it down to a university (Cornell) and two LACs (Wesleyan and Lafayette w/ Marquis Scholarship). I eliminated Cornell first, deciding that I wanted a liberal arts school, and I eventually settled on Lafayette. Obviously, I'm going to highly recommend Lafayette. From what I could glean from visits and chatting with students, Lafayette students are nice people without being "out there" and academically serious without being too competitive. Also, I really enjoyed the classes I attended. All of the Marquis benefits are great too. Choosing a callege is an extremely tough process (it was for me!) but I'm sure I made the right decision. The other schools are very nice, but my recommendation goes to Lafayette. Best of luck in making your decision.
Zach</p>

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<p>Haha how strange!
I applied to Cornell (i got rejected), and my final choice was between wesleyan w/university scholars and lafayette w/marquis scholarship, and i decided on wesleyan.
The people at Lafayette seemed to be cool but they were way too preppy for my liking and the individuality at wesleyan was awesome. We picked our school for exactly the opposite reasons, I think it's slightly funny :-)
It was really hard to say no to the marquis scholarship, the additional perks including the free trip abroad are awesome. I think it'd be ridiculous to pick a school for just a trip abroad if you don't feel like you fit in there as an average student. They also gave me a better financial aid package (yeah i bet you can see how hard my decision was now).
It's really important to go where you feel comfortable. For Zach that was Lafayette and for me that was Wesleyan.
Go where you feel most comfortable (given a good academic reputation, which your choices have), otherwise you might regret your decision.
I've never been one who's wanted to fit in or conform which i felt a lot of laff students were doing. One of my friends was told that she dressed very uniquely when she wears band shirts and jeans haha, it was just awkward for me.
You'll love it wherever you go, so just figure out what you want in a school and your choice will be apparent. Lafayette does have an awesome close knit community with amazing student teacher interaction. Think you can get that at vandy? Good for you if you can, but if you want that I'd go for Laff :-)</p>

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<p>Well, Thank you to everyone in this thread who gave me such good information about lafayette, and such good advice about the college search. I have made my decision. I'm actually going to go to colgate. It came down the colgate vs. lafayette and two things ended up making the difference. They are both great schools, i believe i would fit in at both, all in all it was a terribly difficult decision. I love both of them. However, first and most importantly, Lafayette didn't have the foreign languages I wanted. They seem to be a little light in that department, only offering majors in French, German and Spanish. (I know they have intermediate level courses in russian, japanese and i think italian, but that wasn't enough for me. I'm hoping to double major international relations with a language, preferably Russian, Japanese or Chinese. So when making pro con lists (and yes, i really did make them, i know i'm a dork) that weighed very heavily against lafayette. Colgate, however, has a lot of languages, (beg. arabic, chinese, japanese, greek, latin, italian, russian, french, german, and spanish) so that pulled me more toward colgate.
The other factor for turning lafayette down was actually the money, despite the MS money. Each year it would only have been about $15000, but my parents or i were going to have to pay $7500 per year in no interst loans after i graduated. That meant that lafayette was really equal to about $23,500 per year. Colgate on the other hand will be costing my parents $19500 per year. Saying as that the two schools are so comprable, i couldn't see spending the extra 4 grand a year for lafayette. I know that 16000 dollars over four years isn't a terribly large amount, but since i was already leaning toward colgate, that just seemed to justify my decision (at least in my mind)
But thank you all so much. I really do like lafayette, and will recommend it to my junior friends. Plus i will cheer for the leopards, except when they play colgate. lol.;) :)
thanks again and good luck with the rest of your school year!</p>

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<p>Congrats on having picked :-)</p>

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<p>i was wondering how you become a Marquis Scholar, and if you can still become one if you havent been chosen as an incoming freshman.</p>

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<p>You are selected when they get your application. You can't join later, as it's for incoming freshman only. It's pretty competitive from what I hear.</p>

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<p>I think you still have a chance at it if not enough Marquis Scholars enroll. I believe that if less than 60 enroll, they fill up the spots with other qualified students. I heard about a kid who got it starting sophomore year (due to transfer/ other scholars' gpa dropping below 3.0?) but I'm not 100% sure if the guy I was talking to knew what he was talking about (just some guy I met whose nephew or something goes to Lafayette). I don't know if you have to reapply for it or something once you're enrolled though, but I kind of doubt it. Hope this helps.</p>

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<p>My son was selected as a Marquis Scholar for this year. He has declined. They sent an e-mail asking him to let them know as soon as possible if he would accept so that if not they can give the opportunity to someone else. I kind of doubt you can be selected after freshman year, though.</p>

<p>Lafayette is great (I'm an alum), but to decline Princeton and Yale, well that leaves me speechless.</p>

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<p>Yeah, the name isn't everything. If a student like J keeps working like he has been for the earlier part of his life, he will have no problem getting into those schools for graduate programs (which is where the degree matters more). This way he saves some money in the process too, which is never a bad thing. The academics at lafayette are really good too, there is probably no HUGE difference between the top 40 or 50 lacs (and universities), since this is undergraduate. Notice I said academics and material learnt, and not student body. </p>

<p>Being a marquis scholar has it's perks too. I was suprised at how well J and one of my friends at Laff knew their professors even though they were freshmen!</p>

<p>Where did your son choose to enroll instead?</p>

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<p>ridethecliche,</p>

<p>At least someone understands the methods behind my madness.</p>

<p>J</p>

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<p>Heh, I would probably have been joining you this year had wes not given me their scholars program too.
Now you need to find someone else to watch out for your coffee haha.</p>

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<p>This is a very interesting thread even though it's a little off topic from the title. I am interested in the clothing issue mentioned by ridethecliche. My son wears nothing but T-shirts and jeans with a hooded sweatshirt when it's cold. This is typical California garb. In fact, some of his friends wear sweat pants and T-shirts to school. Will he stand out like a sore thumb at Lafayette? I never even considered this issue! I will certainly pay attention to the clothing on our college visits in April.</p>

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<p>wow... u revived a year old thread
i thought that i was already passed up for being a marquis scholar</p>

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<p>No clothing issue at all! D graduated 2005 - still has friends there. All over the place with clothing ideas. Second daughter at Dickinson. She is really out there in a designer/burberry environment - she is bohemian. Does not matter. They all relate. Our son is a freshman at Emory - he has the weirdest clothes I have ever seen - but he pulls it off - ugh - when I pick him up at the airport. Point being, college/university is different no matter where your child goes - he/she will fit!</p>

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<p>I think it's funny that you referred to your daughter as bohemian just because that probably entails a lot of things that parents probably don't want their kids, especially daughters, to be doing.</p>

<p>I think state schools tend to be a homogeneous muck for clothing and stuff, but unless j-crew and popped collars bother you, don't worry about clothes because everyone's wearing them.</p>

<p>I live in a 'naked' (clothing optional) dorm and I'm wearing them so it's really not a big deal. Clothes are quite helpful, especially in the cold.</p>