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.
Puhleaze.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.
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.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Neither? WASP+Bowdoin +Middlebury are really the only decent lacs
I'd add Bucknell.
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![]()
Anonymous wrote:Neither? WASP+Bowdoin +Middlebury are really the only decent lacs
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
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
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.