<p>So I just got my acceptance today. The campus is awesome, the people are awesome, and it's probably my top choice right now. My one concern is about the engineering- is it at the level where it sort of... overshadows everything else? It's great it's so top-notch, but I'm not interested in engineering at all, and I'm hearing things like "Lafayette's engineering is lightyears ahead of the rest of its liberal arts".</p>
<p>I guess I'm just wondering, would I be missing out on all of Lafa's best programs if I went here? Or are there comparable majors outside the engineering department?</p>
<p>I wasn’t interested (and am still not interested) in Engineering as a prospective student, either. I couldn’t care less about how renowned the program is because I came in as an English major.</p>
<p>Just because Lafayette has a strong Engineering program doesn’t mean it “dominates” the other majors. There’s no competition among majors for…how do I put this…“attention,” as you may be imagining. As a non-Engineer, you’ll take your courses in the liberal arts and totally forget we even have an Engineering department. It won’t even concern you.</p>
<p>What I’m trying to say is this: just because Lafayette is known for Engineering doesn’t mean other departments pale in comparison to those of other schools. The two facts are entirely unrelated. I’ve actually never heard anyone say that the Engineering program is in any way “ahead” of our other programs, just that our Engineering program tends to “steal the show,” which is certainly true. </p>
<p>It’s a shame, really – I guess having such a strong dept. acts as both a blessing and a curse.</p>
<p>I think I worded my question poorly… I wasn’t really asking which department “dominates” the Lafa “playground”. Like you said, what I was unsure of was whether Lafayette put all its eggs in one basket- you know, whether it bases its academic reputation on its engineering and other departments are of comparably poorer quality. I’ve seen schools like that, it kind of sucks. I didn’t really think Lafayette was like that, but I think it’s just good to ask. Anyway, thanks- it’s nice to have some answers from an actual alum!</p>
<p>I think this is the best way to put it: Lafayette is a liberal arts school through and through. We just happen to also have a well-developed and well-maintained Engineering department.</p>
<p>The Engineering dept. has a ton of funding, no doubt, but that’s a product of its size and continued popularity among majors. Other depts., though, have equally-as-impressive facilities and, most importantly, the same sort of approachable faculty members.</p>
<p>Oh, I’m not an alum just yet – give it another 2 months!</p>
<p>As a computer science major (workload comparable to engineering, and we are in the same building as the engineering departments) I can support Justin’s answer. The English, History and etc. humanities departments are alien to me, except for Music, in which I’m double majoring. But being on campus, I don’t believe engineering or technical majors are “further ahead.” The English department is excellent, as is Econ/Business.</p>
<p>My son is an Econ major. A lot of his friends are Engineers, but I don’t think he feels the Econ dept is ever “slighted” in any way in favor of the Engineers.</p>
<p>Lafayette’s website says: “The results of SAT Subject Tests are recommended, but not required for admission. Some academic departments will use scores from these tests for placement purposes.” If the Math SAT II was required for a specific major the website would say so. </p>
<p>There is an online math placement test that accepted students take after they are admitted.</p>