<p>I'm really torn between Lafayette and Bowdoin College in Maine. Bowdoin has no Greek life, and offers a lot of activities to those who don't want to party all weekend. What about Lafayette? I know it used to be a big party school. Is it still a big party school? If I don't want to join a fraternity, will I be secluded from the rest of the campus? And if I don't want to drink, what alternative activities are there to do? Will I be bored?</p>
<p>-Tyler</p>
<p>Lafayette is probably no more a party school these days than Bowdoin is. There are parties for those who want them and plenty of things to do for those who don’t. Although my daughter ended up joining a sorority – much to her surprise as well as ours – her decision had more to do with the philanthropic opportunities than parties. Most her of circle of friends from her first-year dorm opted not to join a sorority or fraternity and all of them – Greek and independent – are still close friends. I have always been struck, when visiting the Lafayette campus, by the scarcity of Greek letter attire. Kids seem to identify much more strongly with their school community than by their Greek organization (if they are affiliated). </p>
<p>Check out the Student Life link on the Lafayette website and click on “Clubs and Organizations”. There are around 200 of them (obviously some more active than others). My daughter is active in theater, music, environmental, academic, intramural sports and religious organizations and never seems to be at a loss for things to do that do not involve alcohol. She is also close enough to NYC and Philly to take advantage of several weekend trips to those cities if she wants to get away from campus for a day or two. My daughter has said that there is no excuse for anyone being bored at Lafayette unless they want to be.</p>
<p>Thank you! This is very helpful!</p>
<p>“I have always been struck, when visiting the Lafayette campus, by the scarcity of Greek letter attire. Kids seem to identify much more strongly with their school community than by their Greek organization (if they are affiliated).”</p>
<p>We were on campus last week for a final visit before decision time and I also noticed the lack of Greek letter attire or actually any references to Greek life. What was noticeable was the number of students wearing Lafayette clothing. It seemed like one out of every five kids that we saw had a sweatshirt, t-shirt or sweatpants with the Laf name1</p>
<p>You’re right - you see lots of Lafayette attire but no Greek letter attire.</p>
<p>My D will be an incoming freshman this fall. We have been to campus on 3 different occasions since October - each time, practically the whole day. I couldn’t agree more with what the previous posters have said about the scarcity of Greek attire. Lafayette-wear is much more apparent. Students are definitely proud of their school and love to show it. Barely anything was discussed about Greek life in any of the sessions we attended. I believe one student panelist was Greek but was involved in so many other things as well that you didn’t get the sense that Greek life prevailed at Lafayette at all or in her world. Her brief mention of Greek life only really included the philanthropic activities that she enjoyed.</p>
<p>My S is a Laf sophomore and I know I am putting myself out there (Oh, here comes another deluded parent! ;)) but I am confident that the partying he does is very low-key (movies and eating junk food with friends, etc.) Sometimes he and his roomie would get donuts from a local convenience store and post on facebook and the door of their room “We have donuts” and enjoy getting together with whomever dropped by. He just enjoys hanging out with a compatible group. </p>
<p>Sure, some hard partying goes on (especially, from what I understand, the weekend of the Laf-Lehigh football game) but it does not generally seem to be pervasive or something that affects those who are not interested. Students who are involved in campus interest groups tend to find compatible peers.</p>
<p>One of the events the school sponsored that S had a LOT of fun with was a campus-wide scavenger hunt done in teams. Lafayette also imported a portable ice skating rink for the quad one winter weekend. It seems to me that there is* enough *going on that the kids have options.</p>
<p>And yes, my S wears Laf attire a LOT.</p>
<p>I think it depends on what you’re interested in. Personally, I’ve found greek life to be very big. I’m going into my junior year in the fall, and literally all my friends are involved, so I might rush in the fall. I know that if you’re not into the partying scene though there are plenty of other people who feel the same, and you can meet people through clubs.</p>