Wesleyan vs Lafayette

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College counselor here. These are two very different schools. There is no "better" because what is better for one student will not be better for another.

Another advisor. Agree. Both great schools and lovely campuses. Each unique with many different aspects in terms of campus, curriculum, financial aid, strength areas, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want engineering in a LAC, then Lafayette. If you want to start a band, Wesleyan.

wesleyan has a dual degree 3-2 engineering program with dartmouth CIT and columbia- that blows away a school like Lafayette

They do offer these, but they don't "blow away" Lafayette. You clearly don't know much about engineering programs. Few students are interested in the 3-2. Lafayette would be a much stronger draw for a potential engineer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want engineering in a LAC, then Lafayette. If you want to start a band, Wesleyan.

wesleyan has a dual degree 3-2 engineering program with dartmouth CIT and columbia- that blows away a school like Lafayette

Dual degree=we don’t have engineering so transfer to Dartmouth after two years and pay for five years of undergrad! That’s not an engineering program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Neither? WASP+Bowdoin +Middlebury are really the only decent lacs

I'd add Bucknell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College counselor here. These are two very different schools. There is no "better" because what is better for one student will not be better for another.

if an obnoxious, status obsessed, shallow, striving DCUM parent asked you which school has a more impressive reputation, what would you say

Bucknell

Bucknell is too jock,frat bro centered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neither? WASP+Bowdoin +Middlebury are really the only decent lacs

I'd add Bucknell.

No one else would. It isn’t a prestigious liberal arts college and is in a dump of a town. Maybe great for rich white kids with daddy’s money

[Anonymous]

Both are ivy league, rich prep rejects. So it doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Lafayette is more pre-professional than Wesleyan. Wesleyan is a more “out there” liberal arts-focused place with more over the top rich folks. There is plenty of wealth at Lafayette too, but Daddy is more likely to be a C-suite exec or business owner instead of an entertainment industry professional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lafayette is more pre-professional than Wesleyan. Wesleyan is a more “out there” liberal arts-focused place with more over the top rich folks. There is plenty of wealth at Lafayette too, but Daddy is more likely to be a C-suite exec or business owner instead of an entertainment industry professional.

I think you got it backwards. The wealthy c suite execs are the ones with the capital to send their kids to Wesleyan to get arts degrees.

[Anonymous]

Wesleyan is a great school, despite the fact that kids there skew heavily to the wealthy/private school demographic. This is in part due to the low endowment, which forces Wesleyan to pick up lots of full-pay kids, etc. But it's a very good school and has a strong reputation in my field at least, and in my wife's (I'm an academic in the humanities, she is a writer). I think the demographics there obscure to some extent how good the school is, if that makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wesleyan is a great school, despite the fact that kids there skew heavily to the wealthy/private school demographic. This is in part due to the low endowment, which forces Wesleyan to pick up lots of full-pay kids, etc. But it's a very good school and has a strong reputation in my field at least, and in my wife's (I'm an academic in the humanities, she is a writer). I think the demographics there obscure to some extent how good the school is, if that makes sense.

Are we talking about the same institution with a $1.7 billion endowment for just 3,000 students? They keep the high private school/ wealthy crowd out of greed, not necessity

[Anonymous]

DD is considering Lafayette. I keep reading it’s a little fratty/bro-y, but what are the female students like?

DD is super into sports, both playing and watching. She’s academically interested in history and policy/politics/government. Leans progressive but is not at all political or activist in personality. (Steering clear of schools that attract a protest-oriented student body.)

Oh, and she grew up in a suburb of a small, down to earth, midwestern city. Excellent public school with lots of rigor, but no experience with the more elite/sophisticated NYC/DC crowd.

Open to hearing about the female student body at Wesleyan, too. Our hunch is it’s not a fit, but that’s just a guess at this point.

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of legitimate reasons like school culture, specific opportunities, or major why you might prefer one over the other. But when you ask a broad question like "better," it's hard not to go to the basic stats.

Wesleyan is much more selective (under 20%) than Lafayette (over 30%) and has a more high-performing applicant pool.

Use CDS to compare the number of students who submit scores to see how different the populations are:

Wesleyan enrolled first-year SATs (25th%-75th%) are: 1300-1500 with roughly 71% of them submitting scores.

Lafayette enrolled first-year SATs (25th%-75th%) are: 1350-1470 with roughly 45% of them submitting scores.

"Better" is really about fit and is very subjective. But reputationwise, selectivity, performance of applicants, Wesleyan is definitely a cut above Lafayette.

[Anonymous]

They both are in blue collars cities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of legitimate reasons like school culture, specific opportunities, or major why you might prefer one over the other. But when you ask a broad question like "better," it's hard not to go to the basic stats.

Wesleyan is much more selective (under 20%) than Lafayette (over 30%) and has a more high-performing applicant pool.

Use CDS to compare the number of students who submit scores to see how different the populations are:

Wesleyan enrolled first-year SATs (25th%-75th%) are: 1300-1500 with roughly 71% of them submitting scores.

Lafayette enrolled first-year SATs (25th%-75th%) are: 1350-1470 with roughly 45% of them submitting scores.

"Better" is really about fit and is very subjective. But reputationwise, selectivity, performance of applicants, Wesleyan is definitely a cut above Lafayette.

In the grand scheme of things, and especially using the SAT score metric, these schools are about the same.

"This school is 1300-1500 and that school is 1350-1470, so obviously the former is definitely a cut above the latter." Puhleaze.