Carnegie Mellon vs Haverford vs Lehigh?

College Search & Selection
1

I was recently accepted to Haverford and Lehigh, as well as being priority waitlisted at CMU to the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. I plan on majoring in economics. Also important to note - all of these schools will cost about the same after financial aid. I have a few questions regarding my choice:

  1. How good is the economics program at each school? Lehigh strikes me as an engineering oriented school but its economics program still seems pretty good. Also, I was waitlisted at DC at CMU - is this economics program prestigious at all? Is this program different than economics under the Tepper School of Business? From what I've seen Haverford seems to have a really strong econ program.
  2. Socially, how is each school? Are students generally happy there? Party scene? I want to work hard but also have a good time and I will not go to an overly competitive school where students are miserable. I come from a very competitive high school so workload shouldn't really be too much of an issue, I think the hardest is behind me.
  3. Does anyone know anything about the priority waitlist at Carnegie? Are my chances any good of getting off of it or is it like most other waitlists?

I am deciding whether or not I should just commit to Haverford or if I should try to get off of the Carnegie waitlist. Lehigh is not completely out of the question but I definitely have been leaning more towards Haverford and Lehigh.

2

If you don’t want a competitive environment, I would highly recommend Haverford. Very different vibe than the other two. Carnegie Mellon is much more competitive and Lehigh is competitive, too.

3

Haverford is academically rigorous and has an intellectual vibe but it is not competitive. Students might be competitive with themselves, but overall it is a cooperative and very community minded place. For many classes, due to the strong trust between faculty and students partly because of the honor code, one can take self scheduled exams which is a really nice feature. There are parties, the administration is not authoritative focusing on safety not heavy handedness. Haverford has much more student governance than most colleges. You’re treated like an adult.

Will you have a chance to go to accepted student days at Haverford and Lehigh to check out each school’s vibe? I would say Haverford leans more liberal and less jocky/preppy than Lehigh. It also benefits from a better location, IMO, with easy access to the music/art/dining scene in Philly.

4

CMU is pretty competitive and primarily known for its compsci, engineering, drama and business schools. I’d probably pick Haverford of the three.