Hi I’ve been recently researching colleges and Lehigh seems like a practical option. I was wondering if anyone can advice me on the things Lehigh looks for in a student? I was also wondering what the stress is like at Lehigh?
Any advice is greatly appreaciated.
They look for the same things any other school would – stats in terms of test scores, grades. Decent ECs. Interest in the school. The stress depends in part on what you’re majoring in. The engineers have a lot of work. Lehigh also has a strong business school. They are generous with financial aid in terms of need. Less so when it comes to merit scholarships.
They care a ton about interest and rigor. Also test scores, gpa, EC’s and essays have to be decent obviously. Lehigh is one of those schools that will take the 3.5 with tons of rigorous courses anyday over the 4.0 with a light workload. Also, they literally track interest. That means campus visits, meeting with their counselor at your school, and so on. If they don’t think youll attend, they wont accept you. That’s why the ED acceptance rate is much higher and I know someone who goes to Yale and got rejected by Lehigh and another who goes to ND rejected by Lehigh. Theyre definitely a very personal school. A lot of interest can also be shown through essays and such. One of the prompts is “what do you and Lehigh have in common?” That’s a way to really make or break your application. Stress is probably the same at any other college. Its a rigorous university. Therefore, there will be a lot of stress if you don’t do your work promptly and save stuff til the night before. That being said, its not notoriously stressful like some colleges (MIT) and kids find a lot of time to have fun. Its the definition of work hard play hard.
Just saw your only a sophomore, that’s great. Better than being a senior and applying on a whim because you have time to show a lot of interest. If you live close by I would recommend having visited atleast three times by the time you apply and meet with their admissions rep if they drop by your school.
blueguy99 is giving you excellent advice.
My son’s GPA was around 3.5 or 3.6 and is was mainly because he took years of Spanish so he could use the language. Take the hardest classes you can. There are so many free online courses offered these days - you could even take some of these during the summer if your high school has a limited number of advanced classes.
Lehigh does an excellent job supporting their students Check out this thread in their Center for Academic Success.
http://studentaffairs.lehigh.edu/success
They offer free tutoring and support for any student who wants it. My son met with several TAs several times a week to get help on his most challenging core classes freshman and sophomore year. We found the staff and the professors went out of their way to help our son.
Yes, there will be pressure - manageable pressure that will help you become a stronger person. Lehigh is well regarded in the business and engineering community because of how well prepared their students are for the work force. Most of the students at Lehigh are in demanding majors and they seem to enjoy the camaraderie of working hard!
You are a sophomore? Wow! Good for you! I have complete faith you will be successful in whatever you choose to do! Keep us posted!
I would say the stress is moderate. Harder than a average college, but not as bad as the most stressful schools. The want you to have a positive experience beyond the classroom too. Of course this will vary a lot by student and major, as others have said.