@Leafyseadragon
Richmond is a similar size as Lafayette and is also D1, has a strong basketball tradition. % of athletes is going to be similar
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MODERATOR’S NOTE:
It’s not that off-topic. Discussion on a particular school with different viewpoints as to why a user and/or their kid liked/disliked a school is fine. The line gets crossed when the discussion turns into a back and forth debate on a particular school.
Interesting discussion about Richmond vs Lafayette vs Lehigh. All 3 ( and Wake Forest) are on my D’s short list but she won’t be able to visit any of them before applying. We are actually struggling to determine what makes them each unique. They all seem very similar on paper.
Visited UR, Lehigh, Lafayette and Wake. Agree that all feature social life focused on dominant Greek Life. Seems like location/campus type is the big differentiator. Wake is distinctly southern in feel and atmosphere – Wake and Laf have similar flat, quad campuses with similar architecture and Lehigh is all hills and stairs with Gothic, stone buildings for the most part – Visually stunning. Wake really has very little in terms of being able to walk to anything off campus – Reynolda Village is tiny, a sort of small, charming outdoor shopping area-- maybe 3 or 4 restaurants and some pricey shops–so not uncommon to feel a little isolated. Also, the social scene at Wake is a couple miles off campus at off campus frats – so try to get a ride or Uber is your friend. UR’s neighborhood is in a beautiful residential area; Lehigh and Laf in faded industrial towns with walkable restaurants, coffee shops, etc. Some strained town/gown relations due to off-campus students at Lehigh and typical noise/trash/civility issues. Wake is building a new first-year dorm; the “new” Lehigh dorms are 45+ years old, and no A/C except for one building (very apparent during summer visits).
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@higheredmom How did you get the vibe that social life is mostly Greek? Did they all say that in presentations? Or are you assuming based on the percentage of kids Greek? I have no idea whether our kids will want a “Greek” campus and no idea how to determine that. My husband and I went to the same school and both pledged and it worked out well for us. I don’t think either of our kids will go to our college, though, so it won’t ever be comparing apples to apples when we visit schools they like.
@Homerdog Not just the vibe - firsthand accounts from parents with current students at each, as well as students from my kids’ high school (their friends). All four schools are popular choices in my area –
We were told on the Wake Forest tour (by the tour guide) that the school is 50% Greek and that students in Greek life live in the dorms. There is no Greek housing. To my surprise, my non-Greek daughter liked this idea because she felt it was not exclusionary. She also liked the fact that some of the classes had 14 students and sat around a table, and did not seem to mind the relative remoteness of the school. As mentioned above, there is a quaint little shopping village about five minutes away by car, but there is really nothing off campus within walking distance and the school may feel remote to some. My daughter loved WF yet chose one that is very different. I did not think WF was the right school for her- I thought that she would eventually find the school too remote and quiet (it was very quiet during the two visits that we made).
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@homerdog And no ADCOM presentation would ever say that Greek Life is dominant in terms of social life – even if it is!
@higheredmom LOL!!! :))
I persuaded D2 to apply to Richmond at the Very last minute. She was not interested in the school and loathes spiders. We visited after she was admitted and the school went way, way up on her list. So much so, that she had a very hard time making a final decision. She loved the campus and excellent facilities, and the faculty was very welcoming. We were all pretty much in awe. I wonder, though, how much the weather influenced our enjoyment of the day. 80 degrees and sunny in early April, on the heels of snowmageddon 2015 in the Northeast.
I wouldn’t let her visit her ultimate reach/dream school until/unless she got admitted. I didn’t want her to be able to actually picture herself there, just in case. I’m glad we didn’t visit because a visit to Notre Dame could only make it go up on most people’s list.
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@higheredmom Thanks so much for the post about your visits. That is very helpful.
@twogirls My D is unsure about Greek too - but she is somewhat of a partier. So I think she wants the option to be available. We think that not having Greek housing and having delayed Rush would help the Greeks be more inclusive on campus…so we are noting places that have these.
@3rdXsTheCharm Funny! My D’s reach school is ND too. I am letting her apply but we aren’t visiting it unless she’s accepted. What other schools did your D consider?
“My D is unsure about Greek too - but she is somewhat of a partier.”
Plenty of partying goes on at colleges without Greek life, believe me. 
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@stlarenas As a sorority advisor myself, I favor deferred sorority recruitment as well – gives a prospective new member (PNM) a chance to acclimate to campus, make friends in her dorm, etc. – and deferred recruitment campuses have lots if first semester informal “meet the Greeks” type of introductions through club fairs and other Panhellenic activities. Places like Lafayette and Bucknell don’t permit recruitment until sophomore year – guess that is “super” deferred! But, IMHO, a housed or unhoused chapter poses the same risk management issues, and some would argue that the presence of a house director curtails a lot of the crazy behavior. But, house or no house, college kids will find a way to party. I don’t think deferred recruitment makes Greeks more inclusive in and of itself. A well-organized Panhellenic (and I’m speaking to sororities only), Greek Life professionals and a values-based recruitment does. So-- my advice? Do your research on how each college administration supports and funds Greek Life initiatives. Look at campus accreditation reports, speak with staff. That might cross one or more schools off your list. And, read the student newspaper – that will give you the real story-- often on the opinion pages – of how Greek life is.
D16is a frosh at Lafayette and while she applied to UR, we didn’t get to visit it so can’t compare. I can only say that after looking with two kids at many colleges, we found Lafayette to be beautiful and Easton grows on on each time. The city and the college are really working hand in hand together on many things that will only improve both the school and the area. Plus Lafayette is building new dorms and a new science building in the next few years and intends to grow enrollment by about 50 kids per year over the next 6-8 years until they reach 3000, which is a nice number.
D16 is athletic although not playing anything in college, and while not a partier, is toying with joining a sorority (D14 is in one at a university where sororities don’t have their own houses and Greek life is more about service and community than partying, so that has made sororities more interesting to her younger sister).
Lafayette won’t be for everyone but we are so impressed with the move in and orientation etc for the kids - we are super excited for our daughter. I am sure however that WF, Lehigh and UR would also be good fits for anyone who likes Lafayette.
Just popped into this thread so may have missed a relevant earlier posting…but Richmond does not have need-blind admissions so there are some who will not be admitted because they will be eligible for financial aid. While it is a nice university, its ranking is inflated. When my son was looking at colleges, we talked to lots of folks who know what I’d call the insider view on reputation and quality and it is not thought of in the same way as Lafayette College. Lafayette has been for years an extraordinarily high quality educational institution and offers the best of both worlds - an engineering major with very talented non-techies all around. Lehigh will have the super engineering students, but it doesn’t attract the top non-tech students. All 3 are division 1 for sports.
@profdad2021 “doesn’t attract top non-tech” Common Data Set says otherwise for Lehigh – and integrated engineering/arts or business programs speak even louder
Are you sure about this? I just read something on the Richmond site that specifically said they are need-blind, and one of the few that truly are.
http://www.richmond.edu/admission/
a direct quote from their front page: "Richmond is among only 1 percent of institutions in the U.S. with both a “need-blind” admission policy and a guarantee to meet 100 percent of demonstrated need. "
@stlarenas All of those schools were on my Ds list as well and we visited 3. (She ended up somewhere different though) I agree with much of what @higheredmom had to say.
While Lafayette and Lehigh get lumped together a lot due to Engineering and location, they are a bit different. Lafayette has more of a traditional liberal arts feel. They really played up exchange program and career services. Lehigh more dominated by Engineering and because of that we weren’t convinced it would be right for a non-engineering kid. Lehigh seemed more Greek centric and more of a party school. Richmond 's campus was among the prettiest we saw, and was incredibly well maintained. Everything pristine. Very large endowment for a school their size, so there were a lot of resources and freebies for students. Almost seemed too perfect, like they were trying too hard, but we walked away very impressed. It had a bit of a Southern feel to us, but not totally Southern. Sporty, preppy, but we encountered all types. Didn’t visit Wake, but from research seemed very well rounded academically.
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@MotherOfDragons is correct. Richmond is need blind and meets 100% demonstrated need. We would not have considered it otherwise.
going back to @higheredmom’s #1123 -
Are Lehigh, Lafayette and U Richmond all close to a retail/commercial part of their towns so a student could walk from the dorms into town for coffee/drug store errand, etc.? That is one thing I am always curious about and always seems hard to figure out from the website/other research without going to the schools.
For instance, D16 and I visited WashU and thought the ~10 min. walk to the strip of restaurants (can’t recall what it’s called) was a bit far if she wanted to get off campus to wander around/do errands on foot regularly. Now I’m wondering the same thing about schools I’m researching to visit with S19.