<p>Yesterday, I visited Lehigh. I'm originally from the area, but I moved down into the DC area. I wanted to see if Lehigh could really be a nice way to return home. My tour guide was nice, the other people were not. I didn't realize that Lehigh was so homogenous. I've heard of the race issues in the past (and I'm sorry to bring this up, because it has been a lot). I want to know upfront if the problems really exist. Please do not pretend they do not because no place is perfect. I come from a place that is so diverse in the back of the bus together we had: an Indian guy, a Chinese girl, a Vietnamese guy, a Black girl, and a Jewish Area. I don't believe in self-segregation, so, if people really do have a problem with each other here, let me know and I'll cross it off my list. </p>
<p>Though my tour guide was was the nicest person and I really like the way she made the school appear, I felt so uncomfortable walking the grounds of this place. Please note that I am Liberal.</p>
<p>Since you did not share specifically what made you uncomfortable and why you feel the tour guide was nice but others were not, this is difficult to answer. If your concern is the percentage of minority students and diversity, I would suggest you take a look at the percentages noted on the Lehigh website. Of course, you should never attend a college where you felt uncomfortable but I have seen no evidence of racism at Lehigh, nor has my son and his girlfriend (she is Chinese, he is white).</p>
<p>Yeah, I see that I wasn’t very clear. I’m black and very open minded. The tour guide was vet putting and I got along with her very well. Other people (other tour guides and visitors) tended to be ice cold. The problem is that I know the Lehigh Valley area really well, but I’ve never felt so awkward im my life. I just got the vibe that
I didn’t belong. I got the same vibe from Villanova. The problem is that maybe I misjudged it because I visited in the summer, but I’ve heard of some sketchy incidents. I don’t want to spend 4 years of my life trying to fit in with people who will never like me and I am certainly not saying it is the case with everyone. I feel like the staff itself maybe in denial about how not diverse Lehigh really is.</p>
<p>Well, I am a believer in going with your gut. My son felt he “did not belong” at several schools, almost immediately. Lehigh is not right for everyone for sure. That being said, I will caution you that it is totally different in the summer and that is true for all schools. At that time, you tend to see mostly visitors on campus rather than students. If you are truly interested in the school, but worry about the vibe and diversity, I would urge you to take another look in the fall when the full time students are actually there. Another suggestion is that you contact admissions and ask if there is a black student you could speak to about their personal experience at Lehigh.</p>
<p>Lehigh IS fairly homogenous; however, that being said…I’m not sure racially/ethnically, it is all that different from many other highly selective, conservative-leaning, private universities, where it is often difficult to attract or create a diverse student body. </p>
<p>There have been several incidents in recent years. I was not at Lehigh at the time, but several classmates in my Grad program (who were Lehigh undergrads) mentioned some race issues during the 2008 election and following Obama’s victory. There was also an incident this Fall during a Halloween party where student(s?) had donned blackface, although I believe it was stated it was not intended to be malicious…</p>
<p>My son is 1/2 Puerto Rican, 1/2 Causacian, we are a conservative Christian family but he’s pretty apolitical, son loves Pittsburgh and Philly (we’re from So. Cal which is very diverse and son is used to that), and he got a card in the mail about a special diversity program this fall.</p>
<p>Lehigh has never been on his list because they don’t seem to give enough F. Aid but I do see that they offer at least a few full ride scholarships.</p>
<p>Son has lots of college physics and math under his belt and is doing graduate level physics research currently and is looking at schools known for very strong math/physics.</p>
<p>Would Lehigh be a school that he might consider? Honestly, I would only have him consider it if I knew there was the possibility of full scholarships.</p>
<p>Both. Our income was 78K last year for a family of 5 so EFC on various calculators comes in at 10-13K. We hope to provide 5K. But at a school like Lehigh that doesn’t meet need, he’d be looking for merit.</p>
<p>We have been extremely happy with financial aid at Lehigh. They met our EFC much better than other schools our D applied to. Met our FASFA EFC very well. They do have loans as components in the aid package but since Lehigh is a school which educates very well paid graduates I feel that it is worth it.</p>
<p>My D is a senior this year and every year I have been very happy with our aid package. </p>
<p>If your EFC is 10 to 13 k, I would expect that would be what Lehigh would expect you to pay. When we compared packages when our D was applying, Lehigh’s package was really good compared to other offers she got.</p>
<p>I would not expect a full ride scholarship though. Lehigh has so many high performer kids, everyone is so smart and accomplished. I think Lehigh is more committed to expanding diversity and meeting financial need.</p>
<p>We’ll see if my son gets the invite. If he does and visits and likes the school, he’ll apply. I realize full rides are hard to come by. My son’s a strong candidate but who knows in these competitive times! Glad to hear it’s a good school for aid; it didn’t seem that way looking at the average indebtedness on College Board.</p>