Well, they surely must be need-blind now! They were not two years ago. I will have to be more careful in assuming that nothing ever changes! Thanks for the correction.
@GnocchiB
Lehigh’s campus is adjacent to a commercial street with some eateries and shops and if I recall correctly a Barnes and Noble Lehigh bookstore. Kind of a gritty, tired looking street. At Lafayette you have to walk down a big hill and go off campus to get to a commercial area, but probably would take less than 10 min. Again a little depressed looking. We ate in both locations. Richmond seemed to be situated in an affluent residential area. Not sure how close a commercial area is.
My husband went off campus at Lafayette while I was on the tour and said it was not much. Guide said the real “downtown” was a shuttle bus ride away. The real downtown Bethlehem is a drive or bus ride from Lehigh campus. We spent the night there and loved it - nice restaurants and night life, cute historical area, etc… Didn’t get a chance to look around Richmond, but agree it seems to be in a very residential area, much like Wake Forest.
@Leafyseadragon , this is one of the things we liked about Dickinson. It was right in the center of a cute town, nice restaurants and shops, and it felt like part of everything. It was all within walking distance. Dickinson will probably always feel like “the one that got away” (or, that she let get away.)
There are a few restaurants (pizza, subs & a good coffee/smoothie shop) right outside Lafayette’s main entrance, but I’m sure a decent place to eat would be a drive away in Easton center (we didn’t have time to venture there).
At Lehigh there was a bagel/sub place right near the bookstore at the bottom of the hill, an easy walk from the academic areas. They also had a farmer’s market, and I’m pretty sure a few other small places. As others have mentioned, downtown Bethlehem was a short drive away with a great selection of restaurants and pubs. I recommend the Apollo to anyone going to visit Lehigh, but the brew pub was good, too. If you like handmade chocolate (and who doesn’t) the Chocolate Lab is the real deal.
Villanova, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have anything within walking distance, but maybe we were on the wrong side of campus. Does anyone know? in any case, all three school are still high on the list.
Lehigh has college eateries (pizza, bagels, The Goose (sandwiches), and restaurants/bars (Broadway Social, Tally Ho and more) immediately adjacent to campus on what is known as the South Side of Bethlehem. Also within a couple minutes walk: a pharmacy, banks, etc. The historic north side of Bethlehem is more upscale (that Chocolate Lab) and a quick 3 minute drive. UR is in the middle of a very affluent neighborhood – nothing really seemed to be in walking distance.
I think Richmond is very pretty but I prefer campuses that have restaurants, bars, shops, within walking distance of campus. It really is a matter of personal preference with most of this.
Rollings is right in the center of Winter Park. It is extremely cute, and even has an Amtrack station to bring them right to all the big cities in the northeast.
We visited Lehigh and Lafayette in June, and my daughter loved the little town down the hill from Lafayette. There is a great “Public Market” that houses numerous different cuisines that was fun. Lehigh, on the other hand, came off her list due to the sketchy neighborhood.
There are several inexpensive eateries right adjacent to Lafayette campus. Down the hill in the small city center - 10 minute walk down steep stairs or a quick shuttle ride away- are many very good restaurants, some quirky boutiques and other shops and the indoor public market with excellent food and produce as mentioned above.
1 Like
@stlarenas, about the Lehigh/Lafayette difference, the guidance counselor at our kid’s school helped us put together a list and thought that Lafayette would be a good fit for our quiet studious kid. When we said that we might tour Lehigh as well she strongly advised us against it, saying that the social life and partying would be too intense for our kid. So Lehigh was one school that got crossed off our list even before visiting.
You guys - son just told me he’s thinking about Lafayette again… Which is fine, but just proves to me that he still has no clue what he really wants! Yesterday he was talking about Virginia Tech! I need to start a “My kid has no clue and is driving me crazy” thread. 
@Leafyseadragon One of my kids went to Virginia Tech. It does have a nice area within walking distance of campus with restaurants, bars, and shops. It got Princeton Review’s new number one spot for best quality of life, number 4 for best food., etc. Good luck with your search!
@Leafyseadragon I’d like to join your club Here is a recap of last night’s “My kid has no clue and is driving me crazy” conversation:
My insecure (and seriously stressed out) D was crying last night that she didn’t want to visit any of the safeties on her list. We have a problem that any school within driving distance she knows some kid that goes there that is either “weird” or “mean” or whatever else and insecure teenage girl feels. I was/am hoping a campus visit will alleviate her fears of this but she doesn’t want to visit.
And to make matters worse the schools that are matches and reaches that she says she likes are all pretty far away. (and we won’t visit unless accepted). She says now she is ok with the distance from home, but knowing my insecure kiddo, I am worried that might be a problem come spring.
It’s too bad the colleges don’t allow students to puts ‘dibs’ on a school so that no other weird kids from high school can go there. It sure would make parents’ lives easier to be able to reserve the affordable, nearby school just like we could do for grade school so that the neighborhood bully didn’t go there, or the mean girl from middle school didn’t go to the same high school. Remember how high school was the perfect experience with no issues, no bad treachers, no mean kids? Right.
It is very hard to reason with a crying 17 year old , but I just set the budget, the pros and cons, and said that if they didn’t pick schools in the budget (and that they could get into) they might not have any choices for college and might have to take a gap year.
Just when my daughter was about to pick her school, she found out a frenamy was also committing - same small school, same team. No way to avoid her. It’s worked out fine and they are friendly now. Not BFFs, but they get along.
Other daughter went to a school where a grade school classmate was also going. Her mother and I were good friends, and my daughter kept saying ‘I’m not living with H, not going to be friends just to make you happy, Mom.’ Sadly, my friend was killed right before they started, and my daughter totally changed her view. She contacted H, asked her to go through Rush, they ended up in the same sorority and while they aren’t best friends, they’ve supported each other when needed.
Regarding Greek life and partying. Wisconsin made the Princeton top 15 party schools list again (to the chagrin of school administration) and has less than 10% or so Greek participation. Obviously the rest of the campus doesn’t need Greeks to party.
Greek presence felt on a campus is important to the rest of the students. A strong presence may lead to an insider/outsider feeling, even when the kids live in the dorm. This is a real campus cultural consideration for students to consider when making choices. Academics are not the only factor to consider.
btw- I would never let the party designation deter any student from UW-Madison. The school is large enough to have plenty of room for nonpartiers.
@Lindagaf is there a thread where you posted about visiting Dickinson? It is on my son’s list. thanks for any info!
1 Like
@stlarenas wrote
I’m getting some pushback from D17 about visiting her safeties as well, and my tactic has been to say “choosing a college is an adult decision. Refusing to visit your safeties and give them consideration is NOT behaving like an adult, and that’s just not ok.”
I got a grumpy assent that we could go visit the two safeties. She said she wouldn’t keep an entirely open mind, but that she would listen to what they had to say. I figure I’ll take that small victory, and work hard not to try and talk up the safety when we’re there, which I think would backfire.
^^^^
Safeties: my son loved one safety. He had a great time there and really enjoyed the scene. It’s further than he wants to go, but it offers pretty much everything he wants to do. If he gets rejected by the local schools he’ll head there and it will work out fine.
He wasn’t totally feeling the other safety, but he did not spend much time there. He just wanted to see it and check out the vibe. He thought it was fine, but not as cool as other safety.
1 Like
I think the whole reach-match-safety classification can backfire with some kids, especially when stats/selectivity are used as key criteria in terms of defining schools as such. D basically had one list, “schools I want to know more about.” Yes, the list was reach-heavy, but she ultimately fell in love with a school that could likely be defined as a “safety” for her based on stats/selectivity. If she had gone into the tour with “SAFETY” marked across the school’s logo in her mind, I wonder if she would have been so excited about what she found there.
1 Like