<p>I want to be an engineer at Lehigh. I am a rising senior, in state, although I know that doesn't matter.</p>
<p>GPA is the major problem. 3.5 W, mainly because of very bad freshman year. Upward trend in my grades since then. Mostly AP and Honors classes.</p>
<p>SATs: CR-740
M-670
W- 710
SAT II Bio: 650</p>
<p>ECs- Volunteered as local soup kitchen for the last 10 years. Volunteered for an election campaign in 2010, total about 500 volunteer hours. I have a job in a sports retail store.</p>
<p>I’m a chemical engineer at Lehigh, and I can definitely say Lehigh’s a great engineering school. Let’s go over everything you gave me.</p>
<p>You’re right, your GPA is a little lower than the average of Lehigh engineering applicants. That’s not a deal breaker. If your grades show continued improvement in high school (as in you’re not slacking off right now), then you’ll be fine with that number.</p>
<p>Your SAT grades are impressive, so good job. Consider taking the ACT and see how you do.</p>
<p>Your volunteering record is exceptional - that’s a lot of hours. I hope you incorporated that into your essays, because that’s the sort of thing that makes you stand out.</p>
<p>Your chances are good. The thing you forget to mention was if you visited campus or got an interview. Try to visit as many Lehigh tours/events as possible. Try getting an interview and see if you can network with some alumni in your area. Lehigh is attracted to students that show interest and enthusiasm.</p>
<p>Good luck. Let me know if you’ve got any more questions.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the answer! To answer your question, yes, I did visit Lehigh once for an official campus tour. I loved it, although at that time I figured that I wouldn’t apply because getting in was unrealistic. While I am certainly not optimistic of my chances, I say “screw it!” and am applying there as a reach.</p>
<p>I did learn that Lehigh keeps track of how many times you contact them, so I will be sure to send a few emails to my counselors. Due to my low GPA, do you think an interview would help me out? And as a general question, what kind of engineering is most popular among the Lehigh engineers? Do you know if Lehigh’s Bioengineering program is strong?</p>
<p>You’re not giving yourself enough credit. I honestly don’t think Lehigh is just a reach school for you. Your grades are Lehigh material, and I think you can get in.</p>
<p>Your second question is tricky. I’d say that mechanical and electrical engineering are the most popular engineering fields. This is probably because they’re regarded as the “easier” engineering disciplines. That’s misleading because engineering here in general is difficult, but these fields are slightly easier than others, and it doesn’t mean that the other engineering fields are inferior in any way.</p>
<p>Honestly, chemical engineering gets a bad rap for being insanely difficult, but I’ve managed it thus far. Bioengineering is also considered a little tougher.</p>
<p>As to your last question, the bioengineering program synthesizes a lot of material together. You’ll take chemical engineering courses and a lot of the same classes pre-meds take. I think during sophomore or junior year you declare a concentration in the program (i.e. pharmaceuticals, etc.). Overall it is a strong program.</p>
<p>Yes, I will definitely schedule an interview for December. In regard to academics, how easy is it to switch majors? Let’s say I was admitted to the College of Arts and Sciences and I wanted to switch into the College of Engineering or vice versa. Is it often done by students, and do you think applying to the College of Arts and Sciences to improve my chances of admittance would be a wise decision?</p>
<p>In the College of Engineering, freshmen engineers don’t declare their specific major (chemical, mechanical, bioengineering, etc.) until their second freshmen semester in the spring. This gives engineers time to confirm the fields they are interested in. Not too many engineers switch within the college, although it isn’t impossible.</p>
<p>Switching in between colleges is different. It requires paperwork and signatures. I have heard of students switching between Arts and Sciences and Business, and I’ve also seen students in the College of Engineering switch to Arts and Sciences. To be honest, I’ve never heard of an Arts and Sciences or Business student switching into the College of Engineering.</p>
<p>Statistically, you’re more likely to get in to the Arts and Sciences college because their average grades for incoming freshmen are lower than those in the Engineering college. HOWEVER, that shouldn’t be how you think about applying to Lehigh.</p>
<p>I’m fairly certain Arts and Sciences doesn’t offer an equivalent to bioengineering. Don’t change majors and what you want to do based solely on which college you think you could get into. Apply as an engineer here and see what happens. I think you’ll be surprised.</p>
<p>Hey sorry to jump in a little late, but can somebody chance me. Im finish my sophomore yr in hs and hav a 3.5UW/3.9W GPA. I do a lot of honors and APs. I hope to get into Lehigh’s ChemE program. Does anybody know if my stats would land me a position for their engineering program. Also, in regards to the college costs (I understand that its around $55K w/ room and board), does anybody know about their athletic scholarships for cross and if they would be substantial for somebody in the top 10% of IL cross country? </p>
<p>PS Im middle class caucasian, so welfare wont work.</p>
<p>“Statistically, you’re more likely to get in to the Arts and Sciences college because their average grades for incoming freshmen are lower than those in the Engineering college. HOWEVER, that shouldn’t be how you think about applying to Lehigh.”</p>
<p>Where did you see that statistic?</p>
<p>Lehigh Class of 2016 Math middle 50% 660 - 700</p>
<p>I think the original poster should retake the SAT after doing some math prep. His low GPA and low-ish math SAT won’t make him a shoo in for engineering. But we all know that holistically Lehigh accepts a wide range of students.</p>