From a Lafayette senior - Casual chat about Lafayette College

Colleges and Universities A-Z Lafayette College
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Hi everyone,

My name is Huy and I am a senior at Lafayette College. I just finished my final exams today so I’m chilling a bit (just a bit … I have to apply to graduate schools too so I am in the same boat as you guys :D).

It’s nice to see new threads popping up every admission season and reminisce about this time 4 years ago, when I was an undergraduate applicant just like you. Unfortunately I will not be able to see any of you next fall at Laf but I can say you made the right decision; the college is growing rapidly and there are many many opportunities for future students.

I created this thread just to have some casual chat with you guys. Feel free to share stories about how you got to know Lafayette, or ask me stuff about the school. Unfortunately I am a nerd so I can’t answer every question about Laf :frowning:

Things I can talk about:

  • The college’s general direction
  • Computer Science / Math department
  • Should I study Computer Science if I haven’t done coding before?
  • Dining options
  • How to get to know professors
  • What to write in the “Why Lafayette” essay

Things I have no clue about:

  • Athletics
  • Greek life
  • Other majors

Looking forward to know you guys :smiley:

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Hi Huy,

Thanks for taking some time out of your day for other people.
Could you give some advice for the “Why Lafayette?” essay? I’d really appreciate that.

Also, I’m still unsure about my major and will probably enroll as undecided if I am accepted. Computer Science is one of my interests, but I have very little experience in it. Sharing your experiences with that would be very helpful too :slight_smile:

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@Joe1357 A few things that could be of interest to prospective students:

  • Lafayette is looking to expand its student body from 2500 to 2900 and working towards need-blind admission. This isn’t really something to mention in the “Why” essay, but if you need financial aid you can rest assured that you are much more likely to get it now.
  • There is a brand new building called Rockwell Integrated Science Center that houses the departments of biology, computer science, environmental science, and neuroscience. If you are into any of these majors, you could mention your interest in an interdisciplinary study, which Rockwell is the ideal place for.
  • A minor program in Data Science is under development at Lafayette. This is a hot field in the market right now so if your major is computer science, math or econ, you are in luck. Be careful if you mention “job prospect” in your essay though; Lafayette is a liberal arts college.

Feel free to google any of the stuff I mentioned to know more; in general, The Lafayette newspaper is a good source for what’s happening on campus. If you scroll through the most recent issues, I’m sure you will find something to mention in your essay. And the fact that you read the school’s newspaper is also a big plus.

Regarding CS, do keep in mind that computer science is not all about coding. Think of English as an analogy. Within the first year, you have to study lots of grammar stuff (past tense, progressive tense, future tense, …) but soon you get to a much higher level, in the sense that a good grammar background is already assumed, and now you have to worry about more abstract things like metaphor and euphemism. Similarly in CS, the first two years will involve lots of coding, but starting junior year you will study higher concepts like theory of computation, where there is essentially no code involved. So do not be discouraged if all of your friends have “5 years of coding experience” and you don’t; that matters little in the long run.

I encourage you to take either CS 104 / 105 or CM 151; while computer science is not for everyone, some basic coding experience will be very helpful. The mindset that you gain from solving a coding problem can be applied to solving any problem in other domains.

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Hello! I know you said you weren’t sure about other majors but I intend to major in Government and Law and I’m not a math/science person whatsoever. I don’t mind being at an engineering/math/science majority school, but how much of a majority would you say it is/does the school not really care about developing their non STEM majors? On a similar note, how (for a lack of a better word) oppressive would you say Greek Life is? Lastly, I’m applying to Lafayette EDII and I feel (cautiously) fairly confident in my chances, so what would you say is your best advice for someone to make the best of their years at Lafayette? Thanks and I hope you did well on your finals!

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Hi Huy,

First thing first, a lil rude but are you Vietnamese? Cause if yes, then … ( i am a vietnamese =)) .
I intend to apply under ED2 but am still concerned about the aid package. Well, like people say that you should not apply for ed when you need aid because the school will give you less compared to when you are accepted to the rd pool. Is this a myth? My family can afford about 25k per year.=.
I also want to ask about dining options. Does the school have many dining halls and does the food taste good? Like what is the most popular food there? I also want to go vegan so is there any option for me?

Thank you and good luck with your application!

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Hi Huy,

Thank you so much for your time. I am sure that everyone is very grateful for this thread.

I am also a huge CS nerd and so I want to know about CS in the school. I am a struggling with the why essay so knowledge regarding some outstanding programs and professors, your experience, in general, would be very helpful for me.

Thanks again!

P/s: If possible, can I pm you? I would love to hear your story!

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Hi guys,
Sorry I was flying around the globe in the last few days …

@HSSenior2018 you can check out The Lafayette newspaper or Lafayette Student Government (google them, I can’t put links here). These are run by mostly Govt & Law and International Affair majors. I don’t know what’s going on in the Govt & Law department (having never taken a course there) but if Govt & Law runs the Student Government then I don’t think it’s in a bad position :3 Once again, The Lafayette is also a good source of up-to-date information that you can include in your Why essay, just to demonstrate that you have been following the school closely.

Greek Life is not significant here. Unless you live close to a frat / sor house you will barely notice its presence. You may get a few emails about the option to rush in sophomore year, but that’s it. For freshman the only dorm close to a greek house is Conway. After freshman you can choose where you want to live.

Best tip I can give is to get close to professors. One point many students don’t pay attention to is that the professors here are all incredibly smart (not all of them teach well … but they are all experts in their fields). Come to their office hours at the beginning of the semester just to casually chat and introduce yourself. Once you get to know them personally, it will be easier in many cases to negotiate about grades, should the need arises. But more importantly, they may know alumni who can refer you to a job or write recommendation letter for you to go to graduate school. I always send my professors a thank-you email and wish them a happy (Christmas / summer) break at the end of each semester. I cook for them too! You have no idea how people in academia appreciate free food …

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@Intlbunchanuong yes I am Vietnamese :smiley:
No Vietnamese has ever been accepted for ED2 at Lafayette so you should apply RD (don’t know why but that is the case). There are 2 all-you-care-to-eat (buffet) dining halls and 4 cafes. Usually there is a booth for veggie food so no worries if you choose to go vegan (your username suggests otherwise though …). Food … isn’t … the best … just takes a while to get used to :smiley: There is also a Vietnamese market within walking distance; you can buy ingredients to make traditional Vietnamese food with other folks here from Hanoi (there are A LOT of them :(( ).

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@ReclusiveEgoist Things you can mention about the CS department:

  • It’s moving from Acopian Engineering Center to a new building, Rockwell Integrated Science Center (with biology, computer science, environmental science, and neuroscience) --> more opportunities for interdisciplinary research
  • Students are successful. In this summer (2017) we had students interning at Google, Amazon and Carnegie Mellon University. A group of students also founded a startup. Check out gopeer . org / about (yes, all the people from that page are Laf students). The admission committee probably doesn’t know about this but it’s nice to bring it to their attention :slight_smile:
  • The department is growing rapidly. One notable faculty we recently hired to Dr Joann Ordille who is a leading researcher in database and formerly worked at Bell Labs.

Feel free to text me if you like to chat more.

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@ursawarrior Thanks for your reply. I will definitely apply rd now

Haha about my username, my skin got pretty bad recently so I am considering going vegan at least for a year ( still a fan of bunchanuong though). Oh and I am not Hanoian so I kinda freaked out when i saw that crying emoji lmao

I havent finished my why essay but when I have, can I DM you my essay for proofreading? If yes then OMG thank you!

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@Intlbunchanuong I usually go to bed when my skin gets bad but yeah … vegan is a good option too :expressionless:
If you are not from Hanoi then yes I can look at your essay :slight_smile:

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Just to add a bit to comment #6 about Greek Life based on my D’s experience at Lafayette (hope you don’t mind @usawarrior). In many ways I think Lafayette has an ideal Greek Life situation – Frats and sororities are available and present on campus and can become a significant part of the college experience for those who choose to take part but one can also have a very happy and full campus life without participating in Greek Life. And some Greek Life events (some parties, fundraising activities) are open to the Lafayette community which add to the overall activity on campus. Greek Life on campus definitely is not “oppressive” but it is present for those who choose to participate.

And I agree that the chance to get to know professors is wonderful attribute of Lafayette. The purpose should not be to better negotiate grades – but rather to learn from them outside of the classroom as mentors and friends. My D had a few close relationships with professors. This helped her to get amazing research experience on campus (including having an article published in a peer reviewed journal), to have a brilliant professor work with her on a research paper, to become involved in a meaningful way with an EC directed by a professor, to take some very small (6 people or so) upper level classes that she felt were wonderful, to get amazing advice/mentoring as she applied to grad school, and to just know some extraordinary people in a personal setting. I know she treasures this part of her Lafayette experience.

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@happy1 Thank you for sharing. I’m glad to see you always active on CC :smiley: ; you were there to help when I was an applicant too!

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Hi @ursawarrior
I am working on my RD app for Lafayette. I saw you giving a lot of information about ‘why’ essay, which would be quite useful.
I am from India and wanted to know how many Indians would be there in Lafayette.
I am interested in CS with inter-disciplinary focus. I saw you gave some information about that. Could you share a little information or a location where such info could be found about CS professors and research.

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@amoghkolkata check your inbox :3

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@ursawarrior would you please elaborate a little about interning and co-oping? How many co-ops are expected or common? How’s the career fair? Is there a webpage that breaks down the ‘accepted salaries’ similar to how rpi breaks it down to each major? I’m curious what the hiring power is for CompSci particularly, but a general approximation would suffice as well. Thank you.

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@slimmy Co-op is not expected at Lafayette. You may be able to submit a petition to attend one. I’ve seen some people do that, but in general it is not common here. Most students just go with internship. There are some departments which offer credit for internship (A.B. engineering, art, economics, English, film and media studies, government and law, history, music, psychology, and theater).

The Career Service is quite active; you get a career advisor from the beginning of your freshman year, and frequent email updates about networking events / interviews. There is also a large annual career fair held in September (you can see the list of companies here: careerservices .lafayette.edu /2017/09/07/career-fair-2015/ ).

Most of the alumni are in Economics/Finance, Psychology and Engineering. If you study CS you are on your own when it comes to networking / job search. This actually isn’t too bad, because the hiring process of large tech companies is quite straightforward: (1) you submit a resume (no cover letter), (2) the recruiter sees if your tech suite (which language / framework you know) matches the company’s work, (3) if it is, you get a few rounds of coding interviews (maybe some behavioral questions, but those are rare). So evaluation is objective, and even an internal referral can only get you past the resume stage at best.

However, Lafayette’s curriculum only covers the core computer science courses; the skills that get you a job (web development, mobile development), or knowledge about any specific subfield (computer vision, human-computer interaction, cloud computing, …) you have to pick up on your own (though we are opening a data science program), or ask a professor to organize an independent study course. The range of course selection is the main difference between Laf and a larger tech university.

For salaries, here might be a good start: admissions.lafayette.edu / college-costs/a-return-on-your-investment/
CC doesn’t allow posting links so I have to add spaces here and there :frowning:

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thanks for answering these questions! can you do research that’s not related to your major? do you ever feel like lafayette is too small? also, I know that the school has d1 athletics but would you say that there’s a lot of school spirit on campus or even just general school pride?

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@squid5 Lafayette is quite generous in its Excel Scholar program. You can start doing research in the summer after your freshman year, and after that, during academic year or winter break as well. All it takes is that your professor submits a proposal to the academic committee. So yes you can do research not related to your major if you manage to convince a professor to work with you.

Is Lafayette too small? I’m getting a bit of that feeling now because (1) I’m a senior and know most of the schools already, and (2) as I’m applying to grad schools, I have visited some NUs and oh boy they are huge. But I don’t think you will feel like me anytime soon. Classes are hard enough to keep you busy and there are always things to explore (clubs / new gym classes). Also you can cross-register and take classes at any college in the LVAIC group (Cedar Crest College, DeSales University, Lehigh University, Moravian College, and Muhlenberg College).

Now Easton is objectively small and there isn’t much to do in the city. Usually students work hard during weekdays and travel to New York to play hard during weekends :smiley: It takes about 90 minutes to go from Laf to New York (by car or bus), and by New York I mean Port Authority bus terminal, right next to Times Square where all the fancy stuff are. Lafayette’s location is very convenient, especially for international students. If you choose to stay in Easton, there are a farmer market and occasionally food festival, so those also aren’t too bad.

There’s a lot of school spirit around the Lafayette - Lehigh rivalry; I think it’s like the oldest collegiate football rivalry. A year or two ago there was an old car in the middle of campus, which somehow symbolizes Lehigh (?), and a hammer next to it; any student could pick up the hammer and beat the crap out of the car (XX) (more info here: www.lehighvalleylive.com / news/index.ssf/2017/11/howlehighandlafayetteares.html). Now I haven’t seen anything that prominent when it comes to actual D-1 participation but students in general are still interested (some watched Lafayette’s basketball livestream during my computer science lab … argh!). And athletics maintain a respected position on campus.

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wow, thank you sooo much!!! I visited campus twice and they actually didn’t mention cross-registration or the Excel Scholar program. this was so helpful!!