Lafayette College Top Questions

Lafayette prides itself on the personalized attention professors pay their students. Because this is an undergraduate school, professors devote their time and energy to teaching. They are constantly available, above and beyond the official hours that are posted outside their doors. They encourage students from different disciplines and majors to come together in class and collaborate, and students out of their own doing will often find themselves embroiled in deep "life talks" -- in the stairwell, at the library, or even over a sandwich at Simon's. LC is a very inclusive community, and with most of the professors living on College Hill and all the students tucked away in the various corners of our campus, we are constantly running into friendly faces.

The academics are the best part about Lafayette. I'm an English major, and I've loved every course I've taken. The professors are just plain brilliant, and most of them are also extremely devoted to their students (they'll give you extra help, meet with you, chat with you, and, in my case, help you figure what the heck you want to do with your life). That being said, the workload is on the heavy side. Expect to be doing lots of reading and lots of writing. It's worth it, though. You'll learn a ton.

Academics are tough but rewarding. I am a government major, which is a 10 class requirement, which means that I have plenty of time to explore other subjects and areas that I am interested. The professors will challenge you but are always willing to help

The academics here are probably the best thing about it. I liked all of the classes I took and found a new appreciation for hard work. There are definitely your fair share of really smart people here. All professors know your name. Because of its size, you won't get many large classes and even in these, the teachers will know your name. I know a lot of Posse students, people from the inner city. This is Lafayette's way of creating some diversity on campus, because frankly, there isn't any. I have most of my intellectual conversations with these people and some of my good friends are part of this group. I am actually going on a retreat with them next weekend and am mad excited for it. However, this excitement about being on campus is a rare thing. I don't know my major yet and you don't have to decide until the second half of sophomore year, which gives you some nice time. Students aren't really competitive; they help each other with homework and assignments. This atmosphere is pretty nice. I think the education at Lafayette is geared towards learning. That's probably the best thing about it. Some teachers here are really really cool. Take Basic Social Questions with George Panichas. Definitely one of the best teachers on campus. Believe me you will love that class. Really good discussions on abortion, gay rights, and the such. David Sunderlin is also an interesting guy. He really loves geology and teaches Dinosaurs, Darwin, and Deep Time, so if you're interested in an introductory geology class, take that one. You can see that he's really passionate about the subject, and it makes the class worthwhile. Basically, many people come here for academics and realize that even though the academics are good, it doesn't make the whole college experience.

As a first year engineering student I hear a lot about what my academic future holds here at Lafayette. I've talked to seniors who appear to be burnt out when truth be told, they're just got a glimpse of the real working world. They have met the demands that their careers entail and now have immediate job opportunities available to them. You'll find hard workers at Lafayette and that's because they're prepared to enter the work force.

I am a civil engineering major. So most of my class require a little more and you might think they are tough class. In fact, they are no easy class here. If you don't like a course, you can switch to another easily. As I wrote above, most of professors have a lot time in their office. You could find them sitting in their office all day long sometimes. In addition, I have to Lafayette is a very competitive college. So be prepared. Get as many AP as you can if you want to have double majors.

Lafayette has wonderful academics. If a student is looking to come to the school, it should be first and foremost because of its academics. Students who come to this school can get an incredible amount out of our academic programs, provided he or she is willing to work hard and put the effort in. Lafayette professors are completely accessible and enjoy nurturing driven students toward whatever direction they are interested in.

Very difficult, but that's to be expected if you're applying here. It's worth the work though.

The faculty is by far the best part of Lafayette. The professors not only know you by name, but they know your career goals and your extracurricular interests. Lafayette is a solely undergraduate college, so every class you have is taught by a professor, and the professors are able to focus 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of their energy on you. There are lots of research opportunities that typically are reserved for grad students at other universities, but at Lafayette you can do as an undergrad. I was a psychology major and I go to do labs with rats, pigeons, children, and Lafayette students. Psychology is a natural science at Lafayette, so there is lots of research and lab work being done in Oechsle Hall - a beautiful building! My favorite class was Advanced Social Psychology, where we spent time learning about the influence of law in the judicial system in areas like the death penalty, eyewitness memory, and jury selection. I also minored in music at Lafayette. You don't have to major or minor in music to participate in ensembles or take music classes, though. I loved my music theory courses - we did composition, keyboard training, sight singing and more. I even learned African drumming in my course on world music traditions.