<p>Okay so I am in a huge dilemma. I cannot decide between Lehigh University and Northeastern University. I am going to be majoring in biology and will be on the pre-med track (hopefully leading up to medical school). Okay now for some of the things I am considering. Lehigh is ranked #37 and Northeastern is ranked #69. NEU is in boston which is amazing while Lehigh is in some steel mill town. NEU will cost me 20k a year and Lehigh will cost me 10k a year. NEU is close to some of the best hospitals in the country and would look great to volunteer and/or do a co-op there. I do not know much about the area of Bethlehem and the medical facilities but am suspecting that the internship oppurtunities would not be as good. Also, I don't find the idea of frats appealing but I still like to party so I am afraid Lehigh will not be suitable for me since it is ruled by frats. Northeastern has surrounding colleges like BU and BC where you can go party as well. Even though Lehigh would be cheaper, I feel like I would enjoy myself more in a big city like Boston and am leaning towards Northeastern even though Lehigh is better ranked. Any insight/debate/discussion would be great. This is a tough decision..</p>
<p>Lehigh is much much more prestigious than NEU. The fact that Lehigh will cost less than NEU makes this a no brainer.</p>
<p>Bump. Please help</p>
<p>I live near Lehigh so I can tell you a little bit about Bethlehem. It’s ghetto. Boston as a city beats Bethlehem, no competition. I would take the schools out of the equation for a moment and think of location. Is a way crappier town worth more prestige?
If it were me, I’d go to Northeastern without even thinking twice but that’s just me.</p>
<p>I just sent a few of my other schools Lehigh’s aid offer so they would hopefully match it or increase their financial aid. Do you think that might work?</p>
<p>I doubt Northeastern will match the FA offer, but you will be making a decent amount of money while you work on co op, science majors make about $15 an hour for their first co op. I think the biggest thing that you can underestimate is the importance of having great hospitals and biotech companies right here in Boston. A lot of the science majors work for the heavy hitting bio tech companies or any of the Harvard affiliated hospitals. In the last 5 years Northeastern has won twice as many Goldwater Awards than BC (8 vs. 4) and I believe 4 times as many as BU. Here is a link to this year’s winner. [Math</a>, biochemistry major wins Goldwater Scholarship | Northeastern University News](<a href=“http://www.northeastern.edu/news/stories/2011/04/goldwater.html]Math”>http://www.northeastern.edu/news/stories/2011/04/goldwater.html) he did a co-op down at Princeton as well as for the National Institute of Health</p>
<p>Also greek life many not be for you. Lehigh supports like to mention that only 1/3 of the student body participates but thats because you cannot rush your freshman year. So we are talking about over half of all people who can rush choose to. I also believe there are significantly more boys in Greek Life than girls at Lehigh, 21 fraternities versus 9. In their defense the school is 60% male</p>
<p>I’d think very carefully before spending more money to attend a less prestigious school (NE), especially if you’re premed. Northeastern has a lot going for it, and has made LEAPS AND BOUNDS in the past decade or so. It was once a dumpy commuter school and they’ve done great work to turn its reputation around.</p>
<p>Bethlehem, PA is kind of a ghetto. However, have you been to Northeastern? It’s right in the middle of one of the worst neighborhoods in Boston. There are lots of other colleges in Boston, but they’re a longish t-ride away. If you haven’t, be SURE to visit NE before accepting.</p>
<p>That said, if you’re serious about premed, I think you should go to the better, more prestigious school (AND it’s less expensive which helps when you start thinking about the cost of grad school). Your peers will be of a much higher caliber than in NEastern. THere are plenty of places to volunteer while at Lehigh. Get trained as an EMT! Or get a boston-based summer internship. Med schools will care a lot more about good grades at lehigh than about volunteer experience at MGH or beth israel with a northeastern undergrad.</p>
<p>If you’re thinking you want to go into pharma or something, then you should think about NEastern. The co-op program is a great chance to get an “in” at some of the local healthcare tech or pharma companies in Boston. You could also certainly intern at companies like this with a Lehigh undergrad as well…</p>
<p>Thank you everyone. I think I’m decided on lehigh. I am currently a NYS EMT and want to volunteer for LUEMS. The frat thing may bother me now but maybe I will become accustomed to it with time. I feel like no matter what, people just want to have a good time. I will most likely pick lehigh because of its stellar academics AND because its much cheaper for me. I’m also on the BC waitlist though so if I get in there I will attend BC. As a premed student I feel less debt combined with more prestige should overrule the frat situation, location of lehigh, and the apparently not so great girls.</p>
<p>Lehigh is only known for engineering. Otherwise, Northeastern is more prestigious. </p>
<p>I think it comes down to cost though. Figure out what you can afford. While Northeastern has the medical and science programs you are looking for in a university, be careful taking out student loans. If you want to go to med school, you may want to keep your UG debt down. </p>
<p>If cost isn’t a problem, then Northeastern hands down.</p>
<p>Lehigh is known for more than just engineering. </p>
<p>As for med school, 88% of the Lehigh Class of 2010 candidates who applied to allopathic (M.D.) medical schools with grade point averages (GPAs) of 3.67 or better were accepted. (3.67 was the national average of students accepted into medical schools.) </p>
<p>I would figure that stacks up very well with any college. 2010 grads matriculated at Harvard, Yale, Penn, and Cornell med schools, plus Temple, Drexel, Einstein, and others.</p>
<p>Informative: I’m pretty sure lehigh is much more prestigious compared to northeastern. Just look at the rankings . Lehigh #37, northeastern #69</p>
<p>Disregard everything that Informative posts. He is almost always uniformly incorrect.</p>
<p>Lehigh is situated between Philadelphia and New York, and has a beautiful campus. Lehigh also has great sports and a beautiful football stadium that offers a great view next to the mountain in the autumn when the leaves are turning colors. Lehigh is part of the Patriot League and plays Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette etc. and many of the Ivy’s (Harvard, Princeton, Yale, etc… in football every year). The annual Lehigh - Lafayette football game is the most played rivalry in college football. Lehigh is also always ranked nationally in Wrestling. The Lehigh Valley (Bethlehem, Allentown, and Easton) has a lot of good Restaurants and Pubs. The Triple-A Phillies are in the Lehigh Valley, and the Philadelphia Eagles Summer Camp is at Lehigh. There are also a couple -100,000 people living in the area. Bethlehem (the Christmas City) has great annual events, such as the Music Fest, and Celtic Classic… as do the other Cities in the Lehigh Valley. The Lehigh Valley is home to Lehigh, Lafayette, Cedar Crest, Muhlenberg, and Moravian Colleges. There are many cultural events in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding colleges, and the activities and social life are 2nd to none.</p>