Lafayette College in Easton, PA offers two unique characteristics among liberal arts colleges; they offer an engineering degree, and they have a Division 1 (D1) sports program.

The campus is set up on a hill, and is quite beautiful. For a student who wants either engineering or D1 sports but is nervous about a large university environment, Lafayette could be a great choice, as the campus and environment seems more manageable. Easton is a small, vibrant city (I heard it described as having a hipster, foodie vibe), and the school is doing more to integrate with Easton, including building their new black box theatre and arts complex downtown. My tour guide assured me that even though many students (about 1/3) students are involved in Greek life, the community is very open, and there are many options for students to get involved on weekends in activities.

Lafayette boasts about strong career counseling, which starts by matching each freshman with an advisor. Since this relationship is started early, the students focus on a career path and how that can be tied to their choice of major. More than 50% of students do research during their time as undergraduates, and they also have a strong alumni network, with 40% of students finding a job or internship through an alumni connection by the time they graduate.