Hello, Can anyone help me decide between my top 2 choices. When I went to Maryland - I loved it. I went to a football game, and loved the spirit and energy. I went on a tour of Lehigh as well and liked the campus but didn’t fall in love - but that also might have something to do with the personality of my tour guide. I am interested in poli science and business. So while I thought Maryland seemed like more fun, I am concerned it is not as well regarded as Lehigh and it doesn’t have as good employment rates post graduation, which is obviously important. And although Maryland is definitely cheaper, I am OOS so the savings isn’t as big. Thanks for any thoughts.
visit Lehigh again. focus on getting into both and decide later
I would also investigate the placement success and salary levels for your intended major at both schools.
For some majors it can make a significant difference, while for others it may make almost no difference at all.
Unless you want to apply ED2 to Lehigh there is no reason to decide now. Apply to both, see where you get in, discuss finances with your parents, go to accepted student days and ask questions you have and then decide.
Lehigh has a great business school with excellent placement on Wall Street, Big 4 accounting, etc. UM is a fine state flagship. I’m sure it places well, perhaps not on Wall Street. Look at the First Destination Reports for each school regarding employment and placement. You’ll find them on their site or google it. Haven’t seen UMs. Lehigh’s is very impressive (major investment banks, accounting firms, tech companies, etc.) Punches above its weight!
Very different schools. Large flagship vs. small private college. Big time D1 sports vs. Patriot (D1 but not like UM). Large classes vs smaller, more intimate classes.
Greek life at Lehigh is very big. Doesn’t mean you have to do it, but it’s a loud voice on campus. About half. The school says 40% but remember the athletes don’t join frats so it’s more like 50% (or more).
“the athletes don’t join frats”
What? Lots of DI athletes join frats (and sororities) on many campuses. There is no universal rule against it. Here’s an article about some student-athletes in Greek life at Lehigh:
http://thebrownandwhite.com/2017/02/12/lehigh-athletes-in-greek-life/
I stand corrected. My understanding is it’s unusual at least at schools with major sports programs as they don’t have time to participate in much more than there sport. There are schools that won’t allow it.
If you read the whole article, it indicates that only certain teams at Lehigh allow members to join fraternities and sororities. It specifically lists the baseball, volleyball, men’s and women’s track and field, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s and women’s tennis teams as Greek-friendly.
But the implication is that the highest-profile sports at Lehigh, which would include wrestling (Lehigh’s best sport, currently ranked #5 nationally), football, basketball, and soccer, do not allow members to join Greek organizations. For example, the article states explicitly that “Junior wrestler Darian Cruz respects his team’s rule against joining fraternities”.