The social scene is highly focused on Greek and party life. If you don’t like to party, you will feel out of place.
Not entirely true. Lehigh offers LAD (Lehigh after dark) which is a program that hosts alcohol free events, such as trivia night, movie night, and sometimes even concerts. These are on Thur, Fri, and Sat nights. The people who attend this are having fun.
Many people who don’t party also form their own groups to do things. They’ll rent movies, everyone will bring snacks to share or order pizza. There are definitely kids here that have fun outside of parties. These people have fun, right? It’s what they like to do.
And a lot of people confuse drinking and partying. I know a lot of students who like parties, but choose not to drink or they just babysit a single drink all night.
Other kids just choose to be alone or with a friend in their dorm room playing video games. They probably enjoy it and don’t feel out of place.
Don’t listen to this guy, there are very few students who feel out of place at Lehigh, and even less that feel out of place because they don’t get drunk 4 nights a week.
On your other post, you say that you are a sophomore in high school.
At that age, I can understand you starting a thread asking about the social scene at Lehigh, but I am surprised you are posting something about college social life as if it were a fact.
If, however, you are really a Lehigh freshman and having difficulty settling in in your first semester, please feel free to share some information about your situation, and perhaps some posters can provide some helpful information or advice that will hopefully support you in getting through that situation.
Cam248 was a HS sophomore when posting back in 2015.
I am a student here at Lehigh. I can confirm that OP’s post is completely accurate. Students who are not in Greek life to not belong here. Out of the 18 people in my math class (the classes here are HUGE - the 22 person avg is a lie b/c there are so many classes no one takes - midevil poetry - that skew the numbers) in Greek life, probably only two to three show up. Most day drink every day. Administration gets millions in donations from graduates who are involved in Greek life and thus will not keep them in check. Greek life blasts music while classes are in session and you cannot even hear your professors. Lehigh is not what the tour guides will tell you. Anyone seeking an intellectual experience here will be disappointed. If you want a college experience that consists of day drinking and greek life, you will fit in perfectly at lehigh.
It is true that a lot of students are in Greek Life and day drink, blast music, and get rowdy. Trust me, the admin is doing everything they can to end Greek Life. They’re just waiting for an excuse to kick most of the houses off campus.
You will fit into Lehigh with almost any personality. Why do people think it is so different than any other school? Most schools have parties and students that don’t party. Don’t think Lehigh is some school of disorderly alcoholics, because that is very far from the truth.
@ninjakiwi
“Out of the 18 people in my math class…in Greek life, probably only two to three show up. Most day drink every day.”
Perhaps, but I’m surprised that you would know how many Greek Life members are in your math class, and how often they attend class, and how often they drink. How do you know all of that?
Second, it is my understanding that the math classes at Lehigh are quite rigorous and challenging. I am thinking specifically of the Calculus sequence. Is that accurate, and if so, how do the Greek Life students pass these classes if they don’t bother to attend?
Third, it the music interfering with lectures an ongoing issue? I would think that Campus security would have dealt with that expediently.
I understand that there is significant greek life on campus, and there is a fair amount of partying that involves alcohol (definitely more than I would like to see). However, while I may be wrong, I have the feeling that what you are saying includes a bit of hyperbole. If that is not correct, please explain. I am trying to understand what is really happening.
@ninjakiwi “Anyone seeking an intellectual experience here will be disappointed.”
I know a number of very good students at Lehigh and they are working like crazy in engineering, math, science, and computer science classes, especially. Are you saying that your classes are not challenging? I am interested in hearing more details from your perspective.
Also, have you been successful in getting involved in any of the clubs on campus? That seems to be where many of the students build their friendships.
These complaints about Lehigh’s social scene could have been written by me when I was an undergraduate about my own school… I felt like the athletic department ruled the school. My dorm was next to the dorm where the athletes lived and they were around all the time. And everyone worshipped them. We had a Greek community and when I would walk down certain streets I would have to see them. Even walking down the sidewalk I would judge kids by what they were wearing and assume they were greek students. I went to a large state school. Looking back now I know with 25,000 students attending not everyone was into sports or greek life but it felt like that to me at the time. In retrospect I believe my annoyances at the student body was due to me being very sensitive to the other students and my surroundings and who had made lifestyle choices I was opposed to.
I had gone to a small, private, Catholic school my freshman year and I had a completely different list of why that student body drove me crazy! Which is why I transferred to the large state college where I had a different list of complaints. Haha.
Boy, what I wouldn’t give to be able to go back and do it all again!