I’m thinking about applying ED to both of these colleges. My major is psych. My family does not need financial aid. Can you guys give me some insights? My concern is that Lehigh seems to focus on business and engineering I think. Lafayette is quite small though.
Thank you.
Have you visited both? If not, have you done virtual sessions?
When I visited Lehigh a couple of years ago, they said there were roughly a third of students in each of the 3 schools, so I didn’t get the sense business/engineering are the focus.
Have you looked at the psych profs at each school, their research focus, along with dept course offerings?
Lehigh does have at least double the number of undergrads compared to Lafayette. What factors are most important to you in a college?
@iainteatdog - You are correct, about 70% of Lehigh students graduate in either Engineering, Business or Computer Science. For certain majors It can be helpful to look at the section on the common dataset for degrees confirmed to get an idea about the focus of the school.
There’s a GREAT rivalry between the schools for football, I would suggest you try and take a day and visit both to get a sense for which one feels right
I would suggest visiting both campuses. My D liked Lehigh but she loved Lafayette. All of her interactions with Laf people have been extremely positive. Our tour guide had been a psych major and switched to neuroscience. If you sign up for a tour, I think they try to match you with a student with that major. My D was interested in psychology when we toured in April but is now more interested in business.
I grew up in the Philly area, and when I was going to college Lehigh was far and away considered the better school.
D15 wanted to study engineering, and the first school we ever looked at was Lehigh (President’s week, junior year…lots of people). It was impressive and exciting, but there was something that made her uncomfortable.
On the next trip, the entire family went to both schools. At Lehigh, her mom had the same “uneasiness” about the campus. There was something about the hill, the woods, the dorms, and the general layout that had a sort of “horror movie” vibe for them.
Lafayette was 180 degrees different. Open…airy…more energetic. Although Lehigh had always been the “better” school in our minds, it was obvious that Lafayette was pushing hard to improve its academics and standing. The campus was a nice mix of buildings, and everyone just seemed happier. Lehigh was eliminated for D15 our first trip to Lafayette.
Neither Easton nor Bethlehem are going to win “best college town” awards, but Easton feels like it’s headed in a better direction.
We also looked at Lafayette for D18, and were again impressed. Ultimately nobody in this house applied to either school, but we know several friends whose children have gone to Lafayette, and they have all loved their time there.
Lehigh is a good school, but Lafayette for us just felt better. It’s smaller, but it’s not small.
Lehigh was at the very top of my sons list and dropped off after we visited the campus. The admissions session was very impressive. For a school of it’s size it really offered a tremendous selection of majors, areas of study and was a great fit academically for our son.The campus itself is what turned him off , the layout, how it’s built on a hill. Every school we visited our son would go into saying; “could I see myself here” and it was a no for Lehigh. I agree with the last post on the two towns.
Lafayette’s admission session was also impressive. Much more emphasis on a true liberal arts approach with Lehigh more of a pre-professional approach The campus itself could have come off a movie set for what a college should look like. The classic quad. They emphasize a collaborative approach to academics and there seems to be a real sense of community at the school. It was one of two campuses we visited twice and it just ultimately didn’t offer the major he must likely wanted to pursue. Good luck
Lehigh alum here.
Your take is spot on, OP: although the students are divided amongst the colleges, the orientation is very much a business one across the colleges, and always has been, with engineering infused wherever it can fit. Science is allowed but comes second to engineering. If you don’t need aid you’ll fit in well, but I hope you dig greek life, because that’s what they’ve (still) got.
The campus is not only hilly but has been designed so that no two steps have the same riser. Upside: you’ll have amazing legs. Like really amazing legs. Just don’t ever put yourself in situation where you need crutches to get around. It gets icy there, remember. South Bethlehem has problems. Always did have but they’ve gotten far worse in recent…decades. Lehigh Valley in general has not prospered, and you’ll need a car if you want to get away. Used to be a bus that went from So Beth to NYC, but that ended a few years ago. But you won’t likely spend much time in the areas between campus and wherever you want to go.
Good pizza. Really very good pizza. Tough to do better outside NYC. Now I’m hungry.
If you want to go marauding through the world 20th-c style with a thin veneer of 21st, Lehigh is for you. They’re fighting hard to make the leap to the aughts culturally but the alumni and their $$$$ are holding them back pretty hard. (Work hard, play hard.) Remember that some of those guys were around before Lehigh went co-ed. Think Colgate but ruder/cruder. Lafayette never managed to have an identity in my mind, though Easton’s in far better shape than it used to be. Their part of it, anyway.
My impression is that unless you go out of your way to avoid, you’ll still come out a pretty accomplished drinker. It’s a useful social skill, don’t sneeze at it.
Do you mean applying EA (early admission)? I believe that for ED, you’re not allowed to apply to more than one because when you apply you sign an agreement that you will attend if you are accepted (except, I believe the only way some are let out of that agreement is if financial aid is not workable, which it sounds like wouldn’t be an issue for you).
My understanding is it’s best not to apply ED unless it really is your one true love – you’re ready to throw out all other college possibilities if they say yes. If you haven’t already visited both campuses, I’d suggest you do so before making such a huge commitment. Good luck!