<p>I'm a junior who has been interested in Lehigh for a few months now. That is until I did some more research...</p>
<p>Reasons why:</p>
<ol>
<li>Top</a> North American universities 2012-13</li>
<li>Lehigh</a> University | Best Science School | US News</li>
<li>Lehigh</a> University (Rossin) | Best Engineering School | US News</li>
<li>America's</a> Top Colleges List</li>
<li>etc</li>
</ol>
<p>........why?</p>
<p>The first one isn’t even an American website, notice the “.co.uk” at the end. Plus it just looks really sketchy in general. Schools like Georgetown and Dartmouth are ranked below schools like UC Davis and University of Minnesota.</p>
<p>Second and third ones are graduate school rankings, not undergrad.</p>
<p>And again on the fourth one, the rankings looked messed up. Johns Hopkins is ranked 67 over Kalamazoo College which has a 70% acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Typing “best colleges in the USA” into google and looking at where Lehigh ranks is not “research”. Go to Lehigh’s website itself if you want to learn about their programs, and I’m sure they’ll tell you about all the lists where they’re ranked highly.</p>
<p>Hey @Mindblown,
I’m currently an RD applicant for Lehigh. I want to help clear some stuff for you. Your second link really does not judge Lehigh properly. Many of the top science schools in the country are associated with medical or pharmacy schools. Lehigh does not have either of these thus it lacks the resources, but it has resources that many schools does not have. Their is amazing equipment and mentors at Lehigh that other schools do not have. I’m applying to Lehigh because I do not want to be a number rather than myself. This school has programs where mentors closely work with students in the lab and in the classroom.</p>
<p>Link three is a great representation because it displays how Lehigh Ranks against engineering, but keep in mind that rankings can only attest to a certain degree. Notice that schools like Cornell are in the top 10, but some people may view it as top 5. My best advice is to search around Lehigh’s website, and you will find some amazing stuff. </p>
<p>Sorry to make this post long, but in no shape or form am I trying to make Lehigh sound like the best school ever. I love Lehigh thus understand the bias opinion I might have, but I’m trying to convey to you that you need more effective research.</p>
<p>I have this strange feeling that you are actually here to bash Lehigh, but I’ll assume you are not and are actually just confused (concerned seems too strong) about those rankings. I’ll try my best to interpret them. </p>
<p>First of all, rankings are pointless. There is no debating this; it’s a fact. I’ve seen Lehigh ranked from the top 20 schools in the US to being not even listed on a ‘supposedly’ comprehensive list of US schools. The problem is, the rankings can be based on anything from acceptance rate and matriculation rate (hello, inflated numbers!) to the opinions of guidance counselors (in what world will a greater number of guidance counselors rate Lehigh [Pennsylvania] above the UCs [California]?). What I’m basically saying is that you cannot blindly trust these rankings! I “trust” US News’ college rankins in that they’re based on a lot of different acedemic criteria but mostly because they’re consistant with my very biased opinion. Having said that, I would never say that NYU or Brandeis or William & Mary are better than Lehigh because they’re ranked higher - it’s just a cool statistic to know, I guess. </p>
<p>The only thing that should matter in your college selection is your own opinion. I can PROMISE you that a Lehigh education is nothing less than an Ivy League education except that your diploma won’t say Princeton, Brown, or Columbia, but this shouldn’t matter to you. If you visit Lehigh and you like it - you will - you’ll find out that that’s truly all that matters. They’re an engineering powerhouse. They’re a business powerful. Their accounting department has been ranked #1 in the WORLD, their science facilities are first class, they have surpassed a $1 BILLION endowment (used for not only financial aid but also for lab-level equipment), they’re located between NY city and Philadelphia, and so much more than I have time (and patience) for. </p>
<p>Another thing: as yankeesfanatic said, two of those sources (from US News) are ranking grad schools. Grad school rankings are another matter entirely… The first source is CLEARLY oblivious to the rankings of American schools, and the forth is indeed quite messed up. </p>
<p>Don’t be so quick to discard Lehigh because of some misinformed rankings, please!</p>
<p>Best of luck in your search,
<p>Very well said, Mike!</p>
<p>MindBlown, these rankings are inherently biased and they should not be heavily weighed in your decision to apply to certain college and universities.</p>
<p>Visit our campus and talk to our professors first hand. I’m sure you’ll find that our university is top-notch, particularly for engineering. Frankly, we are one of the best engineering schools in this part of the country - hands down. Everywhere I go, when I tell people I go to Lehigh, they always seem impressed.</p>
<p>Good luck in your college search.</p>
<p>Best,</p>
<ul>
<li>Mike</li>
</ul>
<p>If you’re in doubt, check this out.
[Lehigh</a> University News](<a href=“http://www4.lehigh.edu/news/newsarticle.aspx?Channel=%2FChannels%2FNews%3A+2011&WorkflowItemID=201d5bc0-55dd-4f21-a200-1acf77abc0ad]Lehigh”>Lehigh University News | Lehigh University)
“Lehigh Grads Rank Amongst Top Earners.”</p>
<p>What are you more concerned with, the perceived prestige of your school, or the size of your wallet after graduation?
Great Salary>top US News Rank.</p>
<p>I wasnt sure that the OP was for real. It was a hit and run post and there is a word for that.</p>
<p>There is much discussion on some of the other forums about the ridiculousness of some of these rankings. It appears that the Large Public Uni’s got very highly ranked because of the numbers of published papers. One of the lists has Darmouth ridiculously low… </p>
<p>My daughter didnt care about rankings or prestige. She liked what Lehigh offered, loved the campus, sought out actual former students for their opinions and Lehigh ended up being her favorite, nudging out some very prestigious schools, according to these rankings. She is very happy with her choice and judging by the students and parents who have posted here, I think she made a very good choice indeed.</p>
<p>No, I’m real. Sorry, I’m not consistently on this site to check for responses. I just wasn’t sure, but each and everyone one of you presented a very, very strong case against my “concerns.” Thanks guys</p>
<p>Sorry that I thought you were bashing the school, but I guess it goes to show you how much Lehigh students care about the school. You should read LehighChemE’s thread if you want a TRUE look at Lehigh.</p>