<p>HI..my daughter is trying to decide..Lehigh is a great great school but is it better to be in the honors program at a lower ranked school where she will get some great benefits and is a lot cheaper..How hard is it to get the classes you want at Lehigh. One benefit of honors is early registration for classes..</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>Valeriew - my son had to make the same choice last year - between larger lower ranked schools with honors programs and a few higher ranked schools as well. He chose Lehigh because it was a personal fit for him, he wanted a more intimate academic environment.</p>
<p>Signing up for classes first semester is easy as you do it over the summer online. Second semester was nerve racking - he got waitlisted in a few classes he needed to move on in his major. He had to go to the department and get approval for the class as it was a requirement of his major and he got right in. Next year should be easier, I hope!</p>
<p>I will tell you that I am so happy with his decision. His professors are very accessible, he can email then and they get right back to him. They have written letters of recommendation for summer jobs etc. It is a very personal relationship that is developed, at least in the Engineering Dept. In addition the friendly motivated student body is a perfect fit for him. They are well rounded, have fun, but are serious about academics, just like him!</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision and I am sure your daughter will excel wherever she ends up!</p>
<p>Sure, what happens to freshman is that they are the last in line for selecting classes. Some of the intro classes - Chem, Bio, Physics and their labs are chosen by upperclassmen to fulfill their science requirements if they are humanities majors or business majors. So, what can happen is you go to register and the classes are already filled. If it is required in your major you simply go to the department and get a waiver to be admitted into the class. </p>
<p>The professors and advisors are very good about moving things around to make sure you get what you need to move along in your major. It was just nerve racking for the kids because they thought at first they would not get in to the classes they needed. It all worked out fine!</p>
<p>mumof2boyz-I have been following your posts and I like what you have to say about Lehigh. We live in CA, and my son has been accepted into electrical engineering and is very seriously considering attending. We visited over the summer and Dean Lennon and Prof Haller each spent 45 minutes with my son because we happened to be there on a non-engineering tour day, without knowing if he was qualified, or that interested in Lehigh. I was totally impressed. My son gets the concept of a smaller school and the advantages and opportunities it can bring. He has also been accepted to UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, Cal Poly, Bucknell and a few other schools, all for engineering. These are my questions: Do you feel that the Lehigh community is big enough that even if you like to have fun and hang out with friends, you don’t feel like you need to be a part of the Greek scene to have a life? Do the engineering students hang together? Do most eng guys join a fraternity? I don’t know enough about Lehigh Greek life to really have an opinion, I just want to know that there are options, I guess. Also, it’s hard to get a pulse from here, but what would you say is the reputation of Lehigh in terms of potential employers of eng grads? I would think it’s very credible on the east coast. On the other hand, I don’t believe Lehigh has very big name recognition here in CA which makes me think that if indeed my son graduates with an eng degree from Lehigh, he will probably have better luck being employed on the east coast, initially.</p>
<p>CACTOBE - I do feel Lehigh is large enough to have lots of friends and lots to do without going Greek. It is s mid sized school. </p>
<p>Do the engineering kids s hang together - yes and no. My son has “dorm” friends of all majors, “social” friends he has met an events and engineering friends from his classes. They do alot of team/group studying which includes hanging out much of the time. </p>
<p>Engineering is probably the least represented major at frats- mainly because they have a major that involves more studying than others and living in a house is very noisy. I have heard the figure 1/3 engineering pledges, but have no idea if that is accurate.</p>
<p>Reputation - my husband is in engineering and Lehigh has a fantastic rep., actually a bit better than MIT and CMU type schools. Their grads are known to be well trained and well rounded - you can put them in front of a customer and the can converse etc…</p>
<p>If you go to the Engineering Open House you will hear that grad schools love Lehigh grads also, Duke, JHU, MIT etc.</p>
<p>mumof2boysz-Thank you so much for your feedback. As I indicated, I’ve noticed your posts on other Lehigh threads and had the sense that you knew what you were talking about. My son needs to attend the admitted students day at UC San Diego and UCLA next week for our “due diligence”, but I can already see him at Lehigh. I was reassured when you said that Lehigh engineers are well-trained and well-rounded and I think that is supported in their employment stats. It is the unusual engineer that can communicate as well as he can think. I am grateful that my son is coming in with four years of success in speech and debate, and I wonder if that had something to do with his acceptance. Well, whatever, I am thrilled he has the opportunity of attending Lehigh!
Just curious, if I may ask, which engineering program is your son in and what are his impressions? Did he come in with any AP’s or IB’s that exempted him from introductory courses and if yes, was the jump manageable, or did he wish he had re-taken the course at the college level? Thanks again, I truly appreciate the feedback!</p>
<p>cactobe - My son came in with a bit over a semester worth of AP credits, so he is actually a sophomore right now. However, Lehigh will not let you waive a course in your major, even with an AP score of 5. So, he has had to take Bio again. You can test out of lower level Calc, but even though he took AP Calc BC in high school, he opted to start at Calc 1 again. He is glad he did, as Lehigh’s slant on it is much more conceptual than his high school course. </p>
<p>All engineering majors go in as undecided and take engineering 1 which introduces them to all of the types of engineering. They also take a 1 credit seminar in their area of interest where people in the industry come in and discuss different tracks and career paths. Last week he finally could select his specific major - he chose Bioengineering - Cell and Tissue track.</p>
<p>He is also in the Eckardt Scholars program, so waived all humanities requirements. The only non major course he has to take is Economics as it is a requirement at Lehigh for all students. He is taking it online over the summer so he can focus on his major next year.</p>
<p>Impressions of Engineering - very engaged and involved faculty - his advisor is Dr Susan Perry who is a professor in Bioengineering and also the coordinator of the Lehigh Bioengineering Graduate program. Some of the intro classes are review for him- but he is glad he is taking tham as he definitely had some knowledge gaps in certain classes.</p>
<p>Best thing - accessability of professors and the fact that all Lehigh students have to take Economics and have to write papers as part of their science grades. The school is committed to their graduates knowing how to communicate and also having knowledge of the national and world economy.</p>
<p>mumof2boyz-Thank you once again for your insight! I do appreciate it!</p>