<p>I know these are completely different colleges. But i got in with aid in both and am now trying to decide. have no particular inclination towards pursuing a science major (kind of lafa's speciality). am a chinese male.
Please i'd really appreciate everyone's input. Thanks in advance!
No i haven't visited either. and cant.</p>
<p>My daughter looked at both Conn College and Lafayette last year. She elected to apply to Lafayette (where she is now a student) but did not apply to Connecticut College. She is a science major, but has friends who are planning to declare as pysch, history and economics majors and says those programs are also strong.</p>
<p>Connecticut College also has some good science programs, but it really annoyed my daughter when we visited New London that the admissions officer only seemed to want to talk about the visual and performing arts opportunities. This was strange, since at least half the kids at the information session had indicated they were interested in bio, chemistry or another science. My daughter didn’t feel the presentation was balanced at all and felt that the science kids were basically ignored. (A similar thing occured at Dickinson where the admissions officer was fixated on Dickinson’s excellent study abroad program). We didn’t get a chance to take the guided tour, unfortunately because it was cancelled to to a steady cold downpour.</p>
<p>We did have a good lunch in the student certer and noticed that several faculty members were also lunching there and interacting with students. We also liked the campus very much and thought it was very well maintained. It is somewhat removed from both New London and outlying commercial areas, however. Lafayette, in contrast, is located in a residential/commercial neighborhood known as College Hill and several restaurants, a convenience store, two coffee shops, a tavern and the Lafayette Inn are in easy walking distance of campus.</p>
<p>Both Connecticut College and Lafayette are within a reasonable commute of NYC, which was an important factor for my daughter – by Amtrak from New London and by bus from Easton. Amtrak also connects NL with Providence and Boston, while Philadelphia is an urban alternative for Lafayette students. My daughter has made 4 or 5 excursions into Manhattan since arriving at Lafayette in September, twice to see Broadway shows with the college Arts Society ($10 for Hair and In the Heights inc. transportation).</p>
<p>Neither New London nor Easton, PA is a paradise on earth, but neither are as bad as some posters may recall them from a decade or two back. Of the two we preferred Easton – or rather downtown Easton and College Hill, there are some neighborhoods we have had no interest in seeing. Easton’s downtown is more compact and is home to more than a dozen restaurants of varying cuisine, a couple of clubs, the Crayola Factory and a Saturday farmer’s market. </p>
<p>I think both colleges have a lot to offer, whether you are interested in the sciences or arts and humanities.</p>
<p>A couple of other quick observations: Lafayette has a slightly larger percentage of international students than Connecticut College and the International Students Association is very active there (my daughter’s room mate is Chinese). Connecticut College has no Greek organizations on campus, whereas Lafayette has 6 sororities and 6 fraternities (about 30% of students are Greek). The feeling I got was that social/party life at CC was a little “weedier” than Lafayette, at which cheap beer and wine seem to be the preferred substCCance. CC has more prep school alums among the student body, while Lafayette has more than its fair share of kids from upscale public schools – planty of students from well-to-do families at both schools. I think freshman-to-sophomore year retention is similar, while Lafayette graduates a somewhat higher percentage of students than CC. You can check those stats here: [U-CAN:University</a> and College Accountability Network - Free. Easy.](<a href=“ucan-network.org”>http://www.ucan-network.org/)</p>
<p>As a Connecticut College student, I would like to offer an “insider view” lacking from a parent who visited on a spring weekend. I will quickly offer views on academics (specifically sciences), New London, the student body, and the social life.</p>
<p>Both are great schools, both are very different schools. If looking for a diverse approach to academics and a more liberal student body, Conn is probably better for you. If you are interested in a more traditional student body and academic approach, Lafayette is probably better for you. Neither is “better.” Its really a “feel thing” and you should try to do overnights at both campuses before deciding. If you feel like reading more about Conn, see below:</p>
<p>Academics: Conn places a strong emphasis on inter-disciplinary study and well-rounded study. Conn is serious about the liberal arts encouraging study in the arts, humanities, and sciences, and cross-disciplinary study as opposed to vocational or singular study in one area. A major commitment to these principals is demonstrated through the “centers” at the college. These are cross-disciplinary programs one of which features an international internship, another is a center for the study of art and technology, just to name two. Conn’s mission statement “to put liberal arts into actions as citizens in a global community” is represented in the college’s approach to academics.</p>
<p>Student body: One of my favorite aspects of Conn that helped “sell me” on the college was the balance of the student body. There is no Conn “type”. Unlike colleges like Layafette or Trinity which lean heavily towards a more “jockish” or frat-boy type, Conn has a great balance of jocks, hippies, artists, nerds, etc. all who live together in relative harmony. As far as it being more “weedy” (whatever that means) it, again is a diverse social scene. There is plenty of cheap beer drinking in dorm and apartment parties, and more of an alternative scene at places like Abbey House, Earth House, and among the large populations of musicians on campus. There is a large prep school population, there is also a large and vocal international population. Conn has an international dorm (for all who are interested, not for international students) with foreign language dining tables. More than half of Conn’s students study abroad.</p>
<p>New London: The area, especially if you have a car, is surprisingly great. This is hard to realize from one visit because one typically visitors only quickly sweep through New London. New London is tiny in size and Conn students venture equally as much to Mystic and Groton. Mystic is a charming seaside town with restaurants, bookshops, and specialty stores. As far as New London, it has many great restaurants, a thriving arts scene, and a number of bars and concert venues. Lastly, Harkness and ocean beaches are only ten minutes away and on warm days are packed with Conn students. The campus itself has 800 acres of natural environment including an accessible island on the Thames River and lots of wooded trails, all very beautiful and a great resource. Also note that access to New York aside, Conn is less than an hour from Providence and New Haven, both charming and thriving cities in their own rights, with many cultural opportunities. </p>
<p>I could go on but I do not want to regurgitate points you can find on the college website. Ultimately, Lafayette, in the mid-atlantic is a more well-known name than Conn, which is better known in New England. I, however, would take New London over Easton, I would take Conn’s campus over Lafayette’s, and most importantly, I would take our student body, and are approach to academics over Lafayette’s more traditional straight-forward academic philosophy, and more “frat” oriented (read limited) social life and student body.</p>
<p>Typo: specifically not* sciences.</p>
<p>CamelMan21 – You’ve done a great job of summarizing what distinguishes Connecticut College. I think you might have read more into my post – in a negative way – than what was intended. I am not as unfamiliar with Conn College and surroundings as you might imagine, as I have spent considerable time over the past 20 years in Mystic, New London and the Old Lyme area for museum meetings and conferences. However, I readily concede your greater familiarity with what is going on on the CC campus today as what I know, aside from our college visit, is limited to discussions with the daughters of two friends who graduated from CC more than five years ago. It was actually from one of them that I culled the “weedy” description – meaning that the use of cannabis is probably a little more common at CC than at Lafayette, although it is not as popular as at Bard or Wesleyan. Regardless, no insult was intended, merely an observation.</p>
<p>I would take some issue with the characterization of the Lafayette student body (male) being jockish or frat-boyish. This was definitely true when I was in college. Even ten years ago fraternities probably dominated the social scene. I haven’t had this sense, and more importantly my daughter and her friends haven’t gotten this sense, recently. As for jocks, both CC and Lafayette have fairly athletic students bodies. Granted, the existence of a Division I sports program at Lafayette – and the support facilities that requires – make the college’s sports program more visible. From what I’ve see, however, Lafayette also “has a great balance of jocks, hippies, artists, nerds, etc. all who live together in relative harmony” – well, maybe not that many hippies. There is a perception of Lafayette’s student body being more conservative than it actually is that I think stems in part from its outdated “frat boy school” image and in part from the fact that a large minority of the student body is enrolled in Lafayette’s well-regarded engineering and business programs, which tend to attract a more career-focused group of kids.</p>
<p>I agree with you CamelMan that both schools are great choices for the right student. For some students either one would be a great choice.</p>
<p>Maybe if we knew more about what you (Chan90) are looking for, we can help you more.
I don’t know about lafayette too much so I can’t say much here, even though it was on my preliminary college list, and it was below Conn for match/below match for some reason.
As a current student, I don’t think the sciences are downsized at all.
In the class of 2008, Biological sciences were in the top three for having the most graduates with the degree. I know of plenty of bio, shem, and biochem majors, and I have never heard major complaint from them. I’ve done my research as I myself might be a science major, and I have to say that I’m satisfied with the departments here.
I can answer other questions if you have any! =D</p>
<p>Thank you! Everyone!
I am very confused at the moment and spending hours on the internet hoping to find stuff i didnt know.
My problem is i dont know what i wanna major in … i wanna try different subjects and am thus somewhat intimidated by lafayette’s typical carrer focused student’s image on the other hand i am very ambitious and really competitive (academically) so Connecticut some times seems like a “soft” school academically- i dont believe i just said that. i guess i just hoped someone would tell me outright that this is the better place for you.
What i do wanna ask however is how do the two compare in terms of their reputation generally in the US and particularly with grad schools and employers.
thanks again everyone! i am really grateful for all the input</p>
<p>Chan90 – I don’t know where you got the idea that CC is “soft” academically. That is anything but the truth. Maybe it seems that way because of the higher selectivity of NESCAC peers Amherst, Williams and Wesleyan, but you’ll get a superb education at Connecticut College.</p>
<p>I don’t know that going on the CC and Lafayette forums and asking someone to tell you which school you should choose is going to produce a clear-cut answer. Students on those forums are likely to passionately favor their school. I should also note that while my elder daughter chose Lafayette and is extremely happy there (and she is not a career-focused type), my younger daughter has Connecticut College on her list of prospectives and I think it might be a better fit for her.</p>
<p>I know what you mean. But so far i have only view books and college websites and rankings. i have seen campus videoes- even managed to glimpse some classes. But, other than the stats like student teacher ratio, etc i have no substantial source of information. And i really like both places. So i am just hoping that some of these posts might provide me particular insight that might help me in a decision. i understand that most people have a biased opinion. I am not looking for objectivity. I think that students who passionately favor their school might be a great source of input.
and please do tell how in your opinion how do the two compare in terms of their reputation in the US and particularly with grad schools and employers.</p>
<p>Both schools were on my D’s list, too. I think they’re both fine schools academically but the feel is really different, and some of it goes back to the history of the colleges as all-men’s and all-women’s schools. The legacy is particularly noticable when it comes to aspects of student life (Lafayette is on the left), but there’s still fallout on the academic side, too:</p>
<p>-DI sports vs. DIII (without a football team)
-Significant frat Scene vs. No frats
-Engineering Program vs. Liberal Arts Core
-Some liberal arts offered only as interdisplinary minors (i.e. no real faculty in the discipline) vs. offering full majors in fields like East Asian Studies/Film Studies/Classics/Environmental studies, et al.
-No Education Dept. vs. Education Major
-2400 Enrollment vs. 1800 Enrollment (difference of 150 students/class is a lot at a small school)
-Former Men’s College (Lafayette only went co-ed in 1970) vs. Former Women’s College
-Gender Balanced (actually a few more men) vs. Gender Imbalanced (60-40% female)
-Nominally religiously affiliated vs. No religous affliation</p>
<p>Since I assume you’re an international student it’s hard to translate all that these things connote about the college “feel,” but I think that these characteristic do attract different types of student. I was going to offer some generalizations, but thought better of it :)</p>
<p>As far as reputation, any differences are insignificant. Frankly, aside from the top 2 or 3 liberal arts colleges in this country, none are widely known by the average person. But employers and grad schools know, in a general way, that students from selective liberal arts colleges like Conn and Lafayette are receiving solid educations.</p>
<p>Perched on a hill so high you can practically see Princeton 55 miles to the east, Lafayette College (number 16 in our rankings) has yet to pierce the rarefied air of the Ivies. Still, its strengths include five engineering degrees, including a bachelor of arts. “Our students understand not only the technical aspects of a problem but the human aspects as well,” says Wendy Hill, the provost. Lafayette students travel to Honduras to work with Engineers Without Borders, where they help create water-distribution systems and nurture coffee production. </p>
<p>Lafayette’s small size – some 2,400 students – and intimate atmosphere create its own fertile ground for learning, says senior Debra Perrone, who knows her professors and their kids. “I have friends at big schools who have to put their IDs on the table so their teachers know who they are,” says Perrone. President Daniel Weiss plans to build on Lafayette’s assets, and boost its academic standing, by adding 35 faculty members. “Strong interaction between students and faculty is why people come to places like Lafayette,” says Weiss. </p>
<p>With an endowment of $734 million, Lafayette ranks 98th among the nation’s 100 wealthiest colleges and universities, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Those deep pockets allow it to guarantee that at least 75% of students’ need is met with grants and to keep the average debt at graduation to a relatively reasonable $18,000. Lafayette also bestows merit scholarships, ranging from $8,000 to $43,010, on 14% of its student body.</p>
<p>Like many schools that are trying to move up the academic slope, Lafayette feels pressure from the Ivies and near-Ivies to offer more and better financial aid. “Harvard and others have upped the ante,” says Arlina DeNardo, Lafayette’s financial-aid director. “Those schools are not a direct overlap, but the move from loans to grants clearly ripples through the rest of higher ed. People look at what they’re doing and say to us, What about this?”</p>
<p>Accordingly, Lafayette hopes eventually to reduce the average debt at graduation to about $10,000. But it doesn’t intend to eliminate loans altogether. “We don’t have the resources, and I’m not sure we would proceed in that way even if we did,” says Weiss. Students benefit from having a stake in the process, says DeNardo. “It’s a joint effort. If they could graduate with half the national student-debt level, at $10,000, that’s pretty good.”</p>
<p>Lafayette tracks its neighbor to the east by giving parents access to a loan program with attractive terms that compare favorably with the federal Parent PLUS program. These loans carry an interest rate pegged to the prime rate plus two percentage points. The college picks up the interest while a student is enrolled; repayment begins once the student graduates.</p>
<p>From the Kiplinger.com
from this brief article it looks like lafayette is trying to compete with the ivies, well connecticut is not. you can ask the dean and he will tell you. So Lafayette looks like a growing college.
you said something about aid. Connecticut gives only grants to international students while lafayette aid package includes a loan and camus employment which might be difficult to obtain under the current climate. From what i have heard its the students responsibility to find the employment
hope this helps a little</p>
<p>A side note, Connecticut College was not in the top 50 LACs in the Kiplinger.com rankings. but there can be some reasonable explanation for that too. maybe they opted out or something. Good Luck Chan! Maybe ill see u at Conn.</p>
<p>Honestly, the difference between Lafayette and Conn in terms of quality of student body (see average SAT and GPA) and career placement if minimal if at all existent. Neither school ranks in the top 50 for placement to top grad school. Neither is in the U.S. news top 30. If what you are worried about is reputation and grad school placement you will find that both place top students at top grad schools and both are well regarded in New York, Conn is generally better known in Boston and Lafayette has more of a Philadelphia presence. Its not a reasonable criteria by which to decide between the two. You will have to decide based on what student life opportunities and academic “feel” is right for you.</p>
<p>Note that Kiplinger’s is based on “value” which places many state schools and large private colleges with higher student to teacher ratios and lower academic expectations above LACs like Conn College and Lafayette. I’m not sure its the most useful ranking tool.</p>
<p>The financial resources of the colleges are a substantially different, too. Lafayette’s endowment is 3 times that of CC’s and their last capital campaign, which concluded in 2001, raised about the same amount as Conn’s entire endowment. For students, this is probably most visible in differences in the number and scope of capital projects on the two campuses. Conn has a spacious and quite beautiful campus, but the buildings are mostly older and show some signs of delayed maintenance. Lafayette is more compact, but has many more new, gleaming, and updated facilities.</p>
<p>Regarding Conn’s financial status, from a recent update from the president:</p>
<p>"Ironically, one of our advantages lies in past adversity. In 1999, the College faced significant financial challenges. Painful budget reductions and conservative budget practices restored the College to financial health and have allowed us to make steady, strategic progress since then. We entered this recession with a strong balance sheet and a senior administrative team experienced in managing through downturns. (Many larger and wealthier institutions are just now implementing budget practices similar to what we have had in place for five or more years.)</p>
<p>Comprehensive fee
Recognizing the impact on families, we have limited the increase in the 2009-10 comprehensive fee to 3.5 percent - the lowest in more than 40 years - and we will raise spending on need-based financial aid by $1.5 million, more than double last year’s increase. To balance these decisions, we have made the difficult choice to hold 2009-10 salaries flat for all faculty, staff and administrators. We also are reducing spending in some areas, such as staff travel, that do not directly affect the student experience.</p>
<p>New faculty
Although many institutions have frozen faculty hiring this year, we believe that ongoing renewal of the faculty is essential. We have hired eight faculty members and have four more searches in process. Most of these are replacements for professors who have retired or left the College; two are new full-time positions, further improving our high faculty-student ratio. In this environment, we have been able to secure a globally diverse cohort of faculty, with research expertise ranging from physics to the women’s movement in Pakistan to international finance. These new appointments represent a strategic investment in the future of the College.</p>
<p>Campus improvements
Over the past three years, we have invested more than $20 million in the campus, including classroom and residence hall renovations. Our capital projects policy requires us to secure 120 percent of project costs before beginning construction. Thanks to gifts and to this policy, we have been able to proceed as planned with construction of our new fitness center. Funded by gifts, the center is scheduled to open in the fall of 2009.</p>
<p>Our strategic focus already is producing results. Recently Connecticut College was awarded the very prestigious Sen. Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization. We were the only Connecticut school named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, recognition of extraordinary volunteer efforts by the College and its students. We have been a top producer of Fulbrights for the last two years</p>
<p>Here’s a link to Lafayette’s president’s analogous announcement:</p>
<p>[College</a> Strengthens Financial Aid While Growing the Faculty](<a href=“http://www.lafayette.edu/news.php/view/11946]College”>http://www.lafayette.edu/news.php/view/11946)</p>
<p>their highlights include:</p>
<p>-no-loan FA packages for families with incomes below $100,000
-35 new faculty hires over the next 5 years
-capital projects including a new life sciences building, an admissions welcome center, and an academic building to accommodate the increased size of the faculty.</p>
<p>How does one explain the fact that Lafayette is ranked only a few spots ahead of Conn in the U.S. News rankings despite having an endowment almost four times larger? How is Lafayette ranked in the mid 30’s with an endowment over 700 million?</p>
<p>yeah i have wondered about that too.
anyway, chan where u gonna go …made up your mind yet?</p>