I’ve been accepted to Ithaca College, Lehigh University, and the University of Rochester. I can’t decide which one I want to go to. I’m most likely going to be a psych major but I do want to explore other fields. I would like to be involved with multiple clubs on campus and would like a diverse community. Any suggestions?
Where do you stand on financial matters, because Rochester and Lehigh are far better schools academically? Do finances come into play in your decision?
All of them are going to wind up being about the same financially for me, so I would say no.
well - which one felt right to you upon visiting?
They all did, and that’s the problem I’m having.
If it’s the same financially, I’d go with Lehigh or U of R, depending upon which school feels better to you. You will encounter a higher quality type of student at these compared to Ithaca, which will enhance your academic experience. I would say Rochester is more scholarly, whereas Lehigh is a bit more of a party school (but still serious academics) due to the larger influence of greek life. You may also want to explore the academic offerings at each outside of psych to see if anything looks more attractive than the other. Good luck, they are both very good choices and you will get a high quality education either way.
I agree with Cameron121. I think at Lehigh, the greek presence is sufficiently large (over 40%) so u need to decide if that is a place you want to be whether you join a frat or not. At UR, there are frats but the frats are on campus, are less than 25% of the student body and are not really exclusionary. At Lehigh, the frats are in houses off campus. At UR, frat parties are open to others. At Lehigh, they may not be so you need to find out because that will contribute to the shape of your social life.
Lehigh has plenty of frat houses on campus (up the hill from academic ) owned by the University. We just visited. I am confused by lakemom’s statement in that regard but agree that Greek life seems big there.
Sorry, I have never been to Lehigh, just saw a youtube about it and it showed a bunch of houses along a street that I assumed was off campus.
I know nothing about Colgate or Lehigh, other than a few people who went there. As to clubs, it’s extremely easy to belong to pretty much any kind of club you want at UR. That’s a significant part of the experience. And the school is large enough but small enough that you don’t know everyone but the size isn’t overwhelming - but that’s generally true of the size of the two others as well.
I have a daughter who graduated from the U of R as well as a close friend with both son and daughter who graduated from Lehigh, son in business, daughter in engineering (she selected Lehigh over many higher rated programs). Both did very well at Lehigh… but it is a heavy frat/sorority school, definitely work hard/party hard(er). I have had other people I know transfer out of Lehigh for that very reason, one from Lehigh to Tufts. Another close friend of younger d’s went to Lehigh after moving off waitlist from Brandeis (older d graduated). He hated his experience at Lehigh as not into the frat scene and truly regretted that he did not select Brandeis instead. Colgate which was not part of the initial discussion here is an excellent school with a heavy work hard/party hard(er) atmosphere in a beautiful area of NYS but remote. Ithaca is not on the level academically as any of the other schools but it is in Ithaca, a pretty nice college town and a beautiful area of NYS with the added bonus of all the activities and advantages of what is happening at Cornell.
Don’t know why I read that as Colgate. My bad.
I agree that U of R and Lehigh are superior schools academically to Ithaca College in most ways. Ithaca, NY is a great college town but Ithaca College is a bit isolated and the walk to downtown Ithaca is about 2 miles, The walk from the U of R campus to College Town is less than a mile and there are several other shops, restaurants and bars in that area in addition to College Town. Over the river west of the U of R campus is not the nicest area. There are several restaurants within walking distance of Lehigh but again, Bethlehem isn’t Bel Air.
There are indeed frat houses at U of R both on and off campus but Greek life doesn’t dominate. A neighbor’s son is at Lehigh and he says that while Greek life doesn’t dominate, it is indeed a significant part of the social scene.
If you had a crystal ball and knew your exact career path then you could plug in relative school costs and make a decision that way. But nobody has a crystal ball and most these days change careers multiple times.Best of luck with your decision.
Rochester is extremely good academically and for clubs. It’s going to be hard to find a student body as involved as you will at UR. You’ll be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t heavily involved in at least one or two clubs. Rochester is also a “work hard play hard” if you want it to be, though. However, the party scene is not overwhelming and if you’re not into that then you can absolutely find other thins to do.
Zenith - first of all, congratulations on getting accepted into some great schools! As others have said, both Lehigh and UR are academically strong. Since the cost will be equivalent and you feel comfortable on both campuses, you can consider other aspects of the schools to help decide.
Have you looked at the required course work at each school for your intended major? As I’m sure you know, UR requires clusters rather than general education classes. This usually makes it easier to double major, which may be an attractive option.
Do you think you will study abroad? Look at what opportunities each school offers.
Is weather a factor for you? UR is probably a little colder and snowier on average than Bethlehem.
How’s the commute from home? Is home base located much closer to one school over another? This is not always an important factor in deciding, but with a close decision, it can make a difference if one school is 5 hours away and the other is 1 hour away. Those long trips can take a toll.
Do you like to hike? Just kidding, but I recall the Lehigh campus being pretty hilly whereas UR is pretty flat.
Are you a cheerleader? I think there’s more student interest in sports at Lehigh (particularly the football games against Lafayette) than at UR.
That’s about all I can think of. Bottom line, you can’t go wrong either way. Good luck and let us know what you decide.