<p>Lehigh seems to be a pretty well ranked university, but, at the same time, seems to be rather low ranked in the individual fields, namely engineering and science. I'm just wondering how good Lehigh actually is and how it stacks up compared to the other top universities in the country. I know rankings are inconsistent and such, but us news ranks lehigh 38th, but when I looked at an international rankings list, lehigh didn't even make the top 400...</p>
<p>Since you referred to science rankings, I suppose you are looking at graduate school rankings which are not an accurate portrayal of the strength of Lehigh’s undergrad. Lehigh achieved its top 40 ranking in US News based on factors like quality of the undergraduate student body (SAT scores and class ranking), peer review, student-faculty ratio, HS counselor ratings, or other factors that measure the quality of undergrad.</p>
<p>Lehigh’s undergraduate engineering program has an excellent reputation and is the school’s strongest program. Also, I do not remember it being ranked “rather low” (it was in the 30s/low 40s last time I checked)</p>
<p>International rankings are almost exclusively focused on factors such as research output and citations. Thus Lehigh, as a primarily undergraduate university, would predicatably not fare well in such rankings.</p>
<p>Lehigh’s main problem is it’s male/female ration and way to much greek influence. those are social issues not academic issues. if you like frats and the male/female ratio does not bother you then by all means apply it is a very good school.</p>
<p>good insight. thanks both of you. if anyone else has anything to add, i’d really appreciate it</p>
<p>It’s a very strong engineering school. </p>
<p>The ratio is 57 men per 43 women. That seems pretty good when you compare to RPI at 71/29, LOL.</p>
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<p>yeah RPI is definitely a male dominated school. my main concern is that I’m interested in the aerospace industry (SpaceX, NASA, etc), but I’m worried that Lehigh does not have a strong enough engineering name brand to compete with the other top engineering schools.</p>
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<p>Although I do have a bias, I think Bucknell’s undergraduate education in engineering is better. It is top ten or much higher in most engineering areas for undergrad.</p>
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<p>Just a question, morrismm… why do you think Bucknell is better than Lehigh?</p>
<p>My son is applying to both, so I’m curious about your thoughts.</p>
<p>Morrismm, that’s actually not true. Bucknell does not offer offer doctorate degrees so it is in a different ranking list. Lehigh was once in that ranking list but then started offering doctorate degrees so it was put in the other, MIT/Stanford/UIUC dominated ranking list. Bucknell might be better, but it has nothing to do with rankings</p>
<p>Morrismm, that’s actually not true. Bucknell does not offer offer doctorate degrees so it is in a different ranking list. Lehigh was once in that ranking list but then started offering doctorate degrees so it was put in the other, MIT/Stanford/UIUC dominated ranking list. Bucknell might be better, but it has nothing to do with rankings</p>
<p>Bucknell is a teaching college, a LAC. Lehigh is a bona fide research university that strongly focuses on undergraduates. It also has a strong tech culture despite having a lot else going on. </p>
<p>I think engineering at Lehigh is a lot better than engineering at a liberal arts college or a teaching college because you have access to research faculty.</p>
<p>Lehigh, despite the undergrad focus, is still “large enough” to offer significant research opportunities which are important to an undergrad engineering education. Lehigh has close to 10X the research expenditures that Bucknell has, has a National Engineering Research Center(ATLSS) on campus, is home to Ben Franklin Technology Partners, and has 8 NAE fauclty members (compared to Bucknell’s zero). </p>
<p>Bucknell has a wonderful engineering program, but to call it “better than” Lehigh would be a very far stretch.</p>
<p>So obviously Lehigh is good but is it at all elite? I’m not saying its an MIT but I’m curious as to the magnitude of its prestige and overall reputation as a research university.</p>
<p>Prestige/reputation is not something you can obtain by asking someone; i.e. it isn’t objective. However, I would say that I don’t consider Lehigh to be “elite” at all – but I also don’t set much store by an “elite” college education.</p>
<p>Maybe you could elaborate a little more on exactly what you want people to comment on? Using words like “elite” aren’t really helpful here and lead to discussions about Bucknell versus Lehigh which I don’t think help you.
Have you ever looked at the detailed data available on the website of the American Society for Engineering Education? Compare the data on research budgets, faculty, laboratories/facilities, graduation rates, majors/minors, research centers etc etc. for different schools to draw some of your own conclusions based on real data.
[ASEE.org</a> - ASEE - Publications - College Profiles - Search the Profiles](<a href=“http://profiles.asee.org/]ASEE.org”>http://profiles.asee.org/)
**Here is a link to the complete profile on Lehigh **- <a href=“http://profiles.asee.org/profiles/5140/print_all[/url]”>http://profiles.asee.org/profiles/5140/print_all</a></p>
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<p>Lehigh occupies a niche. It’s not elite. Elite by definition is a very small club. </p>
<p>Lehigh’s undergraduates often go on to elite graduate schools and top companies. Lehigh’s faculty publish in top journals. No it isn’t MIT, and it isn’t CMU, Cornell, or Northwestern either. For some students, it might be better than any of those schools because while difficult, it doesn’t seem as harsh and might not break them. Yet it has a good reputation.</p>
<p>This all actually really helping. Please keep it coming…I truly enjoy seeing things from other people’s perspectives. I am simply trying to get a sense of the reputation of Lehigh relative to other top tier universities.</p>
<p>Also, my question about eliteness was slightly rhetorical. I appreciate the responses though – I really enjoy seeing this from a variety of perspectives</p>
<p>First of all, what are your goals after going to an “elite” college? Are you into research? Are you heading to grad school straight after? Or do you just want a good job? </p>
<p>If you want statistics on salaries or jobs, then look at this:
[Full</a> List of Schools - PayScale College Salary Report 2012-13](<a href=“http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2013/full-list-of-schools]Full”>http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2013/full-list-of-schools)
Lehigh is tied with MIT. </p>
<p>Now these are just statistics. Do not base your choice only on one reason or source.</p>
<p>On a personal opinion, I am currently a student at Lehigh University, and I can tell you that I am satisfied with my life as a college student. I am in the college of engineering and in the college of business. Lehigh University is respectable in engineering and in business. Many firms in Wall Street know the reputation of Lehigh students. Corporations like PwC and IBM recruit at Lehigh.</p>
<p>It is not hard to make friends nor hard to have good relationships with professors. Lehigh students are known to “work hard and play hard.” If you are a hard worker that likes to have a little fun at times, then Lehigh would be fine for you. Most of all, I definitely suggest taking a campus tour at Lehigh, and talk to current students and professors.</p>
<p>Good luck on college decisions!!</p>
<p>Harmless55,</p>
<p>my goals are both grad school and research. As of now, I can confidently say that I want to spend my life either doing research or in the aerospace industry.</p>
<p>Thanks very much for the insight. I have visited the campus, but in one day, I was only able to get so much out of it. It seemed very ideal, having both an intense academic feel as well as a very socially oriented feel as well.</p>
<p>I’d be curious to see the statistics of the regular decision admits who matriculate.</p>
<p>Anyways, thanks again everyone. More insight and perspective is obviously appreciated.</p>
<p>See section C of Lehigh’s Common Data set - [Lehigh</a> University: Office of Institutional Research: Data Center](<a href=“http://www.lehigh.edu/~oir/cds.html]Lehigh”>Lehigh University: Office of Institutional Research: Data Center)</p>