<p>I know that Lafayette is among a few liberal arts college with a particularly strong engineering program. My question is: Why? What grants Lafayette this privilege? </p>
<p>Another question: I heard that National Universities such as USC also adopt liberal arts education. So how is LAC's liberal arts differ from NU's? And how does Lafayette's liberal arts differ from Luther's, because I see there's a $7,000 gap between the two school's tuition fee?</p>
<p>Thanks very much. :)</p>
<p>Tadashl,</p>
<p>Those are excellent questions! On my tours, students often ask me what makes Lafayette’s engineering program distinct or different from other schools. First, I like to note that we are indeed strong with regards to educating our students on the technical aspects of engineering. However, that’s not what makes the program unique. What makes it unique is that it has a special emphasis on teaching students to be creative, outside-the-box kind of thinkers. At many schools, engineers tend to be isolated from other students and are very narrowly focused on math and physics. Here, engineering students take liberal arts electives during their 4 years, and they are also highly encouraged to study abroad (over 1/3 of our engineers study abroad for a full semester!) In addition, many of them get involved in research collaborations with different departments. Engineers often find themselves working on projects with students completely outside their discipline (such as economics, film and media studies, etc.). As a result they learn a great deal about being creative and seeing things from various points of view. In other words, we do not have a “school of engineering”—we have an engineering division within a liberal arts context. That is what gives us such a unique academic dynamic, and it is known among employers. As such, it is likely a big contributor to the fact that we have a 99% professional employment rate among our engineers.</p>
<p>When comparing a school like USC to Lafayette, there is one major distinction to make. Lafayette is a college; USC is a university. Being exclusively undergraduate is a major strength of Lafayette and is a big part of what makes us who we are. Without grad students, Lafayette students have many more research opportunities because they do not have to compete with people who take priority over them. In addition, they receive more personalized attention from professors, have smaller class sizes, and more opportunities to take on important roles on campus. Our faculty and administration are dedicated specifically to being mentors to undergraduates, and it is evident to all of Lafayette’s students. That being said, the university/college distinction is important to consider.</p>
<p>As for your last question, I do not know much about Luther College, so I can’t really provide a thorough comparison. As an LAC, I do not know how their philosophy is different, other than that they do not have that engineering/liberal arts combination that we have (that is pretty unique to Lafayette). You can always begin your research using US News and World Report, Forbes, College Prowler, and a variety of other websites. At the end of the day, however, it is important that you visit both campuses to really see what the two schools are like.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to ask!</p>
<p>Taylor</p>
<p>Thanks so much, captainclueless. The school being strong is one thing, but having enthusiasts like you to promote that strength is just another awesome thing! :)</p>
<p>Hope more high school sophomores like me will find this thread useful :D</p>
<p>You’re welcome! And you can call me Taylor :)</p>
<p>Hello!
I’m an international student (from the UK) and I am really considering applying ED for chemical engineering at Lafayette. I wanted your help with the following questions:
-Are the chemical engineering labs top notch?
-What is the average/smallest class size?
-Do you think I will have limited opportunities in getting internships/externships with companies as a non-US citizen?
-I don’t have the an outstanding high school transcript, do I have a good chance of getting in?
-Is the chemical engineering course any good?
-If I were to apply to UT Texas for petroleum engineering, will my degree be ‘recognised’ alongside a chemical engineering degree from an ivy uni?
-Are there good restaurants at lafayette? OR in Easton?
-How’s the public transport in Easton?</p>
<p>Sorry for all these questions! I probably have more lol!
Looking forward to your reply :)</p>
<p>^ Would like to know as well</p>
<p>Is it difficult for international to get internships? or even secure jobs after graduation in the US as an international student?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Cur non</p>
<p>@Tadashi </p>
<p>I just graduated from Lafayette with a BS in Mechanical Engineering this May. Here’s why I think Lafayette has such a strong engineering program.</p>
<p>Lafayette is a liberal arts college, yet has a traditional engineering program. Unlike some other LACs that offer engineering, which is usually just a general engineering program, Lafayette’s engineering is ABET accredited and meets all the ABET learning outcome requirements. Now, that’s like any other university but Lafayette’s engineering program takes place in the Liberal Arts environment. I took a photography class, a world music class, a course on the rise and fall of Bethlehem steel, a course on the importance of silence in different cultures, courses in the economics department and all these courses taught me how to see the world in a way other than how a Mechanical Engineer sees it. As it turns out, real world has a lot more people who are not Mechanical engineers and it helps to be able to see how other people think. I learnt to communicate with people other than engineers. </p>
<p>The other part. We’re a four year institution i.e. no TAs, no grad students, no post docs. I spent two years in a research lab at Lafayette, working with the professor and not with grad students/post docs. I learnt a lot during that time. I didn’t have to attend tutorials with TAs, as the classes were real classes, with less than 25 people each, taught by Professors, whose offices I could just walk into if I had any question about anything. Throughout four years, I went to see my intro to engineering professors an average of once a week, to get advice on life, future, and more importantly, how to be a good engineer. That’s possible because of Lafayette’s size, and it’s focus on students. Another benefit of being a four year school: I got to do the bulk of work in the research lab, and had more responsibilities than someone in a big school might have had. It prepared me well for graduate school (I’m in grad school right now). For the record, I got paid to do research, not only during summers and winters, but also during semester. Moreover, the professors chose Lafayette because they genuinely wanted to teach. Unlike big R1 schools, where research is a lot more important than teaching, Lafayette is student focused. This makes Lafayette professors Teachers, and Scholars. Who wins? The students. </p>
<p>Moreover, the projects are very hands-on. Even being such a small school - - we had a ton of projects. For our senior year, we had groups of student build a plane, a formula SAE race car, a robot, street skis, and individual students working on a year long research projects in specialized areas in Mechanical Engineering. </p>
<p>@HumbleMitchie </p>
<p>-Are the chemical engineering labs top notch?</p>
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<p>-What is the average/smallest class size?</p>
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<p>-Do you think I will have limited opportunities in getting internships/externships with companies as a non-US citizen?</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>-I don’t have the an outstanding high school transcript, do I have a good chance of getting in?</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>-Is the chemical engineering course any good?</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>-If I were to apply to UT Texas for petroleum engineering, will my degree be ‘recognised’ alongside a chemical engineering degree from an ivy uni?</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>-Are there good restaurants at lafayette? OR in Easton?</p>
<br>
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<p>-How’s the public transport in Easton?</p>
<br>
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<p>@AlvinT
Yes, you can get internships. You gotta work hard for it, but yes you can. I know a lot of international students working in the US after graduation. </p>
<p>My DD is interested in engineering, but both my mother and I think she is a multifaceted young lady. </p>
<p>I have been told that engineering graduates from Lafayette and other LACs are at a disadvantage to other engineering students who have graduated from large universities or tech schools when competing for engineering jobs. This was ascribed to the wider range of engineering electives and the depth graduates of BigU/Tech School can go into.</p>
<p>What has been your experience in Lafayette Engineering grads going right into the work force, and how often did graduates choose grad school because of the lack of engineering employment opportunities?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>@smokinact </p>
<p>It is true, due to the size of Lafayette, we can’t offer the same number of electives as big schools but we actually get a chance to talk to the department about what electives we want. If even after that it’s not enough, then you can actually work one-to-one with a professor for an independent study course. I did Mechanical Engineering, but I did an independent study in Engineering Economics, and another one in the Electrical Engineering department, but with a mechanical engineering professor, on building electrical system of a formula electric car. Here’s what I have found in my four years: if you want to do it, no one will stop you. </p>
<p>As far as getting jobs - the engineering department has 95%+ placement rate, within 6 months of graduation. A lot of employers like the engineering+liberal arts blend, from what I’ve been told by alumni and friends. As for choosing graduate school, at least in Engineering, people don’t go to grad school because of lack of employment opportunities. My Mechanical Engineering class of ~45 students had 3 students go to grad school, including myself. None of us applied to any jobs at all and even in the last two graduating classes that I’m familiar with, I don’t know of anyone who chose grad school because of lack of employment.</p>
<p>Thanks sixstringsrocker, that is what I wanted to hear.</p>
I’m an international applicant and is willing to apply at Lafayette College via ED1. As the deadlines are close, it would be great to hear about the exceptional qualities of attending an engineering course at lafayette.
Moreover, I’ve a SAT score of 1860(Maths-800,CR-530,Writing-530) And gained a 2280 score in SAT2( Maths lvl2- 800, Chemistry-750, physics- 730) I’m pretty happy with my essay(common app) one and ECA’s. So it’ll be great to know what are my chances of getting into Lafayette college. Thanks