I'll Answer Your Lafayette Questions! Part I

<p>To all CC'ers:</p>

<p>I would just like to make everyone aware that I am always willing to provide a private tour for any applicant. My usual tour times during the week are on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:00am. However, if you would like to visit at another time or on a weekend day, I would be more than willing to set something up. Just shoot me a PM or an email with your request.</p>

<p>I have already had lunch and provided private tours for many prospective students (including fellow CC'ers!). If you would like to get another feeling for the campus before making the "big decision" on May 1st, and get all of your lingering questions answered, I encourage you all to consider this opportunity.</p>

<p>FYI, I will be leaving campus for the Winter Break on Monday, December 18th. I plan on returning to campus on Monday, January 22nd.</p>

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

<p>Justin you forgot to tell everyone what your hourly rates for the tour are and how luncheon rap session is extra. I must say based upon our experience with this fine young entrepeneour(sp) he is worth every dollar he charged our family.-- ONLY KIDDING FOLKS!!!! Justin is great and his Lafayette expertise and advice is wonderful. Have a great Christmas Justin.</p>

<p>Dana's Dad and family</p>

<p>danalynne,</p>

<p>Thanks for scaring everyone away!</p>

<p>Enjoy the holidays,</p>

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

<p>I am very interested in Lafayette and wanted to get some feedback on what people may think my chances are. I attend an academically challenging, private high school in philadelphia but it doesnt rank.</p>

<p>gpa 3.9 weighted
sats (2250) CR-770 M-720 W-730
sat II's Literature- 690 History- 770 Math II- 660</p>

<p>i have taken mostly all honors courses since freshman year
junior year
AP US History (4)
AP English Language (4)
senior year
AP Bio
AP Calc
AP European History
AP English Literature</p>

<p>I am in the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, am a National Merit Commended and have gotten honors all 4 years</p>

<p>my recommendations are good and my extracurriculars are strong: crew team since freshman year, Community Serivce Core Homeroom Rep and Officer, part time job in school year, retreat leader</p>

<p>So if anyone could let me know what my shot might be .. thanks!</p>

<p>i typed my SATS wrong .. its a 2220 not a 2250</p>

<p>roxychild,</p>

<p>Please see my previous applicant evaluation posts in this thread to compare yourself to your "competition" and to see how I analyze applicant stats.</p>

<p>Even though I do not feel the need to examine each part of your stat profile individually, you should be able to discern for yourself that your chances RD to Lafayette are extremely high.</p>

<p>It is really not a question as to whether or not you will be admitted...with that GPA, SAT scores, challenging AP courses, athletic involvement, you are golden. The REAL question is whether or not you'll be offered one of our merit scholarships.</p>

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

<p>This site has a plethora of information! Kudos to Justin. I’ve read most of the entries posted over the past year, but few of them mention athletics (except one from your brother?)</p>

<p>My daughter has been contacted by a coach and encouraged to apply ED, which she did.
My question is this: How much weight does a coach’s recommendation have?</p>

<p>shamrock,</p>

<p>Yeah, that post was from my younger brother. He's currently a high school junior and is just starting the college search!</p>

<p>Here's the deal: the athletic coaches like to think they have the ultimate power to grant admission to their top recruits. That's not the case at Lafayette. Academics will always come first, but as you might imagine, we'll overlook mediocre SAT scores and grades for the sake of admitting a top recruit.</p>

<p>If a coach encourages a prospective student-athlete to apply ED, that's a great sign. In your case, it means that the coach is interested in your daughter and wants to ensure that if she is admitted, she will enroll without a doubt. This way, the coach can form a perfect roster without having to worry about athletic recruits backing out last-minute!</p>

<p>If your daughter's stats stack up with the average Lafayette applicant, keeping in mind she did apply ED and is being recruited, she would stand a great chance of being admitted.</p>

<p>Let's put it this way...a coach's influence on admissions decisions can be quite dramatic, but offers no guarantees. As you are probably already aware, Lafayette is a very athletic school. We take our athletic recruitment process quite seriously because we want our athletic program to remain competitive in the Patriot League.</p>

<p>I hope this answers your question!</p>

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

<p>Hey Justin, Dana here. I just thought of a hypothetical question that may apply to some lucky applicants. If one is accepted and if one is awarded the Marquis scholarship and if one is a Natl Merit Scholar and chooses Lafayette as their school for the purpose of the Merit will the college give the full $16,000 per year plus the $2,500 Merit Scholarship award for a total of $18,500? Could you check this out for me?</p>

<p>I saw something on the Laf site that said Marquis Scholars are notified in March. Are Marquis recipients notified of their acceptance to the school before the April 1st RD notification? If they are how long is the recipient given to let the college know if they accept? Does the student have sufficient time to weigh other college offers?</p>

<p>Dana,</p>

<p>The Nat'l Merit Scholarship is not affiliated with the college, so it would be considered an additional grant from an outside source. Enrolled students are required to report all outside grants to the Office of Financial Aid, as they may cause minor changes in one's overall financial aid package.</p>

<p>The student you described would be guaranteed the $16,000/year for the Marquis Scholarship, and the Nat'l Merit Scholarship would be added to this total for the first year. It would be horrible to be screwed out of $2,500!</p>

<p>Usually, Marquis Scholars receive an official letter of notification in March. RD applicants typically hear on or around April 1st. ALL accepted students have until May 1st to make a decision (scholarship or not).</p>

<p>Are you sure we're talking about a hypothetical student here?</p>

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

<p>Wink!!!!!!</p>

<p>J:</p>

<p>So Lafayette does not give Nat'l Merit $ similiar to Williams and Amherst Who don't?</p>

<p>Hi Justin. One more question. How does the admission office view it if a student submits only ACT results? At our hs in NY, most of the kids submit SATs but there is an increasing trend toward ACTs. Does which test you take make any difference at all in terms of admissions?</p>

<p>Bridie,</p>

<p>To admissions officers, SAT and ACT scores serve the same purpose. As you noted, the ACT is quickly becoming a more popular choice for students applying to colleges.</p>

<p>Just know that, even though we do not officially publish median ACT scores, the middle 50% range is from 26-32. It's true that some applicants score higher on the ACT, but even so, the majority of applicants we see who submit ACT scores performed below average on the SAT.</p>

<p>Just to reiterate, we encourage applicants to take whichever test they think they'll perform better on. If your daughter only submits an ACT score, that's fine. It makes no difference to us!</p>

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

<p>Candyman, I was wondering - what's your affiliation with Lafayette? Do you work in the admissions office? Thanks.</p>

<p>altmom,</p>

<p>I am a current sophomore, and yes, I do work in the Admissions Office. Be sure to read through the first few pages of this thread for more information as to what exactly my job entails.</p>

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

<p>Fellow CC'ers:</p>

<p>Please know that I will not be on campus from Monday, December 18th to Friday, January 19th. However, I am still willing to respond to posts during the break.</p>

<p>Good luck to all ED candidates who have yet to hear, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!</p>

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

<p>How do you arrange interviews? I attended the tour and info session and I wanted to meet someone to discuss classes relating my interest in internet publishing/marketing.</p>

<p>mockfrog,</p>

<p>Interview opportunities for Class of 2011 applicants are just about over, so I'll assume you will be applying to Lafayette during the next admissions cycle.</p>

<p>On-campus interviews will be offered from May 1st, 2007 to December 29th, 2007 for the Class of 2012. As you can probably tell, we conduct our on-campus interviews with a member of our admissions staff BEFORE most applicants send in their regular decision applications.</p>

<p>To schedule an interview, you must call up the Office of Admissions at (610) 330-5100 two weeks in advance. Interview time slots run Monday through Friday at 9:00am, 9:40am, 10:20am, 11:00am, 1:20pm, 2:00pm. and 3:20pm.</p>

<p>You know, if you have a few simple questions about course offerings, why don't you get in contact with your regional admissions director right now? The contact information for each admissions officer is available at this webpage: <a href="http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/staff.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/staff.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Simply find your "region" (exact county or state) and send an email with your questions to the corresponding address. I'm sure he/she would be more than willing to answer any questions you may have.</p>

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

<p>I just realized I haven't send my SAT scores to Lafayette yet. Should I rush it?</p>

<p>I'm international and applying RD by the way.</p>