Dickinson, Lafayette,and Franklin & Marshall are all good matches academically/stats. Anyone have any input on the vibe/feel/type of students at any or all of them? Down to earth, pretentious, competitive, socially responsible, super-Greek, super-sports, partiers, etc?
Thank you!
We did not visit Dickinson (maybe @intparent can comment, as (s)he had a kid there).
At Franklin and Marshall and at Lafayette, Greek life seemed a pretty central part of campus life for the students with whom we spoke while we were on campus, although all stressed that there were other students who were not part of it and that there was plenty to do on campus. At Lafayette, sports were huge, with a lot of references to The Rivalry with Lehigh. Both, of course, are wonderful colleges with small class sizes, kids who care about learning, and involved/caring professors. I absolutely would not use the words on your list like pretentious or competitive (outside athletics!) to describe the kids there. They were a friendly and pleasant bunch!
If you want to avoid fraternities, you might try Skidmore or Connecticut College, which are at a similar “level” for admissions, and share the same small-college benefits, but have a different sort of culture. Both are former women’s colleges that are now coed, where both the arts and sports have a place on campus, as do other clubs and activities, but there are no fraternities or sororities. Just one example of what the culture is like at these: a big event on Skidmore is Beatlemore Skidmania, where student and faculty bands play Beatles songs, and a big event at Conn is Camelympics, where dorms compete in both sporting events (including things like Quidditch and dodgeball) and things like Scrabble/ Wii Game contests.
My kid is a down to earth and unpretentious kid with no interest in Greek life. She had a great experience at Dickinson. I would say that she is pretty diligent, but more cooperative than competitive. She was a one sport athlete in HS, but did not play in college. She drank a little in college, but was not a regular partier. She had lots of friends, good relationships with many profs, and got a good job through an older student she met there. It was a great fit for her!
We visited and dd applied to all. Dickinson had the best vibe, imo. Nice, diverse student body. Laf and F&M seemed pretty heavy Greek (Laf probably the most) and a bit more, idk, not as nice, diverse, down to earth. Hamilton (if you’re looking for a suggestion) was similar to Dickinson in that the kids overall just seemed awesome. And while they had frats, there weren’t any houses, which I would imagine would be different than colleges that have them. It had a different feel than the other NESCACs we visited; the student body seemed very warm, welcoming, and accepting.
I don’t know all that much about Lafayette.
Both Dickinson and Franklin & Marshall are popular with higher level kids at our school. They are down to earth, socially responsible, curious students. Most are not super sports or super partiers, though some may play a sport at school as well as at college. Those I know who have chosen the schools and returned to share their experiences have loved them.
I wouldn’t consider either school big on Greek Life. For that I think of Washington & Lee or Bucknell…
Out of curiosity I looked each up on College Board for some quick Greek stats:
Washington & Lee
77% Sororities
73% Fraternities
Bucknell
48% Sororities
32% Fraternities
Lafayette
35% Sororities
22% Fraternities
Dickinson
27% Sororities
16% Fraternities
Franklin & Marshall
26% Sororities
20% Fraternities
Whether you consider any of those numbers too high or not is a personal preference. It seems to me that the majority of students at any of the three you asked about are not going Greek so there should be plenty of peers who aren’t interested.
When my son visited Lafayette, we were told it was about 25% Greek and 25% division I athletes. The third 25% is in the Engineering school, and that left 25% who were in none of those 3 buckets. My son decided not to apply. I thought it was beautiful and a good fit, but he couldn’t see himself there. Hope that’s helpful! On the preppy scale, the founders of Vineyard Vines went to Lafayette, and the school is very proud of that association!
We visited all three schools and liked them all. My D went to Lafayette so I can speak in most detail about that school. We really did find Lafayette to have a great mix of kids – even though it is a LAC it seemed that anyone could find “their people.”
Greek life is present on campus for sure but it is easy to have a full, busy, happy social life without taking part in fraternity/sorority life.
I can’t say enough good things about my D’s experience there. The school found that “secret sauce” where students are invested in academics and still find time to get involved in campus activities including al kinds of ECs, research with professors etc.
If you want any additional information feel free to ask.
Those 3 are pretty similar in vibe, and they all attract kids I would describe as nice/regular. Lafayette has D1 football so on game days, the campus is focused on that. Greek life is present but didn’t feel super dominant at any. There are kids who party at all but my sense is that none are really hard partying. I suspect that for most kids who are a good fit at one, the others would be equally good fits. (And that is often not the case when kids are comparing several schools! )
I think the fact that Dickinson doesn’t have Greek housing makes a significant difference in the impact of Greek life on campus.
My DD really loved the atmosphere at Dickinson. I did too, to be honest. We were having trouble parking on a busy day and an admission staff member happened by. He had me park in a “staff only” spot and left a note with on it with his name and extension in case there was a problem. The president was a dynamo and was very approachable. DD was a lone senior on a tour with 4 juniors. She had been on a lot of tours by that time so she felt very comfortable asking lots of questions. The tour guide answered everything and stopped friends passing by to help when she didn’t know the answer.
It ended up not being as strong in her major as she wanted, but DD definitely felt that she was welcomed and would have fit in well there. She loved the little town too.
She also liked Lafayette quite a bit, but it wasn’t quite as comfortable and welcoming. She could have found her people there, but not quite as easily as at Dickinson.
We didn’t tour F&M.
Thank you everyone - great info!
I had not originally considered Lafayette bc I got the impression it was pretty Greek heavy. But glad my D is applying.
My D is not interested in Greek (not now anyway). She likes to attend sporting events for the social, but not sure she wants to be somewhere where sports are end-all/be-all (but I think she would end up liking the school spirit that comes along with it).
I don’t think she would thrive in a super competitive academic environment.
She is a 3-sport athlete in HS, but does not want to compete in college at a varsity level (intramurals for sure!) She really prefers the practices and social that comes with her HS varsity sports (she says she does feel competitive in one sport she has done a long time - but I would guess the social would still rank higher!)
She is not a fashion person (prefers running pants or jeans/shorts. She could use a fashionable roomie to shop for her!)
It sounds like she could be happy at any of these schools – we visited I think ten schools with my D and she came down to four schools she felt she could be happiest at at – and Lafayette (where she attended), F&M,and Dickinson were three of them (with Union College being the fourth).
FWIW my D did surprise us and pledge a very low key sorority at Lafayette. It was not something she planned on doing when she chose Lafayette but she found a number of upperclassmen she knew and liked were in this sorority so she became interested (that is a big advantage of sophomore rush). Even after joining the sorority, she remained fully engaged with her many other ECs, with her many friends on campus, with academics, doing research for professors etc. The sorority turned out to be a nice, but not a huge, part of her life there.
To address a few of your comments:
-In terms of sporting events, the Lehigh/Lafayette games sound fun and seem to bring out a ton of school spirit.
-Your D’s dress code should fit right in on any college campus.
-My D found the students at Laf to be quite cooperative – she enjoyed the academic atmosphere a great deal.
The important thing to know is that these are all great schools that share many attributes. See where your D gets in, see what the finances are (if that is a concern at all), re-visit the top choices if you can and send her off knowing that she is in a wonderful place. Again, if you have any specific questions about Lafayette now or down the road feel free to PM me. Good luck as you go through the process.
Thank you @happy1!