<p>Hi, I got into both Lehigh and Northeastern. Initially I wanted to go to Lehigh for its reputation but then I slowly became unsure of where I wanted to go. I've heard that Lehigh is also a big party school. Is there any truth to that? I am also unsure about the quality of program at Northeastern and if I want to do Co-op or not. I have visited both campuses.</p>
<p>I got wait listed at Carnegie-Mellon and I would go there if I get off the list. CMU is one of my favorite colleges I've visited. </p>
<p>If you have any questions I am a junior at NU (political science and middle east studies) feel free to PM me if you have any questions about co op or undergraduate research. I did my co op down at a lobbying firm down in DC and i am doing a community based research project this summer that the school is paying for and will be published. Just to let you know if you are really bummed about CMU, we just recently hired their Dean of Engineering as our Provost.</p>
<p>D has a friend who goes to Northeastern and loves it. She also has a friend who goes to Lehigh and loves it. You can party hard at both schools.</p>
<p>Academically Lehigh has a better reputation, but Northeastern has the coop program and has come up in the rankings over the past decade–there is no way most students would consider Northeastern a safety anymore. </p>
<p>What am I saying? Do you want a big city or a large town? Is the work experience important to you? Lehigh has a prestige factor, but Northeastern is no slouch. My D is going to Lehigh, but that is what she wants. Ask yourself questions and figure it out. </p>
<p>As far as being a party school–on most campuses there is a party culture. It’s your choice as to whether or not you participate.</p>
<p>Northeastern’s co-op program is arguably the best in the nation, and is considered most beneficial for business majors and engineering majors like yourself. It was ranked #1 in Best Internships/Career Services by U.S. News for four years in a row. I can’t think of any schools with co-ops that have been said to top Northeastern’s, although schools like Kettering and Drexel do something similar. Lehigh’s co-ops are only for their top engineering students, and it seems that they last 8 months and you only participate in junior year. At Northeastern, it is integrated throughout your four or five years there, and it’s expected that virtually everyone does 1-3 co-ops lasting about 6 months each.</p>
<p>So basically, if you are a top student for Lehigh, their co-op program might be nice, but at Northeastern, every student with a certain minimum GPA (2.0 I think) can do a co-op.</p>
<p>You do not have to be a top student at Lehigh. The co-op is offered to students with a 3.0 or better after first semester soph year. The way it works is you interview with companies in the co-op Spring of soph year, do first semester Jr classwork over the summer, fall Junior year you work in your co-op job, 2nd semester you do 2nd semester Jr classwork at Lehigh, co-op work over the summer and complete your full Senior year at Lehigh graduating with your class.</p>