My S21 is interested in this program – I know it’s very small and competitive for admission. Would love to hear any insights anyone might have including background if admitted and experiences/feedback on the program. What are they looking for?
He’s got the language part – he was in Spanish/English dual language from pre-school through 8th grade so he’s fluent in Spanish.
He’s leaning computer engineering but also very interested in the business side of the house which is why this program interests him. I think he sees himself in the tech industry (but don’t a lot of kids these days?) and the IBE grads seem to go more to global Fortune 100 companies based on the profiles on the program’s website? So I’m curious if the program has a tech/entrepreneurial bent or is it more traditional corporate focused?
He’s a very outgoing kid with strong social skills. Involved in robotics and rocket club. Loves problem solving and pretty wide ranging interests including global issues and justice. Becoming a pretty good writer which I’m happy to see.
I’m concerned about the 5 years to get both the engineering and business degrees b/c of cost. Esp. at a private school. We’re on the bubble for need aid and the most we can pay over is $50k/year for four years. So he’d have to do loans for the anything more which I’m not excited about. But I know these students get good jobs. . . Because of the cost uncertainty, he won’t apply ED; he needs to compare financial options.
Finally, he’s 4.0 UW GPA at a top public school. Lots of rigor and currently ranked 5 out of 225. Doing test prep now. Standardized tests aren’t his natural strength so it’s the wild card. He’s in range to get 32-33, maybe higher if he’s lucky?
Anyway, we’re thinking about a visit over Spring Break but trying to do some homework first around fit. Would love any insights!
I believe a demonstrative sincere interest in the program and Lehigh gives you a real good chance into the program. I think also if you are not from the usual geographical areas that students are admitted from (Penn, NJ , NY) it also increases your chances The cost for 5 years is rough, very rough, some students do not pursue both degrees so they graduate in 4 years. Some students enter the program in their sophomore year.
Most school places students into good jobs, however the more your child loves the school the the better the chance he will engage the opportunities that university has to offer which can help his future.
S just graduated IBE in May with a major in Financial Engineering. Originally was thinking of doing the 4-year BS IBE Finance degree and staying for an additional year to get the BS Industrial & Systems Engineering degree (you would need to do this to graduate with an accredited engineering degree, as the IBE degree is technically a business degree). However, after doing an internship with a Big 4 firm in their advisory department between junior and senior years and receiving a full-time job offer for after he graduated, started reconsidering options. Realized that the Financial Engineering program is essentially a combination of Finance and ISE, all of the courses he had taken qualify, and he could graduate in 4 years instead of 5. Since he was more interested in Finance than ISE anyway, and didn’t see why he would need an accredited ISE degree based on his career interests, and since he already had a job offer in his field of interest anyway, he/we decided to save the additional year of tuition and he changed major to FE. He is currently living and working in NYC.
For more insight into the program, scroll down to the forum “Lehigh IBE Program” started by j7thletter on 4/13/19. I offer a longer description of the program (under Yocco1, my username before CC decided to change their sign-in process and now I can’t access my old profile!).
Best of luck to your son - IBE is a great program and definitely worth looking into!
and he changed major to FE. He is currently living and working in NYC.