<p>Some balance here. Our son was accepted at Lehigh and we all attended Lehigh Life Days. I thought they did a very nice job. The campus was beautiful (even though it was raining). We had a casual lunch with one of the faculty members in the business school and found him to be very welcoming and refreshingly frank. Bethlehem was a bit depressing but better than I thought. We didn't like that the sports facilities were far away. And there seemed to be too much emphasis on the frat houses. Overall, we (the parents) had a positive impression of the school and thought it would be "in the running". We liked the community feel and the personal attention of a smaller school. But my son was not impressed. Perhaps it was the class he sat in on - the professor was hard to understand due to a thick accent and "boring". . Bottom line -we think it's a top-notch school and were dissapointed that it was not given much thought, especially given that our son was offered a very generous scholarship. He chose Penn State (honors) and is very happy with his decison. As he matured in high school, he seemed to be attracted to the bigger schools. As for party schools, both fit that category. And I think many excellent schools are known for having a huge party scene (UVA, Dartmouth, Wash and Lee, Bucknell, Richmond). It seems that the higher the % of students in frats, the more drinking there is. It's hard to avoid!!</p>
<p>some more balance, I guess, from a Lehigh grad, albeit a generation ago. Still, although Lehigh's changed it sounds pretty similar to the LU I remember.</p>
<p>I think the "laughable visit" title could set a Lehigh supporter off. All right there were some glitches and the student speakers weren't the best. Lehigh needs to work on that. Still the school has a lot to offer.</p>
<p>Till 1971 the school was all male, hence the abundance of fraternities. Bethlehem is no bonus but urban schools have just recently in the past decade or so become more desirable so LU has to live with its location. On the plus side, it's not too far from NYC, Philadelphia, or the Poconos.</p>
<p>Although I'm not thrilled with some of the more recent buildings, the campus is basically gorgeous. I've visited many campuses and it's as pretty as any. In hot weather the hills can be tough to negotiate though.</p>
<p>Drinking to excess was a problem when I was there and evidently still is. That's inevitable given the non-urban location and the 25 or 30 fraternities. Still you can be a nondrinker and find your niche, it'll just be smaller. It's just the big weekends are built around frat parties and drinking, which remains the mainstream weekend activity for I'd say the majority. </p>
<p>The important thing: most students love it there. It's a FUN school as long as that's your idea of fun. As someone else mentioned LU isn't unique in this campus culture...think Dartmouth, Penn State, Colgate, many others. The education is excellent and you will work. Engineering and business in particular are well regarded although most of Lehigh's rankings aren't top 10 they still are respectable. There's school spirit and pride in athletic teams, esp football and wrestling. Alumni giving is high, lots of alumni kids attend although neither of mine did.</p>
<p>As another lehigh alum from a generation ago, I was disheartened to read the original poster's comments. What a shame the 'work hard, party harder' (ugh) rep still holds. I felt I got a top-notch education at Lehigh, but the academics are often overshadowed by the whole party/drinking/frat scene. It scares off a lot of good students, and it's something the school administration should address more seriously. On a bright note, the university just sent word that it has appointed a very interesting new president -- Alice Gast from MIT. You can read about her in the news section at Lehigh.edu.</p>
<p>One more thing we learned as we considered Lehigh for our son this year. We called to inquire about an overnight stay and we were told that the school had a policy prohibiting this type of visit. We are well aware of the party reputation of the school - and were turned off by this policy (we assumed that they were worried about what our son would exposed to). We did not encounter this at any of the other schools my son applied to. I would suggest reconsidering this policy!</p>
<p>toneranger--- that's interesting!! My D's friend went on an overnight visit just two weeks ago, right before she had to make her final decision. Maybe because she was staying with a friend from home it was acceptable. She had a great time at a frat party and decided to go to Lehigh. I'm not sure if the frat party was the deciding factor. Good Luck to your son!</p>
<p>Well as another Lehigh grad ,I too am disappointed that Lehigh hasn't been more proactive.A friend of mines son graduated 5ish years ago and my friend told me that "they play hard and party hard"</p>
<p>My daughter really liked the school and was accepted this year.I tried to dissuade her from attending because of the drinking,partying etc.It wouldn't fit her personality and I told her that emphatically</p>
<p>Lehigh is a fine institution but they need to do something about the fraternities.Being ranked the number 1 party school is NOT something the schools administration should be proud of.</p>
<p>I am somewhat amazed at the reactions of some people about the "distraction" of Lehigh's frat scene. Having gone from Lehigh to MIT...let me tell you, the distractions presented by a big city should be an <em>order-of-magnitude</em> more concern to the average parent. Lehigh's frat/party/drinking scene is tame..even sheltered...by comparison.</p>
<p>^^ Lehigh has been doing something about Greek Life for several years. It is called, I believe, "Project Sunshine". </p>
<p>Each year fraternities and sororities must reapply for certification. Many houses have been thrown off campus due to substandard living conditions, lack of contributions to the community, poor overall GPA, etc, since this initiative began. </p>
<p>Lehigh may have a party school reputation, but speaking as someone who is constantly at Lehigh visiting friends, I can assure you that this is not the case. Partying is popular, but it is not the only thing to do. There are many oncampus activities (Thanks in large part to the very active University Productions) and kids do travel to NYC and Philly on weekends. </p>
<p>Also, only about a third of the campus is involved in greek life. You are not boxed in to one way of life at Lehigh.</p>
<p>I am thinking of Lehigh for my son in the future. Is the drinking/party scene really worse at Lehigh than at other colleges? I have a daughter in college who is in a sorority and know that the drinking/partying at most schools is pretty intense. My daughter says it is the same all over, so I wonder if Lehigh is actually worse.</p>
<p>I have only dealt with 3 institutions of higher learning but I do believe that the drinking/partying at most schools is intense for those students that seek it out. No, Lehigh is not worse than other colleges in regards to the party-hardy scene. The key phrase here is "students that seek it out" and the question most parents stress over is "will that be mine?" If your student is going to overdo the party scene they will do it anywhere you send them. So parents, focus on the academics and extracurricular opportunities of the colleges you are considering. Hope that you have prepared your student for this life changing separation and let go. Good luck to all.</p>
<p>While it's true that many students drink and drink excessively when at college. What makes a school get a 'party school' reputation is the lack of other options of weekend activities, among other things. What hurts Lehigh in this regard is the surrounding town not providing much of an outlet for the older students. And the campus doesn't provide as many non alcoholic choices that other schools do have.</p>
<p>The Zoellner Art Center has tons of events, at very little cost to students.</p>
<p>I saw this thread some time ago and am replying late but with no less conviction.</p>
<p>I am applying RD and have visited Lehigh twice. The tour/info session was very informative and professional. My self tour to chat with students (a better source of info than CC) was a real revelation. Not one expressed any regret whatsoever in attending Lehigh - and that is a sample of over 20. </p>
<p>And what shopping mall spawned the person that thinks Bethlehem is depressing? Is the Great Pyramid a pile of rocks?</p>
<p>Bethlehem is one of the most exciting industrial artifacts in existence - its the industrial epicenter of the modern world! </p>
<p>And what is with the frat bashing? My father graduated 30 years ago (near but not Lehigh) and his very best (also prosperous) friends are from his fraternity experience where he and my mother also "partied hard".</p>
<p>"Lehigh is not for the feighnt of heart. You need to be tough. You need to be extremely smart. You need to balance the social and academic life. Many kids can't handle it, and those who don't, know it and don't choose Lehigh. If you can't party hardy and study hard...then you don't belong here. Go to Amherst or whever....spend your Saturday nights holed up in a room studying."</p>
<p>Oh please. Don't be absurd. How much do you know about Amherst?</p>
<p>It's amazing how divided reaction to Lehigh can be. We did a drive through on the way to near by college and DD loved the look and feel of the campus. We went back for a tour and info session and were completely turned off. Same experience described above--a dull powerpoint presentation listing majors and other information that students could have read online, and throughout the entire tour and info session, barely a mention of any academic department or program other than science or engineering.</p>
<p>on this thread i see a lot of parents perspectives, and of course most parents do not want their 17 year old children going into an environment where drinking is all over the place. but try to look at it from an social, intelligent 17 year olds perspective. lehigh is one of my top 3 choices right now (if im accepted) and the balance between studying and partying is one of the things that draws me to lehigh so much. i loved my visit and everything about it. drinking is no more of a problem then it is at other colleges, expecially some state schools. also, if any kid wants to stay away from drinking they can and will find people who feel the same way. but for kids who wanna have alotta fun and get a great education at the same time, lehigh is a great place.</p>
<p>I’m a currently Lehigh student who goes to parties occasionally but does think that Lehigh is too much of a party school. When I visited for the weekend and stayed overnight while I was a senior, this was my first impression when I experienced a typical night. It was just a gut feeling. At first my parents supported me going to USC (in LA), visited the campus and everything. In the end they told me I was going to Lehigh. I loved it at first, the party scene. Then the novelty wore off and parties became so segregated. It’s hard to blame the school when it is so small and there is not much around to do around town. Life seems to revolve around parties. I would transfer if I could. </p>
<p>MODERATOR’S NOTE: Please don’t resurrect old threads - use them for information only. Start a new thread if you want to comment on the school or ask a question.</p>