<p>My son is interested in engineering at Lafayette. I am wondering about how dominant greek life and drinking are on campus. He is fairly laid back, not into drinking or partying. I have heard that Lafayette has a reputation as a rich kid frat school. Please correct me if this is wrong, because otherwise it looks like a great fit.</p>
<p>My son is there and I don’t think he or we have that feeling. If your son isn’t into that kind of thing, then he won’t feel like he needs to do it nor will he feel left out if that is his choice. In fact our son’s dorm is by a couple of the frats and one of the sororities, but even during rush, he didn’t seem to feel especially bothered. I think there are plenty of options of things to do without drinking or being part of a frat.</p>
<p>My D is a freshman so I don’t know that much…but I do understand that frats have been de-emphasized and that there are a lot fewer frats on campus than there were even a few years ago. She is not a big drinker/partier and is loving Lafayette so far!</p>
<p>Super easy to stay away from frats and parties. They don’t have a dominant presence. About 20-30% of the guys are in frats and the school has strict rules regarding what they can do and all that stuff. School has been cracking down on frats.</p>
<p>“Rich kid frat school” is a very dated stereotype. Might have been true when I was looking for colleges back in 1969 but it was anything but during my daughter’s four years at Lafayette (Class of '12).</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for the feedback. It’s true that it takes a while for reputation to adjust to a new reality. However, part of the reason I asked is based on reviews I have read from current students at Lafayette. Nonetheless, it sounds pretty balanced, there is you want it but not dominant.</p>
<p>that sounds like great news. if the frats have less dominance the school is better for it! (IMO) it brings more student unity with a less clique like feel. and a school with a lot less bro join my club to be cool types makes everyone who opts not to want that a lot happier. it is a selling point to me. their are some great schools I would avoid only because of a frat heavy social scene and the types of people drawn to it. a frat free school is best, a small frat scene would be 2nd best but good enough that it would make a school like Lafayette a top choice in my book.</p>
<p>Another factor is that if people choose to rush for frats/sororities at Lafayette, it takes place in the sophomore year. This seems to be a plus because students develop a solid core of friends before they even can consider greek life.</p>