<p>Hey, long time lurker, first time poster here! (:</p>
<p>I have some questions about the college:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I know Lafayette has a great engineering program. But how great is great? I mean how is the employment potential or grad school placement for Lafayette engineering grads?</p></li>
<li><p>Though I couldnt care less about the USNWR rankings (I know Lafayette boycotted the peer assessment), but I cant help but notice that the college's ranking has a downward trend. If u know any reason behind this, pls let me know (:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Yep, now I'm considering either ED or RD to lafayette (I'm an international prospective undergrad btw). Just want to make sure that if I apply ED and (hopefully) accepted, I wont regret it in the future! Any feedback appreciated!</p>
<p>Engineering - the program is well-respected. My father was a mechanical engineer, and he said when he was hiring and Human Resources gave him a stack of resumes/applications to review, there were certain schools that would always warrant his pulling the app and giving it a second look. Lafayette was one of those schools. I also know a civil engineer in my neighborhood who told me every time he has encountered a fellow engineer who graduated from Lafayette, he has always been impressed with their work.</p>
<p>USNWR - I think the boycott of the rankings has definitely affected Laf. There are other colleges (Clemson, for example) who have admitted doing things for the sole reason that it would move them up the rankings. Clearly Lafayette isn’t doing that, they’re doing what they think is best for their students instead. I don’t know of anything else specifically that would cause them to slip in the rankings. (For example, everyone’s endowment took a hit when the economy went bad, but Lafayette is still a very wealthy college in comparison to most schools).</p>
<p>I agree with Lafalum84 – engineering program’s reputation is very good. DS is a 2009 graduate with a BS in ECE. He had an internship during the summer of 2008 and a job offer that he accepted within 1 week of his return to Lafayette for his senior year. Great offer, really enjoying his job – and it’s challenging him. The college prepared him well and provided him with the experiences that his employer was looking for. I believe all but 2 of his classmates either job had offers or were accepted to graduate schools by the time they graduated.</p>
<p>Hey, thanks a lot for the info! Looks like I’m getting more and more inclined to apply ED to Lafayette now! It is indeed heartening to know that Lafayette care more about their own students’ experiences rather than about some not-so-useful rankings, unlike some other schools (:</p>
<p>By the way, is the campus (and its surrounding neighborhood) safe? I often hear conflicting views about this. Thanks! :D</p>
<p>We are also interested in the safety of the surrounding area. The immediate campus area looks fine. We visited on Labor Day weekend and S2 seemed to really like it. The campus is really nice and compact up on a hill. People were very friendly and answered our questions as we randomly stopped them. It seems 'down to earth" and sincere there.</p>
<p>Anyone who claims that the College Hill area is unsafe is frankly a prissy pampered preppy (apologies to those who graduated from preparatory schools). There are parts of Easton that you don’t want to be walking around after dark – the west ward comes to mind – but there is no reason for a student to be anywhere near there. If the sight of two black men standing around conversing makes you start to sweat then perhaps you would be better off staying in your gated community and getting an online degree. Otherwise, downtown Easton and College Hill should prove perfectly safe to anyone who uses half a brain, doesn’t go shopping for crack cocaine and other illicit drugs, and doesn’t go walking alone and drunk after 2 am.</p>
<p>Well I wouldn’t go quite as far as hudsonvalley, but my son is a senior and I’ve never worried about his safety on campus. I’d prefer he not be walking in downtown Easton after dark, but on campus and the immediate environs on the hill are safe enough for anyone using the normal precautions you’d use anywhere. It’s not really a good idea for a young woman to walk around alone after dark anywhere, and Lafayette is not an exception to that rule. But I am not aware of any serious crimes being committed on campus or within a few blocks on college hill. I have signed up for the text alerts from Public Safety, and in the past year I’ve only received 2 alerts:
1 - Last spring, there was a police chase that started in NJ and somehow ended up near the fieldhouse. The suspects were quickly apprehended. That incident could have occurred anywhere.
2 - Last summer, there was a bear seen on the edge of campus.</p>
<p>I would have concerns about anyone walking downtown at night, though, unless you were in a large group and coming directly back from the Square to campus. Easton definitely has some sketchy areas, and they’re not all that far from campus - but they’re separated from campus by the huge cliff and by Route 22 - and as hudsonvalley said, there’s no reason for students to be in that area.</p>
<p>Perhaps I was a little harsh Lafalum84. However, I still have people who haven’t been through Easton since I-78 was opened up who question our sanity in allowing our daughter to go to Lafayette because of the “violent crime” problem in the Lehigh Valley. These are some of the same people who are afraid to catch a play at Capitol Rep in Albany or dine in Hudson or Kingston after dark.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your quick replies. I am glad the you confirmed our ‘gut feeling’ that Lafayette is a safe place. We are looking forward to officially attending a tour and info session and hearing some of the music groups at Lafayette over the next year. S2 is only a junior so we have time.</p>
<p>“These are some of the same people who are afraid to catch a play at Capitol Rep in Albany or dine in Hudson or Kingston after dark”.</p>
<p>Or who live in such places as Katonah, or a similar “insular (an upscale) community”. As a resident of Katonah, I am comfortable (and proud) to have my daughter in her second year at LC.</p>