<p>Blue,</p>
<p>As I understand it based on the percentages you list, 3 out of every 5 sophomore, junior and senior girls belong to a sorority.</p>
<p>"OK..I'll bite. Can you describe the typical girl at Lafayette? We're worried about the population being focused on looks, dressing up for class, expensive handbags...or and then about the coursework. It's hard to ignore the figure that 45% belong to sororities. Is that number correct? And since rushing can't can't place until sophomore year does that mean 45% of 75% of the girls? Can you tell we're a little worried about this?"</p>
<p>We have visited the campus twice now and my d.(who is not the above type you worry about), definitely did not think the women at Lafayette were like that. We sat at a table with other accepted students as well as current ones, and they all seemed to "fit" together. Some were athletic, some studious... a very nice blend I would say. You can get involved in so many activities there that we are confident that our daughter will be able to find a group of friends to be with.</p>
<p>Something that's always frustrated me about Lafayette is that it has a reputation for being extremely preppy/shallow/etc, and our student body is a lot more diverse than people give it credit for (I think this perception problem stems from the Princeton Review). I was worried about the supposedly strong presence of greek life before I came here, but when I got here I realized that it's extremely easy to avoid (it's as big of a presence as you would like it to be). There are groups of people like bluejay described, but my friends at other college say those same groups also exist at Brandeis, Tufts, and Yale. Most of the girls I hang out with laugh at the idea of ever joining a sorority--arguably greek life has been on the decline for the last few years.</p>
<p>My experience here has been much more like the impression Janesmom has had. People care a lot about the academics here, you can't really afford not to. And it's really easy to find a group of friends like you.</p>
<p>I hope this helps.</p>
<p>-Kyle</p>
<p>bluejay,</p>
<p>Your concerns are legitimate, and I think Kyle and janesmom1 each did a fine job addressing them.</p>
<p>A few thoughts on the matter: I believe 45% of ELIGIBLE women choose to join a sorority at Lafayette. So, the non-Greek women are still the majority.</p>
<p>The kind of women you describe are at every college. Do we have your artificially-tanned, Louis Vuitton-toting, Gucci sunglass-wearing variety? Of course, but not to the extent you may be imagining. If you were to walk around campus during the week, I think you'd get a good sense of the campus population. As mentioned by janesmom1, the population is a "very nice blend"...students are athletes, musicians, actors, scholars, etc., and everyone intermingles.</p>
<p>Kyle mentions that you can easily "avoid" Greek life. While that is true, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. I attend some of the social functions at various fraternities and sororities and have made great friends in the process without having to join a fraternity.</p>
<p>I hope that your daughter does not completely disregard Greek life as a feasible living alternative. I have one friend, for instance, that came into Lafayette with absolutely NO intention of joining a sorority. However, after involving herself in a sorority's philanthropic activities, she quickly changed her mind to join her friends.</p>
<p>As long as your daughter gets involved in activities/organizations that interest her (school newspaper, religious organization, student government, athletics, etc.), she'll be able to "socially network" and find her place on campus.</p>
<p>All the best,</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>hmmmmm question
how is mathematics at lafayette?</p>
<p>fsa1,</p>
<p>Please check your PM inbox for a reply.</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>fsa1,</p>
<p>We have an extremely well-developed math program at Lafayette. It is a rather large department with many professors and a vast selection of course offerings each semester. While I am not a math major myself, I do have many friends who are. They love the professors, and especially love the opportunities to conduct one-on-one research with the professors. In addition, many of our math majors move on to higher education...one of my senior friends, for instance, was accepted in the Ph.D program at Lehigh University.</p>
<p>For more information, I'd suggest you visit the Math department homepage at: <a href="http://ww2.lafayette.edu/%7Emath/%5B/url%5D">http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~math/</a>. Be sure to visit professors' websites, and if you have any specific questions, you might also consider emailing the department head, Professor Salwach, at <a href="mailto:salwachc@lafayette.edu">salwachc@lafayette.edu</a>.</p>
<p>All the best,</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>i think its great that this thread is growing! i'm sorry for being absent these last couple of days, but i was busy winning the ISA World Cup! As I mentioned before this was one of the events of ISA Extravaganza. </p>
<p>bluejay, i think you're question was already answered, but i just want to give my international viewpoint about girls and greek life... I agree with justin that you can find all types of girls on campus, and the "focused on looks, dressing up for class, expensive handbags" are neither the biggest nor the smallest group on campus. And remember impressions can be deceiving, most of the so called "preppy" girls are great people. About frats and sororities, definately bring an open mind. I'm a minority and not many intl students decide to join greek life, but i've made great friends at frats. One of my best friends is in a sorority. So i would say check it out for yourself and see what you think.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help justin. Also lafayette was extremely generous to revise my financial age package.</p>