I'll Answer Your Lafayette Questions! Part I

Colleges and Universities A-Z Lafayette College
121

<p>maxy,</p>

<p>That's an excellent question. Professors expect A LOT from their students here at Lafayette. Workload is heavy, especially for engineers. There are certain weeks during the semester when you will have multiple papers due and exams to study for, and during these kinds of weeks, you have to really focus to get all the work done.</p>

<p>It is very difficult to maintain a 4.0 GPA at Lafayette (and I think the same goes for comparable colleges/universities). This is not like high school, where an hour of studying the night before an exam will get the job done. In order to get A's, you have to prepare way ahead of time and budget your time well.</p>

<p>Also, since there are so many "social distractions" on campus, many students lose focus and forget that they have work to complete. You can EASILY get caught up in the college atmosphere, which can cause you to slip academically.</p>

<p>Certain professors refuse to give out A's to just anybody. Sometimes, you have to work your butt off just to get a B in a class. That is how academics run, at least at Lafayette. Don't come into college with the idea that you will get A's in all of your courses each semester because chances are that will not be the case. I do not mean to discourage you in any way, but I just want to make sure you arrive with the right mindset.</p>

<p>By all means, go for that 4.0...just don't let "the dream" take over your life. College is a time to work hard, but it is also a time to enjoy yourself. Make sure to keep that little tidbit in mind.</p>

<p>All the best,</p>

<p>J</p>

122

<p>Hey, one more question: I know that a typical Lafayette student takes 4 -- 6 courses per semester (excluding engineers), but how many academic hours (45 minutes) a week is it?</p>

123

<p>Is phys ed required at Lafayette? We couldn't find anything about it in the course catalog. My cousin went to Dartmouth and he had to take phys ed. He took crew for credits......</p>

124

<p>Hey Thornhurst,</p>

<p>Great question! Physical education is NOT a requirement here at Lafayette. However, I think that the majority of students spend enough time in the Kirby Sports Center to make up for this fact!</p>

<p>Later,</p>

<p>J</p>

125

<p>Hey rytis,</p>

<p>A typical Lafayette student will take four courses each semester. VERY few students decide to take on a fifth course...it seems that four is the limit if one wishes to succeed. That fifth course usually pushes a student "over the edge" in terms of workload for a given semester. As you mentioned, engineers must take five courses a semester starting their sophomore years to fulfill their very rigorous program in four years.</p>

<p>In terms of academic hours per week, the average student takes four courses that meet for about 2 hours and 30 minutes each week. If you are planning on being a science major, you will be taking 1-2 lab sections as well along with your science lectures for the week. Each lab lasts 2 hours and 50 minutes and meets just once a week. As you can tell, the number of hours you spend in class really depends on your major!</p>

<p>My course schedule this semester has been really light...I have a course which meets MWF for 50 minutes, two courses that meet T/TH for 1 hour and 15 minutes, and one course which meets W/F for 1 hour and 15 minutes. You may notice that I have a lot of time to myself to complete schoolwork outside of class.</p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>

<p>J</p>

126

<p>Right,
This post is not to offend Lafayette College or any of the current students, but I wonder why Lafayette is ranked 27 by the USNews and is not among the "top" Liberal Arts colleges if they claim that Lafayette enjoys "national reputation of academic excellence", has a top-notch engineering program, is the nation leader in student research and prestigious scholarship winners? How can it be?</p>

<p>Oh, and one more question: are such colleges as Colgate, Grinnell, Williams or Swarthmore academically better than Lafayette?</p>

127

<p>I'm considering between Reed and Laf as I'm an international student. Reed gives me more fin aid and less loan than Laf but Laf is nearer to NY where my brother's currently studying (Colgate University). Well, I want to ask about the average studying hours at Laf. Do Laf students often have to spend the whole day studying or ploughing through the library?
Is it fun to live in Easton?</p>

128

<p>I'd say pick Reed.
Reed is an amazing school, lafayette is good too, but reed is just a whole new level of awesome for a Liberal arts school.</p>

129

<p>To Rytis- Yes swatty, williams, etc are better academically than Lafayette, and are better known. Same with colgate, but I think Colgate and lafayette have inferiority complexes and have to advertise the amount of research their students do and the amount of scholarships they win, whereas at other schools such as Swatty, they don't advertise and still get amazing students and programs there.
This is not undercutting lafayette, as I have a friend there and was very seriously considering it (they gave me an amazing financial aid package and scholarship). If you get into the marquis or trustee scholarship, then the programs at lafayette (which are already good) become a lot better since you'll be able to get research experience and stuff more easily. But you can do this at any school if you have the grades and are driven enough to talk to your professors about it.
All in all, lafayette is an awesome school, but to most students applying to top LAC's and Univ's, it is considered a safety school. The student body they attract tends to be slightly homogenous, and from what i've heard from students that go there, the intellectual atmosphere is lacking.
I asked about the atmosphere and was told that they have lunches and a house for that, when i repeated the question in the context of everyday life the student tried to evade the question.
That being said, one of my friends (who happens to be REALLY Smart), is currently at lafayette, and she is being challenged and has gotten research opportunities and is going to be spending the summer there doing research.
Lafayette is getting better, it's just no match for schools like Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, Pomona, Wesleyan, Claremont McKenna, etc, at this point of time, or in any point in the near future.</p>

130

<p>What can you tell me about the Engineering School? My nephew is coming up from DC for the Junior Visiting Day. Is there anything special he should look at? We visited in March with my son. My son is interested in economics. We can't make the Visiting Day but will probably visit again in the Fall.</p>

131

<p>Hey AlanArch,</p>

<p>The engineering school at Lafayette is currently ranked 12th in the nation when compared to other engineering programs. We offer five types of engineering at Lafayette: B.S. degrees in Mechanical, Chemical, Civil & Environmental, or Computer & Electrical Engineering, and an A.B. program which allows students more freedom in their studies. A.B. Engineers still focus on engineering, but have more opportunities to take courses outside of that department.</p>

<p>Engineering classes are taken in the Acopian Engineering Center, which underwent a HUGE renovation in 2003. It really is a beautiful facility with every resource imaginable. The laboratory facilities are VERY high tech and contain state-of-the-art equipment. </p>

<p>About 20% of all Lafayette students actually end up majoring in one of our five types of engineering. These students face an extremely rigorous program, and actually have to take FIVE courses a semester starting their sophomore year. The program is very intense and comprehensive, and professors expect a lot from their students. If you were to examine the GPA's of engineers vs. humanities/science majors, you would notice that engineers typically have slightly lower GPA's. This is not because engineers don't work hard enough (quite the contrary), but is due simply to the difficulty of course material in some of the upper level engineering courses.</p>

<p>For more information on our engineering program, make sure your nephew checks out the Lafayette website at <a href="http://www.lafayette.edu/webdata/engineering/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lafayette.edu/webdata/engineering/&lt;/a> and clicks on any of the links to the right. I am sure the answers to any questions he may have are contained within those departmental webpages. On Saturday, he should check out the Acopian Engineering Center in its entirety. If Junior Visiting Day were not on a Saturday, I would recommend he observe a few classes and meet with a few professors, but that will not be possible on the weekend.</p>

<p>It is a shame that you will not be able to make it to Junior Visiting Day with your son. However, make sure to tell your nephew that I will be on the 9am student panel for Junior Visiting Day in the Williams Center for the Arts. To tell you the truth, I am feeling a little bit intimidated...I will be sitting in front of hundreds of prospective students and answering their questions off the top of my head. No pressure, right???</p>

<p>As for your son's interest in economics, did you know that econ and business is our second most popular major at Lafayette? He would spend most of his class time in the Simon Center for Economics and Business, where all of the econ courses are taught. My friends who are majoring in econ and business are always telling me to take an econ course because there are some really great professors in that department.</p>

<p>If you decide to visit Lafayette again in the fall, shoot me a private message or an email at <a href="mailto:saydej@lafayette.edu">saydej@lafayette.edu</a> so that we can meet each other and I can show you guys around campus personally. We could go to lunch together and I could answer any lingering questions you or your son may have. I think that would be best for him as he weighs his college options. What do you think of this idea?</p>

<p>J</p>

132

<p>Hey hlvietlong,</p>

<p>I am sorry that I could not respond to your post any sooner, but I have been very busy this week completing work for all of my classes. We only have two more weeks of classes before FINALS, so students really need to focus during this "final stretch".</p>

<p>It is very difficult to give you an accurate estimation as to how many hours an average Lafayette students spends studying. I think that it really varies by major and by the particular courses and professors a student has any given semester. There are days when, as a student, I have very little immediate work to complete. Then there are other days when I am faced with writing multiple papers while studying for a big exam the next day. As long as you budget your time and stay on top of your classes as much as possible, you will NEVER find youself spending an entire day in the library. Some students leave all of their work for one day, and will spend that day doing nothing but work. It all depends on your personal study habits.</p>

<p>I am sorry that I am having such a hard time giving you a number, but if I had to, I would say that the AVERAGE Lafayette student spends about 15-20 hours a week completing schoolwork (writing papers, studying for exams, etc.). Many students spend few hours working on the weekdays, and instead spend their weekend hours completing the bulk of their schoolwork. Again, it is all up to you.</p>

<p>Even if you find youself spending the majority of a sunny day working in Skillman Library, it isn't that bad considering the facility is AWESOME. Our brand-new library is HUGE, and has cool study spaces for all kinds of students.</p>

<p>In response to your other question, I really do not concern myself much with the city of Easton. Everything you might need as a student can be found on campus, from academic resources to campus-sponsored social activities. However, we do have a free transportation service called the L-CATS bus service that runs on a regular schedule (published on our website). The bus goes off campus to the local movie theater, shopping malls, Wal-Mart, etc. Just off campus in Easton, there are great restaurants to cater to all kinds of tastes (Italian, Chinese, American, Thai, Japanese, Greek, etc.). Easton is becoming more student-friendly as time goes on and is a fine college town, in my opinion.</p>

<p>I wish you the best of luck in your college decision. Keep in mind that I am here to help you in any way that I can.</p>

<p>J</p>

133

<p>Hey candyman,</p>

<p>Could you explain me double majoring policy? If I am planning to be physics major (BS) can I have Electrical and Computer Engineering as my second major? Or will I break my neck satisfying all those graduation requirements?</p>

134

<p>rytis,</p>

<p>This is a great question you are posing! Any student can petition to double-major if they find that they have great interest in two different topics of study. In order to double-major, you must make sure that the courses you take each semester work towards fulfilling the requirements for each major. It is not any more/less difficult to double-major, however, it does give the student less freedom in choosing courses from outside their two selected majors.</p>

<p>B.S. Engineers, simply put, can't double major. There is simply no time for them to do so. You will already be taking five courses a semester starting your sophomore year just to finish the B.S. Engineering degree in four years! If you are planning on being some kind of a B.S. science major (biology, chemistry, PHYSICS), it is quite difficult to double-major due to scheduling conflicts which are sure to arise. However, I do know a student majoring in bio/gov & law and another majoring in bio/econ. Most science majors just work towards satisfying the requirements of their one major (it usually proves to be demanding enough considering science majors have at least one lab portion each semester to work through).</p>

<p>I would recommend you major in your primary interest (physics), and maybe just take a few engineering courses as electives. That physics major, with all of the labs you will be taking, will keep you busy. Plus, keep in mind you also have to fulfill our common course of study at Lafayette while also working toward that physics major.</p>

<p>Don't worry so much about your major...worry more about taking courses which seem interesting to you! The major will most likely fall into place on its own.</p>

<p>Bye for now,</p>

<p>J</p>

135

<p>Can you share anything about the computer science program at Lafayette? It seems to be extremely small. Also...my S is also considering Lehigh...and time is running out. Any thoughts on one or the other /strengths /weaknesses?</p>

136

<p>mkw6,</p>

<p>It was a shame that you visited Lafayette on a rainy day, but your son must get past that fact in order to make the most informed decision possible.</p>

<p>Even though I know very little about our program in Computer Science, I encourage you to visit the Lafayette website at <a href="http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/majors/computer_science.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lafayette.edu/admissions/majors/computer_science.html&lt;/a> for more information. Read through everything carefully. Make sure to click on the link to the left in blue (DEPARTMENT HOME PAGE) and do some exploring! Also be sure to check out the homepages of the individual Computer Science professors to learn more about them and the courses they teach. </p>

<p>You are correct that Computer Science is a smaller major at Lafayette, but think about the benefits of having a smaller program...small class sizes, close contact with professors who will get to know your son very well, etc. </p>

<p>A little food for thought: Lehigh is recognized as having a stronger program in Econ & Business than Lafayette, and Lafayette is recognized as having stronger Engineering (by far!) and science programs. I just wanted to let that out in the open for all to hear.</p>

<p>Most importantly, make sure your son follows his gut instincts in selecting the right college/university for his individual needs. </p>

<p>I wish you and your son the best in making the "big decision". If you wouldn't mind, let me know what he has decided...I'm interested in finding out!</p>

<p>All the best,</p>

<p>J</p>

137

<p>Justin....My son has just come to the realization that he would like to start the fall semester as an engineer instead of being a computer science major. Is it possible for him to change his curriculum prior to the start of the fall semester to engineering? Money is due in on Monday...so we are in panic mode! Can you answer this question or do you know anyone we can ask? Thanks MKW</p>

138

<p>You can change majors, You just have to start as an engineering major if you want to be one.
If you start as any other major, it's really difficult to join the engineering major if at all possible.
Send a letter in with the deposit. As long as you start as an engineering major you're fine.</p>

139

<p>MKW,</p>

<p>Do not fret! Your son can come into Lafayette as a prospective engineer with no problem. I recommend you address the issue with someone on campus during one of the June Academic Advising Days (6/02-6/04). There is no need to panic. Just send in the deposit, and take care of switching his intended major later.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that your son has yet to select classes for the fall. You have nothing to worry about. When your son receives his course catalog for the Fall 2006 semester, just follow the course selection advice for engineers. In addition, if you decide to attend one of the advising days in June, you will be able to take care of everything at that time.</p>

<p>J</p>

140

<p>How can you state that Lafayette's engineering program is better ..by far?? I'm not disagreeing ..cause I don't know. I just want to know how you can say this. Facts to back it up? I know that Lafayette is much smaller...so it has to be somewhat limiting in it's offerings. We have the RPI program to consider also. Are we the only family is American that is one day before the deadline and STILL are deciding between 3 colleges????</p>