<p>Thanks for your questions. I’m sure a lot of people are asking the same kinds of questions this time of year, and I’m glad you’ve got the initiative to ask me.</p>
<p>You’re definitely correct in how people perceive Lehigh. We’re an engineering school first, a business school second, and a liberal arts school third. But that’s not to say we’re a bad liberal arts school - it’s just less well-known. However, I’d say in the College of Arts and Sciences, the more scientific majors like physics, chemistry, or biology are what the college tends to really emphasize. Frankly, I don’t hear anything about our English or history programs, nor do I know many people majoring in English or history.</p>
<p>It is absolutely possible to major in business and minor in English or history - even if you’re going to be busy as an athlete. In fact, I would recommend this option over just a major in English or history by itself. Our business college is top-notch, and most of its students work pretty hard. The reward is well worth it - a lot of Lehigh business graduates work on Wall Street. So you are defintely fine if you study it here at Lehigh - I’d bet our business program is better than most liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>Your math SAT score is high enough to lead me to believe you could deal with the math as a business major. I’ve seen some of the math business students do, and it looks easy to me - mostly statistics. That’s a slanted point of view, though, since I deal with rigorous calculus everyday as a ChemE.</p>
<p>hi mike, i have a few questions about specific departments, since others have expressed concerns about the college of arts and sciences falling behind engineering and business.</p>
<p>between political science and international relations, which program is stronger and more structured? which program is more popular?</p>
<p>do you know anything about the global citizenship program?</p>
<p>To start with your first question, Lehigh’s International Relations (IR) program is far more revered than its Political Science program. I know many more IR majors than Political Science majors, and I’ve seen first-hand what IR students can accomplish at Lehigh.</p>
<p>I’m a student leader for the GlobaLehigh preLUsion (pre-orientation) program, which centers heavily on globalization and current affairs. We tour the UN, meet with alumni in New York, and explore the South Side. Even though I’m an engineer and many other engineers partake in this program, this year I think we had 6 or 7 IR students in the program, so I have some experience with what they go through. </p>
<p>Most of these students are also involved in the Global Citizenship program. Essentially, students take a few extra courses, attend seminars, and go abroad to help with some international projects. It’s a great resume builder and gives students an extra globally-oriented edge.</p>
<p>Lehigh IR students have great opportunities, especially with regard to the UN. Because Lehigh is one of the only universities to be an NGO with the UN, we’ve got a special relationship where students have the rare chance to intern at the UN. It’s really a great setup for IR students. Frankly, I just don’t hear that much about Political Science opportunities.</p>
<p>What kind of transportation opportunities for the students to get to malls, movies, Walmart/Target, etc? Is there public transportation, university buses, etc?</p>
<p>Thanks, reading this thread has been enlightening</p>
<p>I’m glad you like this thread. The university regularly offers free shuttle buses to the local movie theater, Walmart, and the Lehigh Valley Mall but only on Friday and Saturday nights. Here’s the link for the Lehigh shuttles’ schedules:</p>
<p>LANTA offers paid public bus transportation around the region, as well. The LOOP is a popular LANTA route around both sides of the Lehigh River in Bethlehem. I’d say not many students actually use public transit, however. Some are able to find upperclassmen with cars who take them places. For example, in the marching band, a couple of juniors drove a bunch of us over to the Red Robin on Airport Road outside Bethlehem for a dinner out.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great answers Mike, I agree with everyone else that you have been so incredibly helpful. I myself have never been on campus so being able to talk to a current student and get honest answers about everything has been awesome.</p>
<p>Since you mentioned orientation, I was wondering how that works. Is there a program prior to on-campus orientation? I know many schools have outdoor/leadership type programs. What specifically is the GlobaLehigh preLUsion program?</p>
<p>It means a lot that prospective students like you enjoy this thread. Here’s how the pre-orientation / orientation process works.</p>
<p>Each year, orientation starts with move-in on Thursday and runs through Sunday leading up to the first day of classes on Monday. Orientation is mandatory and includes all the standard offerings you would expect - Lehigh’s resources, campus safety, social policy, and getting involved.</p>
<p>About 10-20% of admitted freshmen take advantage of Lehigh’s pre-orientation program, called preLUsion. Students pay around $200-$300 and pick one specific program to be a part of. Participants move in early on Monday morning and go through their programs until Thursday when orientation starts. It’s a great option to get on campus early and get to know people a little earlier. No matter which preLUsion you pick, I highly recommend it. The link I’ve attached contains a summary of each program. To answer your question, an outdoor program is an option:</p>
<p>GlobaLehigh is one of the pre-orientation preLUsion programs. I participated in it when I was a freshman and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to help lead it as a student ambassador. It’s a small group of 10-20 students with a nice mix of all majors, but there are many IR and Global Citizenship students. Over these three days, we eat at local ethnic places off campus in Bethlehem’s South Side and hear lectures from some of Lehigh’s globally-minded professors. On the second day we visit New York where we tour the UN and talk to dignitaries, eat in Chinatown, and visit Lehigh alumni working on Wall Street. We wrap up the program with tours of the campus and the South Side.</p>
<p>Sorry for continuing to ask but I haven’t been on campus yet so I am trying to get as best a picture as I can. Could you give me some information on the financial aid process? Is the University more generous about giving out financial aid or does need play a big role in deciding whether or not a student is admitted? I submitted for more than $30000 need per year so I am hoping that that does not negatively impact my chances. Also how do scholarships work? Are there many available?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Overall, Lehigh admits students based on ability and doles out financial aid as a secondary process. Lehigh won’t deny you admittance based on how much you can afford to pay for college. I’ve only heard of Lehigh denying international students based on how much aid they request, because there are so many requests. I also requested a large amount of aid like you did and Lehigh took good care of me in that regard.</p>
<p>Lehigh has need-based aid and several smaller alumni scholarships, like the Stabler scholarships for example - those are the kind that I have. My aid is about evenly split between scholarships and need-based aid. Some scholarships aren’t actually awarded until you start a second year at Lehigh with a high GPA. Honestly, I haven’t heard of huge half- or full-ride scholarships, but I have heard of a lot of financial need-based aid being given out to students who need it. And as a note, ED students generally get more compared to RD students.</p>
<p>I never attended D-Life Weekend, but I was invited. I’ll try and tell you everything I know.</p>
<p>Memory92, even though it is named “diversity”, the program is open to all students, not just minorities, and it’s a big variety of prospective students.</p>
<p>Greggles, last year around 125 students participated. Basically they sleep over in dorms with other Lehigh students, eat for free in our dining halls, and participate in other activities. Honestly I only know what other people have told me about it, and I don’t really know what these activities involve. It would be nice if Lehigh gave you an agenda so you could see what you’re getting into.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I have heard a couple of horror stories involving D-Life Weekend. Some prospective students get placed with raunchier Lehigh students and get prematurely exposed to the partying scene on campus. I’ve heard that some prospective students were completely turned off by it. You’ll have your chance to look into it when you actually start here, and I don’t think you should be exposed to it this early.</p>
<p>Overall though, it seems like a great option to see what life is like here. Don’t let those stories discourage you. I’m sure Lehigh is dealing with that aspect of it and give you stuff to do.</p>
<p>Just because you weren’t invited to Diversity Life Weekend, I don’t think it necessarily means you weren’t accepted to Lehigh.</p>
<p>I’m assuming this on the basis of logistics. Here’s my logic: Lehigh probably accepts 2000 to 3000 students with the hope of building a class of around 1800 to 2000, and if they invited all of those admitted students to D-Life - and only half of them actually wanted to go - they still couldn’t develop the resources to take care of that many students. About 200 usually go to D-Life Weekend.</p>
<p>This campus was buzzing last night. When the game wrapped up on TV, you could hear cheering across campus. Beating the most hated basketball school in the country - #2 Duke - was an incredible upset. They really did underestimate us.</p>
<p>Those guys on the men’s basketball team are spectacular. What separates Lehigh men’s basketball from Duke’s team is that our guys are still here for the degree. Like all Lehigh students, they’ve got the drive to be excellent, and they showed that last night. Our star player, CJ, is only a junior - I can’t imagine how great the team will be next season, but we’ve still got to keep fighting our way through the brackets!</p>
<p>Citygirl13 - While an invitation to D weekend means you are accepted, not getting and invitation does not mean you are NOT accepted! My son was not invited to D weekend, but was accepted and received the Dean’s scholarship. Good luck!!!</p>
<p>yo man, I applied to lehigh RD what are my chances</p>
<p>34 ACT, 800,780,770, 750 SAT II (Math ii, physics, math i, bio respectively)
top 10%
lots of ECs and a national science award
and lol I take classes at lehigh</p>