I’ve been looking at small liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania, but what makes Lafayette different from (& better than) all of these other schools being that they seem so similar?
I don’t see choosing the right school as a contest (ex. answering why Laf it better), but rather it should be about finding the right fit for you. When my D (now at Laf and extremely happy) visited a number of LACs in PA, NY, CT she was drawn to Laf by the students she met and the fact that everyone seemed nice,smart, and involved on campus and that the school was excellent in both the sciences and humanities. Bottom line is she felt comfortable, happy, and like she would fit in well on the Laf campus.
As a parent of a rising senior, Laf from what I can tell the school seems to have that “secret sauce” for college – my D and her friends are engaged and challenged academically yet they all find time to get involved in a wide variety of extracurricular activities that they love. IMO this makes for a happy campus. I also like that she has friends involved in all kinds of different things (my D does theater/orchestra and has friends who do varsity sports, club sports, student government debate and many other things) and they all get along really well. The classes are generally small (one or two larger lectures of 50-60 and some classes with as few as 6 students), no TAs, and she has been very happy with her professors. She does research on campus with a professor as well.
Agreed. There seems to be a point in the college search where you narrow your choices and the tangible qualities of each college sort of balance out, making them all attractive options. That is where the elusive and mysterious “fit” factor comes into play.
My son is a rising sophomore. Like Happy’s daughter he has found so many opportunities at Lafayette academically and socially. He also has been given so much opportunity to grow his love of service. There really isn’t anything you can’t do there. If you are interested in something, the school seems genuinely invested in helping you make it happen.