<p>i want to ask the one question that probably shouldn't be asked.... for liberal arts, lehigh of lafayette?</p>
<p>I too have a Lehigh vs Lafayette question - which for Engineering? And why please?
Our impression, having visited both is:
Labs - newer, better equipped at Lafayette
Diversity - better at Lehigh
Students more "into it" (good way) - Lehigh
Feel: Lafayette - kind of "prissy"
Lehigh - more people who (seemed) more down to earth
Kind of like comparing two little kids - one who reads about mud pies (and stays clean)(Lafayette), and one who plays with mud pies (and doesn't care about - or even notice - that they're filthy...just so happy to be experiencing the mud...) (Lehigh)</p>
<p>Again - these were just impressions from visiting - I don't trust them therefore...
any input would be greatly appreciated.
and please - this is not meant to be a flame against Lafayette or Lehigh!!!
:)</p>
<p>I'm currently a freshman at Lafayette, and my brother is a sophmore at Lehigh. I plan to be a Gov/Law major and philosophy minor, so I could probably answer the liberal arts question well. They're amazing at Lafayette. While Laf, like Lehigh, is better known for its engineering and business majors, it places a lot of emphasis on good writing skills. I'm currently taking a College Writing class; our professor requires individual conferences with her for essays, and she pays attention to each student's particular writing style. Our Government/Law program (I feel obligated to rave about it) never fails to impress me; my Political Theory professor (who's coming out with a book this May) has a talent for encouraging a discussion-based environment. The department also hosts a wide range of speakers, and has close connections with alumni. (Recently I attended a dinner panel of Laf alums who are in Law School. They do well, and attend law schools like UPenn, Columbia, and NYU.) Most of the typical "liberal arts" programs are strong, I would say. Philosophy classes are challenging but very discussion based. Our foreign language program is offering Mandarin next semester (and has a long term plan of bringing Arabic, Hindi, and Swahili). The school also has strong non-engineering science programs; I have friends who take Bio and love it, and I took a great Psychology class last semester. (It was a lecture-hall of a hundred students, but the professor memorized everybody's name by the first week!)</p>
<p>Everything I can say about Lehigh's liberal arts program is from what I've heard from my brother, a double major of Neuroscience and Religion (specifically, Islam). They're Bio department is also very strong (Lehigh has a famous professor who advocated Intelligent Design, but it has many, many others who disagree with ID). As a university, they offer more foreign languages, and probably therefore have a stronger department. (My brother also loves his religion classes.) From what my brother has told me, the writing programs are okay, and students looking at law school are generally those who decided engineering was too hard for them (which can either represent the strength of Lehigh's engineering program or can be a negative quality of their government program).</p>
<p>As far as engineering goes, I really can only go by what I've heard. US News ranks Lafayette's engineering program higher than Lehigh's, and, if I'm right, Lafayette is also ranked 4th in ChemEngineering. Both my brother and I know people who absolutely love studying engineering. The engineering program is probably the toughest at both places, which is saying a lot given how challenging the liberal arts programs are (at least at Lafayette, hehehe).</p>
<p>I can see why one would get the impression of Lafayette students being "prissy," and likewise for Lehigh. Both of them, unfortunately, have reputations of being extremely preppy and apathetic, which I think is a huge problem that both are successfully handling. Lafayette is working really hard at increasing diversity; they have a strong International Students Association (my roommate is from Vietnam, and I have friends from all over the world, including India, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe), and last summer the New York Times wrote a large article about Laf's involvement with the Posse Organization. The real good thing about both schools is that they're diverse enough so that you can avoid the "prissy" crowds (which is true for most college, so my friends say).</p>
<p>I don't know if I've made decisions easier or harder, or if I helped at all (I hope I did!). They're both amazing institutions (and it's fun having a sibling from the rival). I guess the choice it comes down to is whether you want a small college or a university. The college setting is more intimate, where you can get more attention from your professors and faculty; but the university is larger, and arguably more connected to the outside world. Good luck with your decisions, and let me know if you have any questions.</p>
<p>Kyle</p>
<p>I will probably get in trouble for this, but Lehigh is not safe. The surrounding area is bad. For the past year, crime has been slowly creeping into our campus. Someone (I think it was a cop) was shot at a few months ago down the block. Some kid just got jumped in broad daylight about a week ago. There are thugs living all around the perimeters of the campus......So, just wanted to give you that perspective.</p>
<p>justaperson, thanks for the input! Crime is something to consider with urban colleges. Campus newspapers are a good source of info too. The GATech paper 'Technique' has a Campus Crime section. Hadn't checked this out for Lehigh yet. Keep safe!</p>
<p>Justaperson, I don't remember reading anything about the police officer. Here's an account from a couple of years ago in Easton:</p>
<p>I'm not saying that Bethlehem is safe, because there have been muggings (one or two a year near the campus) and Southside itself (mostly closer to the Steel Mill) has drug/violent crimes. However, the real blight in the area is Allentown, where Muhlenberg is located. </p>
<p>Easton and Bethlehem are both cities, with poverty AND wealth. The campuses themselves are both relatively safe, though they are not as safe as suburban and rural schools.</p>
<p>Re: lehigh vs Lafayette engineering rankings...</p>
<p>Laf isn't ranked higher than LU. Lehigh's engineering rank is included in Doctoral Schools category (schools like Michigan, Cornell, Purdue), while Laf is included in LAC's ranking (might be Masters' schools) along with schools like Harvey Mudd, Swarthmore, Bucknell; so it's comparing apples and oranges.</p>
<p>As a LU grad I consider, right or wrong, LU strong in engineering in particular, and business...Lafayette in the liberal arts. But it's been a while. Both are great, both beautiful campuses...I preferred LU's larger size.</p>
<p>btw I think most papers have campus crimes sections...I know my son's Univ paper (Carnegie Mellon) does too.</p>
<p>yea both of my parents are engineers, and Lehigh is definitely more well known in the engineering world than Lafayette. Lehigh is gaining more and more respect in the field, whereas neither of my parents know anyone who graduated from Lafayette in engineering (and they work for GE, 20 years ish each). My mom has said on several occasions that if she got to go to college again, she would apply to Lehigh because it's like the new cool place to be for engineers, and it's up and coming. apparantly they're pretty much the top school for metallurgy (materials engineer with metals).</p>
<p>Can you tell the names of your favorite professors in Government & Law, History and Psychology. Thanks!</p>
<p>Gunshots fired near Brodhead
By Madelyn King
Assistant News Editor
1/22/2007</p>
<p>Two Allentown men were arrested after shots were fired around 1:50 a.m. last Saturday near Brodhead House.</p>
<p>According to Chief of Police Edward Shupp, a bike officer on Morton Street was talking to a group of individuals when he saw two males firing a gun. Shupp said the officer heard three shots fired but no one was injured.</p>
<p>“Actually, a bullet came really close to him,” Shupp said.</p>
<p>After the officer saw the men fire several rounds, he pursued them on foot, police said. Additional Lehigh police came for backup.</p>
<p>The police responded and stopped a car in pursuit. Two 21-year-old males, James Sims Jr. and Martin Lafond, were inside the car.</p>
<p>Police found the two men in possession of a 9 mm handgun, Shupp said.</p>
<p>Shupp confirmed the handgun in the car was stolen from a police officer last August in St. Clair, Pa. Shupp did not want to comment any further on the stolen handgun because the incident is still under investigation by the city.</p>
<p>“Since it happened in the city’s jurisdiction, we handed it over to them,” he said. Bethlehem Police were unavailable for comment by press time.</p>
<p>According to The Morning Call, one officer’s report said the gun did not appear to have been fired. The men were both charged with receiving stolen property, criminal conspiracy and carrying a firearm without a license.</p>
<p>The men were transported to Northampton County Prison, Shupp said.</p>
<p>Shupp said the city is still investigating the shooting and stolen gun.</p>
<p>He advised students to be cautious, especially at night.</p>
<p>“Use common sense, travel in pairs and take advantage of the TRACS services,” Shupp said. “There is no area that is invincible.”</p>
<p>According to Shupp, police patrol levels are always increased at night, especially around bars.</p>
<p>In a campus-wide e-mail, Shupp said all students should take safety precautions such as securing doors and windows at all times to reduce the likelihood of a crime.</p>
<p>Shupp urges students to work with the police department to reduce crime.</p>
<p>“Safety is a partnership,” he said. “If individuals see something that is suspicious, they need to report it immediately.”</p>