<p>So I visited Lafayette last summer and was surprised how much I liked, so I applied to it. I got accepted as a Marquis Scholar, so I went to the accepted students day today. Up to this point, I had really been seriously considering the school (not to sound stuck up, but I got into Boston College and Villanova and just assumed I would be attending one of those). I was really, really surprised by how much I liked Lafayette and am now seriously considering it. So, if any current Lafayette students saw this and would be willing to answers a few questions, I'd greatly appreciate it.</p>
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<li><p>One thing that really struck me while I was walking around was how casual and laid back the campus was. I sat in on a class at 1 PM, and none of the students in the class really made an effort to dress up or wear brand name clothing to class. This was something really appealing to me. I know some schools are basically Abercrombie catalogues. I'm the kind of guy who is extremely laid back, I don't really envision myself wearing polo shirts to class. I definitely got the vibe from the students at Lafayette that a lot of them were similar to me. Is this true?</p></li>
<li><p>How much of a presence does greek life have on the campus? My tour guide said something like 30%-40% of students participate in it, which seems pretty high. Everyone said it wasn't an overbearing presence, but I find that hard to believe with so many students participating in greek life. I don't on participating in greek life, and I don't really have a problem with it, I just don't want it to control my social life. I certainly don't plan on having a dry experience at college, but I want to be going to parties because I want to be going to parties. I don't want to feel pressured into going to frat parties every weekend because everyone else is. </p></li>
<li><p>The school is pretty small. Does this seem noticeable and make the school seem empty, or do you think it's a good thing? The administration was constantly bragging about how the small student body resulted in better interactions between students and professors, but the student to teacher ratio is no smaller than schools which have ~3k more students than Lafayette.</p></li>
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<p>Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. If you want to add anything else that will help make my choice of where to go to school next year any easier, please do. I could really use that...</p>
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<li>I agree that Lafayette seems alot more laid back than other schools, it really does have a more comfortable atmosphere. That’s not to say that the students don’t work hard, they do. Theyre ambitious, but in a way that allows them to work together as peers, instead of competing against each other, like in some other schools. I find people to be open and nicer here.</li>
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<p>2.I’m sure you will find your own place where you fit in if you come to Lafayette. greek life doesn’t dominate campus life although if you choose to get involved it can probably help you meet people.</p>
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<li>The school is small, but it helps because you won’t feel “lost” or unknown. at the same time, its big enough for you to feel like you’re not suffocated by the tight space.</li>
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<p>Lafayette is a good school. Don’t know why you would not have considered it right in line with BC or Villa. The Marquis scholar program is exceptional and your observations about the school atmosphere are right on. Very attractive place.</p>
<p>BC, Nova and Lafayette would all provide you with a quality undergraduate degree and experience. If the former two aren’t offering you $84,000 off sticker price, then for me this would be a no brainer - take the cash and save your resources for your terminal degree.</p>
<p>The service academies, and schools like Bucknell, Villanova, Union, and Lafayette and a host of others have very solid reps as undergraduate engineering programs. At places like MIT and Ga Tech the focus is clearly at the graduate level.</p>
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<li><p>In general, the campus is pretty laid back - especially w.r.t. clothing. Sure, you will find your walking Abercombie catalogs and people who are the complete opposite and people in between. The best thing about Lafayette is that there is no pressure to conform to one standard. Everyone can be who they want to be and find their niche, which is what gives this campus a chilled out atmosphere.</p></li>
<li><p>About Greek Life, I would like to add one small change to the statistic there. From my years as a tour guide (not sure if it has changed since I gave my last tour), it is 30 % - 40 % of ELIGIBLE students (sophomores and above) who participate in Greek Life. I am not in Greek life and I can vouche that there are enough other options on campus (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) to spend your nights. Greek life has what can be termed the ‘biggest’ parties on campus but there’s no compulsion to go to these. It is possible to have a great time without it.</p></li>
<li><p>With regards to size, the way I look at Lafayette is it’s small enough that you get to know almost everyone but yet big enough to avoid the people you don’t wanna see.</p></li>
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