<p>Hi everyone! Please ask as many questions as you'd like about Lafayette as well as the college process.</p>
<p>Before I head out, I just wanted to give you all the following links. They will lead you my old Q&A threads in the event you would like to see questions and answers of the past. Together, they are 40 pages long!</p>
<p>PART I (2011-2012)
<a href=“LAFAYETTE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Part I! - Lafayette College - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/lafayette-college/1213506-lafayette-questions-and-answers-part-i-p1.html</a></p>
<p>PART II (2012-2013)
<a href=“Lafayette questions and answers part ii! (2012-13) - Lafayette College - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/lafayette-college/1383749-lafayette-questions-and-answers-part-ii-2012-13-p1.html</a></p>
<p>PART III (2013-2014)
<a href=“Lafayette Questions and Answers Part III (2013-2014) - Lafayette College - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/lafayette-college/1546259-lafayette-questions-and-answers-part-iii-2013-2014-p1.html</a></p>
<p>Good luck Chanel!</p>
<p>Taylor</p>
<p>Thanks so much for these threads, Taylor! My daughter (a rising high school junior) and I have found them extremely helpful! </p>
<p>Chanel, I have a question for you- what is the sorority culture like? I know Taylor had mentioned Greek life in his threads over the years, but not much specifically about the culture of the sororities. My daughter is considering joining one but isn’t sure if it’s right for her. As a first year I don’t think you were allowed to rush, but if you happen to know anything about the sororities that would be wonderful. Thank you!</p>
<p>Hi Collegemom1967!</p>
<p>So your absolutely correct in that First-Year students are not allowed to pledge a sorority (or a fraternity) until they’re a eligible Sophomore. Greek Life is definitely not a large part of our campus (close to 1/3 of our students are involved), but it’s there if you want it. We have 6 sororities on campus and they are: Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Phi, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Pi Beta Phi. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting several of the girls apart of the sororities on campus through various activities and events where they hold several leadership positions and they are really sweet girls who are natural leaders! </p>
<p>As for culture, I think they have a lot of pride for their letters and are very united as whole which you see through out the year at events like Pi Beta Phi’s 24 Hour Dance Marathon and Kappa Kappa Gamma’s Marina Day where all of Greek Life supports and participates. They’re also just friends with one another and other’s on campus despite what sorority they’re in!</p>
<p>I’ve attached a link below to more information about Lafayette Sororities and Greek Life:</p>
<p><a href=“Prospective Members and Parent Information · Greek Life · Lafayette College”>http://greeklife.lafayette.edu/potential-members/</a></p>
<p>I hope this was helpful!!! Have a good night :)</p>
<p>~Chanel</p>
<p>@collegemom1967 My D joined a sorority this past year as a sophomore. The sophomore rush was great (as opposed to freshman rush) because she made a ton of very good friends before she even thought about rushing. She remains very tight with this friend group. One girls is in her sorority but some friends joined other sororities and others chose not to rush.</p>
<p>My D felt that the sororities have distinct personalities. – in fact of the six sororities on campus there were only two that particularly interested her (and she got into one of them). Everyone interested in joining a sorority goes through a Membership Exploration Week (MEW week) where they visit all six sororities so they see the full picture. They visit all the houses, meet girls in the different sororities, learn about activities and philanthropies each sorority does etc. Some girls start the process and drop out if they decide sorority life isn’t for them. During freshman year my D had made some friends (through clubs etc.) who were upperclassmen in sororities so she got a little bit of insight into that world as a freshman. But she also had classmates who joined sororities as a sophomore without knowing anybody in them beforehand. </p>
<p>The good news is that there is no hurry to decide. Freshman can’t rush. Students develop strong and (hopefully) lasting friends before they can even consider sororities. And there is the MEW week when they can learn more. It is all fine. My D finds her sorority is a great additional outlet. She is still involved in many other clubs/activities on campus and she has a lot of friends who are not in her sorority.</p>
<p>@chatterpulse Thanks for taking over from Taylor. Can you share with us what your major is? </p>
<p>@collegemom1967- do the girls live in the sorority house? If so, how do they determine residence? Seniority?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Hi @gemblu!</p>
<p>I actually came in this past year as an English major, but after taking advantage of some great opportunities and classes available this year I’ve decided to add on a Anthropology & Sociology major and a Theater minor.</p>
<p>@Gemblu - The girls do live in the sorority house for at least a semester, but many stay for a full year (or more as some officer positions require that they live in the house). The sorority commits to the school to keep the house filled. My D who pledged this year as a sophomore will move in to her house next year and will likely live there all year. A couple of her friends moved in second semester sophomore year (to her house and other houses) but she had a nice rooming situation and didn’t want to leave it mid-year. </p>
<p>The sororities all have ways of determine who picks rooms in what order. At least in my D’s sorority it was very well laid out so everyone knew where they stood. First it was determined who would live in the house and and then the order of room selection was laid out based on each person’s graduating class, if a person is an officer, level of involvement etc… There seemed to be no issues at all from what I could tell and my D ended up with the rooming situation she had anticipated. She is excited about living there next year.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info @happy1.
@chatterpulse- how difficult is it to dbl major + minor at Laf? Did you come with a lot of college credit and/or will you need to take summer classes or extend a semester to complete all of this?</p>
<p>@Gemblu - I can’t answer for chatterpulse, but my D has found it pretty easy to add on to her original major (she will likely end up with two minors, and a BS degree). She came in with no college credits (her HS was very competitive but has an alternative program to APs with no college credit). She did do a summer abroad program after her freshman year at Lafayette where she earned her two language credits and I guess that helps. I think the double majors/minors is possible because Lafayette’s common course of study is very flexible. My S went to a Jesuit school with a huge core curriculum – it would have been much harder to complete all the core requirements as well as a double major at his school. While the core was great for my S, my D entered college with definite interests/passions so I’m thrilled that she can pursue them as minors at Lafayette. Hopefully @chatterpulse can add her first hand experience to this response.</p>
<p>@gemblu - You can double major. My son is adding a second major to an engineering degree. To add a minor may depend on whether their are any classes that count for multiple requirements, how many credits you enter college with and whether you pick up any credits in the summer or interim. </p>
<p>Clarification - my D will be getting one minor. Apologies. But IMO, the important thing is that she has the chance to do the major she wants and to take a lot of classes in her areas of interest.</p>
<p>Hi @gemblu!</p>
<p>So far it’s been pretty easy to double-major and minor at Laf because a lot of the core requirements overlap with with courses for my majors and minor. I also plan on taking advantage of Study Abroad opportunities to earn my language credits (what better way to learn a language than in a country where it’s the native language!). With the core curriculum something I’ve found is that you’ll find overlap. For example, with the 3 Writing requirements there can be overlap with classes in your major or other core requirements like the Values or GM1 and GM2 requirements. Also, if you go about the proper steps with the school you can get credit for an internship, being in choir, and working in or on school productions.</p>
<p>I hope this was helpful.</p>
<p>You can’t really quantify it that way. Bottom line is that it <em>IS</em> important to take advantage of interview opportunities. Especially for foreign students.</p>
<p>@BurningBlaze I agree that you can’t quantify the importance of the interview. But Lafayette does value “demonstrated interest” in the school. There is no better way to show interest than going to an interview, especially when admissions officer makes the effort to come to your country. If you can arrange for and make it to he interview, you should definitely make the effort to go.</p>
<p>My son will be starting at Lafayette this fall. We live in the southwest. I think that my son’s effort to get to an interview with an admissions officer (in a city five hours away) was helpful in showing interest. While he ultimately was unable to find an open time and ended up interviewing with an alumnus instead, S had several exchanges with the admissions officer, which I believe did benefit him. He was invited for a scholarship opportunity that two of his peers with similar stats were not. It’s always a good idea to let the school know how much you’d like to attend. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Question on attire- does the campus have more of a relaxed, laid back feel with shorts and t-shirts, or do students dress up a bit for class? </p>
<p>@Gemblu Hopefully a current student will answer but from what my daughter says, the dress code is pretty relaxed. MY D will occasionally wear. a sundress or something but that is just because she just likes to change things up once in a while. If you have a son, he should be fine with shorts and t-shirts – maybe throw in a few polo shirts as well.</p>
<p>Hi @chatterpulse, my D is being recruited for track. We’ve made an initial visit this summer and had a tour and info session, and also met with a coach. They asked that we send her transcript, test scores, senior schedule and activities resume. She has now been asked to attend an OV which we will be doing. LC is at the top of her list of colleges. She has scheduled an interview for this next visit as well. Can you give an idea how the interview is handled, what she might expect, what questions she should be prepared to answer, dress code, etc.? She wants to put her best possible foot forward so any insight you can provide is much appreciated. </p>
<p>Secondly, can you give me some idea how/when to go about getting an early financial read as she is planning on applying ED if all goes well with her OV. </p>
<p>@jopac62 Hopefully @chatterpulse will give you a more complete answer, but for the time being it may help to know that my D is a student at Lafayette and she did interview there before applying ED. The interview was with a professional in admissions (not a student like at some schools). I wasn’t in the interview, but my D said she liked the woman a lot and that they had more of a conversation (rather than a series of one question, one answer) based on her interests/activities in HS and what she wanted to get out of her college experience. I was invited in at the end of the interview to see if I had any questions about the school for the admissions person. One thing that helped spur conversation is that my D wrote a resume highlighting academics, her ECs, internships, and travel and she gave the resume to the person she spoke to at the start of the interview which made it easy to find things to talk about. In terms of dress, I’m just not exactly sure what she wore to the Lafayette interview (she did a few) but the basic idea was neat and nice but not too dressy. In general she wore either black pants, a nice shirt and black high heel boots or a sundress and cardigan depending on the weather and both were fine. Also she emailed a brief thank you note after the interview. As for getting a financial read, I think most schools, including Lafayette, have a net price calculator that you can look at as a guide.</p>