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Summary
Lafayette College is a private institution that was founded in 1826. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,414, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 340 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Lafayette College's ranking in the 2012 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 40. Its tuition and fees are $40,658 (2011-12).
Nestled in the College Hill neighborhood of Easton, Pa., is Lafayette College, a liberal arts institution. Easton is a quiet, rural town about 60 miles from Philadelphia and 70 from New York City. One perk of living in rural Pennsylvania: in warm months, students can load up on fresh produce each Saturday at the Easton Farmer’s Market, billed as the nation’s oldest continuous open-air market. In the winter, students can go skiing and snowboarding in the nearby Pocono Mountains. The campus has its own indoor rock-climbing wall and on-campus night club called The Spot for year-round fun. There are about 250 student organizations, including a popular Greek system of close to a dozen fraternities and sororities. Each fraternity and sorority has a house on campus for member students. Freshmen must live on campus at the residential college, and so must sophomores, juniors, and most seniors. About 50 seniors who apply to move off campus will be approved each year. The Lafayette Leopards compete in the NCAA Division I Patriot League, and the football team has a notorious rival with Lehigh University’s squad. Students kick off the year with the President’s Ball, a formal dance, and end the year with All-College Day, a campus-wide celebration with music and food. Students can grab a bite after, too, when faculty members serve them Midnight Breakfast.
The college newspaper, The Lafayette, is the oldest student-run publication in the state. Lafayette students can study abroad for a semester, a year, or even just a month—in January or May. The school’s interim programs, as the monthlong sessions are called, take students to destinations like the Galapagos Islands, Bali, and Egypt over school breaks. In addition, faculty members lead specialty study abroad trips in London and Ghana. Lafayette’s distinguished graduates include Ian Murray, founder of the Vineyard Vines clothing line; and Charles Bergstresser, a founder of Dow Jones & Company.
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Lafayette is classified as one of the nation's most academically competitive colleges and is committed to academic excellence in providing the best possible undergraduate education in the liberal arts and engineering. Lafayette's exceptional faculty are focused on providing student-centered teaching and mentoring, and are committed to each student's success. |
General Information
| School type | private, coed college |
| Year founded | 1826 |
| Religious affiliation | Presbyterian |
| Academic calendar | semester |
| Setting | urban |
| 2010 Endowment | $580,739,715 |
Applying
When applying to Lafayette College, it's important to note the application deadline is January 1, and the early decision deadline is February 1. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due February 15. The application fee at Lafayette College is $65. It is more selective, with an acceptance rate of 41.7 percent.
For more information about the tests, essays, interviews, and admissions process, visit the Applying to College knowledge center.
| Selectivity | more selective |
| Fall 2010 acceptance rate | 42% |
| Application deadline | January 1 |
| SAT/ACT scores must be received by | February 15 |
Academic Life
The student-faculty ratio at Lafayette College is 10:1, and the school has 60.5 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Lafayette College include: Social Sciences; Engineering; Biological and Biomedical Sciences; English Language and Literature/Letters; and Psychology. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 94.5 percent.
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| Student-faculty ratio | 10:1 | ||||||||||
| 4-year graduation rate | 87% - High | ||||||||||
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Student Life
Lafayette College has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,414, with a gender distribution of 53.3 percent male students and 46.7 percent female students. 94.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 6.0 percent of students live off campus. Lafayette College is part of the NCAA I athletic conference.
| Total enrollment | 2,414 |
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| Collegiate athletic association | NCAA I |
Campus Info & Services
Lafayette College offers a number of student services including health service. Lafayette College also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Of the students at Lafayette College, 40 percent have cars on campus. Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at Lafayette College.
| Students who have cars on campus | 40% - Low |
| Health insurance offered | No |
| Students required to own/lease a computer | No |
More About Campus Info & Services
Paying for School
At Lafayette College, 44.5 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $29,622.
Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs.
| Tuition and fees | $40,658 (2011-12) |
| Room and board | $12,362 (2011-12) - High |
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* Overview details based on 2010 data
