I'll Answer Your Lafayette Questions! Part I

Colleges and Universities A-Z Lafayette College
341

<p>Musabbir,</p>

<p>Please keep in mind that I am just a student at Lafayette. I have no hand in the evaluation of individual applications. My estimation as to your chances of admission are based on my personal experiences working in the Admissions Office, and should be viewed as speculative at best.</p>

<p>With that said, definitely submit your TOEFL score. This excerpt comes directly from the Lafayette Admissions webpage for International Students:</p>

<p><< TOEFL —*If English is neither your first language nor the primary language of instruction you have used throughout school, you must submit the official results of the TOEFL examination as part of your application to Lafayette College. Students should score a minimum of 550 (paper based test), 213 (computer based test), or 80 (internet based test). Lafayette's Designated Institution (DI) code is 2361.>></p>

<p>Your indicated major on your application does not affect your chances of admission. The fact that your selected "Engineering", if anything, will increase your chances because about 1/5 of each incoming class are prospective engineering majors. We need to fill all of those spots with potential engineers!</p>

<p>The simple fact that your applied ED gives you the greatest advantage. It is shown that applying ED to Lafayette increases your chances exponentially, as it shows that you have a genuine interest and enthusiasm for the school. Also keep in mind that we are always looking to increase the percentage of minority students and international students in our student population. The fact that you are from Bangladesh will make admissions officers view your application more favorably than the application of someone from PA.</p>

<p>Your SAT scores are great. The fact that your Verbal and Writing scores aren't "amazing" will be overlooked simply because it will be assumed that English is not your first language. As the scores are right now, any English-speaking "domestic" applicant would be jealous! To compare your scores with the range of SAT scores for the Class of 2010, please visit the following webpage: <a href="http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/requirements.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/requirements.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Those SAT II scores are just fine. Keep in mind that submitting SAT II scores is optional for Lafayette applicants, so the fact that you submitted them (and did quite well in them!) works in your favor.</p>

<p>The most important piece of your application, your grades and difficulty of course load, shows that you are a dedicated student. Your rank in class is very impressive. Keep in mind that Lafayette awards course credit for the GCE program:</p>

<p><< Lafayette also considers national examination programs of various countries (i.e. GCE 'A' level, French Baccalaureate, and German Abitur) on an individual basis for credit. Credit will be granted upon the receipt of certified copies of the official examination results. Additional course information (i.e. course syllabus) may be requested.>></p>

<p>Your extracurriculars are just fine. Your interest in cricket definitely differentiates you from other applicants! I hope you spent some time putting together an organized and specific listing of these activities.</p>

<p>You have already graduated? That's interesting...what are you doing from now until college? Did you approach this issue in your application? Admissions officers would be interested in knowing why you graduated early. The fact that you already graduated, though, should NOT have an effect on your chances at all, so don't worry about that!</p>

<p>The fact that you applied for financial aid won't affect your chances one bit. Hopefully, based on your family's current economic situation, you will be rewarded a decent amount of need-based aid.</p>

<p>If I was forced to place an exact percentage on your chances of admission, I would say 80% (no joke!). Your test scores and grades are above average for a Lafayette applicant, you involved yourself in outside activities, and you applied ED as an international student.</p>

<p>You know, if you wish to get in contact with a current student from Bangladesh, here are a few names and emails:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>M Tahsin Hashem '07, email: <a href="mailto:hashemm@lafayette.edu">hashemm@lafayette.edu</a>, major: electrical and computer engineering</p></li>
<li><p>Mrittika Shamsuddin '08, email: <a href="mailto:shamsudm@lafayette.edu">shamsudm@lafayette.edu</a>, major: economics</p></li>
<li><p>Ibtihal Hyder '10, email: <a href="mailto:hyderi@lafayette.edu">hyderi@lafayette.edu</a>, major: biochemistry</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Maybe you should consider asking Ibtihal about his experiences transitioning to life at Lafayette as a first-year student!</p>

<p>All the best,</p>

<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>

342

<p>Thnx for prompt reply. I do hope you are right about your predictions on my chances.
After graduation I got a job as a Math tutor in my school for 6th graders and have been doing that since. I did mention it in the app.
Does Lafayette send any sort of confirmation on reciept of application? I filed my application online sometime around 22nd of october.
Lastly some of my friends told me that sending the complete application as quickly as possible sometimes adds to your chances especially when financial aid is concerned. is that true? That is why I filed quickly trying to make sure my app is there when they start evaluating.</p>

343

<p>Musabbir,</p>

<p>I wouldn't have been so optimistic if I didn't think you had such a great chance of being admitted. I have no reason to lie to you!</p>

<p>Sending in your application before November 1st is not any better than sending it in by November 1st. Even though all applications are stamped with a date and time the moment they are received, not a single application is reviewed until November 1st.</p>

<p>But, keep in mind that the ED applicants get first access to the financial aid resources of the college...in total, more than 22.7 million dollars are up for grabs for each incoming class!</p>

<p>I hope you spent enough time completing, reviewing, and revising your application. It would be such a shame to throw together a sloppy application just to get it in super-early (I'm not suggesting that you did this, but I just wanted to get that idea across).</p>

<p>I believe you should receive, at the bare minimum, an email confirmation that your application was received and is complete. If you don't hear from us within a couple of weeks, feel free to either email the Admissions Office at <a href="mailto:admissions@lafayette.edu">admissions@lafayette.edu</a>, or incur a slight cost by calling 610-330-5100. Someone will be able to check up on your application in our database.</p>

<p>I'm glad you explained what you were doing with your time. Admissions Officers will look favorably on you since you are using your "free time" productively.</p>

<p>If you think of any other questions, feel free to post away! I'm always here.</p>

<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>

344

<p>Again thanks for your reply. </p>

<p>It is a pity that Lafayette doesnt have "tracking application" feature in their website. anyways since i did file my app early should I be expecting a response in the first week of December or one month from the time i recieve the confirmation? Also do they send out the decisions by email or postal mail?</p>

<p>Musabbir</p>

345

<p>Musabbir,</p>

<p>You should be expecting an admissions decision one month after sending in your application. Here is what the Lafayette website has to say on the topic:</p>

<p><< Decisions on ED applications normally are made within one month of receipt of your completed application forms, including the ISFAA if you are seeking financial aid. >></p>

<p>You will be receiving both an admissions letter AND email. Most likely, you will receive the email first.</p>

<p>Be sure to check out this page of the Lafayette website, as it contains answers to the most common admissions questions posed by international applicants: <a href="http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/international/internationalfaq.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/international/internationalfaq.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Peace,</p>

<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>

346

<p>Nice link! cant believe I missed that.</p>

<p>700 Intl's apply every year and they take only 35-50. Thats like 5-6%. Shish!
Thnx Justin. U have been very helpful.</p>

347

<p>Musabbir,</p>

<p>Don't be too hard on yourself...our website is poorly designed!</p>

<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>

348

<p>Hello everyone!</p>

<p>The application period is once again upon us! I just wish to inform my fellow CCer's that I'll be here for another year to answer the questions of prospective Lafayette students/parents.</p>

<p>Before posting, please take some time to peruse the posts within this thread...they are quite informative and contain the answers to some of the most common applicant questions.</p>

<p>Best of luck with the admissions process! I'm here to help in any way possible.</p>

<ul>
<li>Justin Sayde '09</li>
</ul>

349

<p>My son is a recruited athlete and had an official visit and on campus interview at LC. The coach told him that based on an early read from admissions he would need the coaches support to be admitted. If the coach doesn't offer him the slot what do you think his chances of admission would be if he applied ED on his own. His application is competitive except for low out of range CR score.</p>

350

<p>just out of curiousity, Jam1ie, why wouldn't you ask someone in the admissions office this question? I'm sure Justin is a fine person, but just a student who helps out in the office. Being a tour guide is one thing, it's another to actually be an admissions officer making decisions.</p>

351

<p>jam1ie,</p>

<p>Don't let the words of a coach lead you to believe that your son needs a crutch to get in. Of course the coach would say something like that...he/she wants to feel important and influential, and might be suffering from some sort of "ego deficiency". Coaches do not have access to admissions chances in any way...they are not able to confer with admissions officers after submitting their initial recruitment list.</p>

<p>A low CR score doesn't ruin an applicants chances, especially if the rest of an application is compelling.</p>

<p>I would advise against person33's advice...contacting an admissions officer with a "Chances" sort of question is actually quite tacky. They will let you know what they think of your son by sending out their decision letter 30 days after reviewing your son's application. Keep in mind that ED applicants have an advantage in the admissions process, and his decision to apply ED might make all the difference.</p>

<p>All the best,</p>

<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>

352

<p>jam1ie,</p>

<p>That last sentence sounds as if I think he already applied ED, but that was not my intention. From your post, I understood that he is considering ED if the whole recruitment thing doesn't work out.</p>

<p>Sorry about that!</p>

<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>

353

<p>We had an on campus interview with an admissions officer. It seemed to go well. If we decide to apply ED to LC does it help to contact that admissions person to tell them so and how enthusiastic we are about the school. She gave us her card.</p>

354

<p>jam1ie,</p>

<p>It definitely wouldn't hurt to send an electronic "thank you" to the admissions officer that interviewed your son. I do not think it'll help your son's chances in any way, but it's a nice gesture.</p>

<p>In the "thank you", he could definitely include something about deciding to apply ED because Lafayette impressed him so.</p>

<p>They give out cards for a reason, you know!</p>

<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>

355

<p>hello candyman....</p>

<p>i just decided(after a lot of thought) that lafayette is definitely the place i want to be at for college. Everything seems to match my perception of the place i would thrive at for the next 4 years--AND... get this--my name actually translates into leopard in english!!!!(spooky!!)</p>

<p>anyways, i'm concerned about SATs. First, to give u a quick background, i'm a bangladeshi living in saudiarabia.
5 GCE a-levels...phy,math,chem,english,economics--All As, and also school courses in history, literature,arabic(5 years)--All As
Rank--1 of 78, class monitor(=president), head boy(=student council head),EIC of only weekly newsletter, student editor of magazine(only student on board,..some others..i dont fell like noting</p>

<p>i took the sat 1 only once in october and got Cr-700, maths-660,writing-650(essay10)--2010....i have signed up for 3 sat 2s in december....i havent even taken the toefl yet!!</p>

<p>I decided to study in america only in september of this year...hence my late testing.
1.Do u thnk my lack of toefl will be offset by a 700 in the critical reading part of sat1 coupled with the fact that all the instruction at my school is in english?
2.will the lack of sat2 and a low sat1 math score really affect my chances???(actually i dont think my sat 1 is really at all indicative of my abilities--it was my 1st try at the SAT AND many less well performing students in my class did slightly better than me..)</p>

<p>and yeah, many thnks to u for answering our questions!! GO LEOPARDS (wow..the name match is REALLY spooky>>>GRAVEYARD MUSIC PLAYS*#@%@#</p>

356

<p>yeah i thnk i forgot to mention that i wanna go for the ED option, which actually started on nov 1st....***** i gotta get the application to them fast!!</p>

<p>Also, i know the adcom actually gives a definitive answer to CHANCES, but can u just give me an approx indication of my chances(keeping in mind i'm an international?</p>

<p>Again, many many thnks!!!</p>

357

<p>AboutTime,</p>

<p>I'm so excited that you decided on Lafayette! If you are set on applying ED, be sure to get in that application ASAP. You will be notified of the admissions decision within 30 days by email.</p>

<p>You know that simply being an international student increases your chances of admissions at a place like Lafayette, which is working hard to increase the percentage of minority/international students on campus.</p>

<p>Even if you were a domestic applicant, you would still have a great shot of getting in. You really have no reason to be concerned about those SAT scores. They are all above average. To compare your scores with the scores of last year's incoming Class of 2010, be sure to check the SAT Profile at this webpage: <a href="http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/requirements.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/requirements.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>As you can see, your scores are in the thick of the applicants who were offered admission to the college. That CR score is actually slightly above average, ESPECIALLY considering you are an international student. I hate to say it, but admissions officers cut international applicants a bit of slack when it comes to CR and Writing scores. That's good news for you!</p>

<p>You are taking a ton of GCE A-Level courses...keep in mind that if you score well enough, you'll earn college credit! It seems that you have really excelled with a very demanding course schedule.</p>

<p>I'm sure your SAT II scores will be fine. The fact that you are going to submit three SAT II scores shows that you are serious about applying. As long as you score 600+ on each one, you'll be fine.</p>

<p>Even if you were unable to submit your SAT II scores in time, it really wouldn't be that big of a deal. However, you should be able to in the amount of time you have.</p>

<p>You do not have to take the TOEFL, but you probably should (just to prove you have a grasp of the English language. Here's what the Lafayette website has to say about the TOEFL exam:</p>

<p><< TOEFL — If English is neither your first language nor the primary language of instruction you have used throughout school, you must submit the official results of the TOEFL examination as part of your application to Lafayette College. Students should score a minimum of 550 (paper based test), 213 (computer based test), or 80 (internet based test). Lafayette's Designated Institution (DI) code is 2361. >></p>

<p>Since your school primarily instructs students in English, you are not required to submit a TOEFL score.</p>

<p>Those extracurriculars are SOLID! It seems you have a few leadership positions...be sure to "play them up" when you describe them on your activity list! Be detailed when you describe what exactly you do in each position.</p>

<p>If I had to put a percentage on your chances of ED admission: 80%. I'm really confident as to your chances, but just keep in mind that you never know what will happen.</p>

<p>Even though you seem to have fallen in love with Lafayette, I hope that you are still applying to and considering other options.</p>

<p>All the best, Mr. Leopard!</p>

<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>

358

<p>also, how bout merit aid?</p>

359

<p>passionflower8,</p>

<p>Lafayette's merit-based aid program has been discussed previously in this thread. For a quick overview, please visit:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/marquis/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/marquis/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The Lafayette webpage explains it better than I ever could!</p>

<p>What exactly would you like to know about the government department here at Lafayette? If you could be a bit more specific, I would gladly help you out. For starters, check out the Gov/Law webpage and PDF newsletter at:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/majors/govlaw.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/majors/govlaw.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>

360

<p>Hi Justin-</p>

<p>Visited the college with my DD. We were both impressed. Anyway, it has risen to the top of the list. I think this is a place where she can really grow and learn. The faculty, students and administrators were all friendly and knowledgeable. </p>

<p>What I was impressed with was the level of maturity the students exuded. They all seemed focused. </p>

<p>By far, the best experience we had!</p>