I am a senior looking to major in business at either Emory or Lehigh. I am currently being recruited by both schools for athletics and was wondering which would provide the better experience through athletics as well as academics and future through their business schools. i know Emory is a superior business school but it is only 2 years and Lehigh is a lot closer to home. Also, how does the social life compare?
Lehigh’s business school is actually quite good and places very well on Wall Street if that maters to you. They are also a focus school of the Big 4. Deloitte’s CEO is a Lehigh grad so they spend a lot of time on campus. I Believe the CEO of Nasdaq is also a Lehigh grad. Although not a “target” for the street, their alumni is fierce. Go on Linkedin and see where folks are working. Very strong presence in the northeast.
Other than it being a great school, don’t know much about Emory.
Emory’s business school (GBS) really isn’t two years. 50% actually enroll spring semester of their sophomore years and you would be pre-business before business. That means you would be doing requirements for the business school which are standard business courses. Emory and Goizueta wants its students to develop critical thinking schools and get a solid liberal arts foundation as well.
GBS is one of the top business schools in the country. You can read about it here in the write up in Poets & Quants for Undergrads Business.
https://poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/school-profile/emory-university-goizueta-business-school/
Emory is a short flight from the northeast and mid-atlantic states and many students from the northeast matriculate at Emory. It’s a cheap and quick flight home and Atlanta is a great place to be for four years. One of my kids is an Emory student and enjoys the social life on campus as well as in Atlanta.
If you are being recruited by both schools, you should visit both and try to get a feel of where you want to spend your next four years. Also, visit GBS and get an appointment with the pre-business advisors. Both of them are great and will support you during all four years at Emory, in the college or at GBS. Good luck with your choice.
FWIW US News ranked Emory’s undergraduate business program at #15, while Lehigh’s came in at #91 last year.
With respect to athletics, I have spent time on both campuses. Lehigh for wrestling tournaments & Emory and the adjacent area for track & field running events.
If you are serious about track & field, the clear choice is Emory–or, more accurately stated, Atlanta. The Atlanta Track Club offers year round competition & often includes very accomplished competitors.
Economically speaking, Atlanta is a boom town while Bethlehem-Allentown area is a bit depressing.
Social life at Lehigh is centered around drinking, while Emory offers a wide variety of options due to both location & campus culture.
But Lehigh has easier access to New York City which makes interviewing for internships easier if interested in IB.
I’m fairly familiar with both schools. My H attended Lehigh and my S is currently a student athlete at Emory.
Culturally, the schools are quite different. Socially, Lehigh is dominated by fraternities–you will pretty much need to join one. Emory also has frats but they are not quite at dominant as at Lehigh. Lehigh is more of a work hard, party hard school than Emory (not to say there isn’t partying at Emory, it’s just a different level). My S’s coach told us many athletes who also join frats have a hard time balancing the demands of both. My S is not a member of a frat; he feels he gets enough of the “family” feel from his teammates.
Emory is in a major metropolitan area; Lehigh is fairly far from a major city (NY/Philly). You will need to decide if that is important to you. Definitely visit both campuses. Lehigh is ivy-covered, New England-y; Emory is more modern looking, and less green (but definitely not urban).
Emory is D3, Lehigh is D1, so you won’t get athletic money from Emory. If finances are a concern you need to look into this. Emory doesn’t have a football team, if that’s important. Many Emory students support Georgia Tech football if they are interested in that sort of thing, but it’s not the same as having your own school team. Emory has school spirit but it doesn’t revolve around supporting sports teams.
While it is true that GBS is not a 4 year school and you need to apply into it during your sophomore year, most of freshman and sophomore year at Emory is used to take gen ed courses in ECAS, and prerequisites for GBS (economics, stats, English, etc.) which are housed in ECAS. I would imagine you’d be taking similar classes the first 3-4 semesters at Lehigh in the business school but I don’t know for sure as I am not as familiar with their requirements.
Is the weather important to you? As a track athlete, you might prefer the milder winters. For my S this was important.
You should really try to visit both schools, and meet potential teammates. See where you feel more comfortable. Both schools are great options but there are pluses and minuses which you will have to weigh for yourself.