<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>Academically Lehigh is a much better school. It is all in what is important to you. </p>
<p>By the way, Lehigh is not ruled by frats. 1/3 of the students are in Greek life.</p>
<p>this is a no brainer</p>
<p>Lehigh is $40,000 less for four years and is much better academically, has a better reputation particularly in the sciences and engineering area, and has a smaller number of undergraduates, 4,800 to 12,800.</p>
<p>For some odd reason the students at Lehigh and the alumni are absolutely in love with their school. You can’t really say this about Northeastern.</p>
<p>As stated before, only about 1/3 of the students are in Frats and Sororities at Lehigh (37-38%). I also find it funny that you mentioned in order to have fun at Northeastern, you have to go to other universities in the area - this should tell you a lot about the social life at Northeastern.</p>
<p>Finally, if after all the studying and fun that you are going to have on the Lehigh campus, you want to go to a big city to socialize, you have Philly only 45 minutes away and NYC a little farther.</p>
<p>The Lehigh Valley has one of the best health networks in the country. Look up Lehigh Valley Health Network. There’s also St. Luke’s Hospital closer to Lehigh itself.</p>
<p>You might be interested in this:
</p>
<p>[America's</a> Best Hospitals, Leading Hospital | Lehigh Valley Health Network | News](<a href=“http://www.lvhn.org/lvh/Your_LVH/LVH_News/Press_Releases|2793]America’s”>http://www.lvhn.org/lvh/Your_LVH/LVH_News/Press_Releases|2793)</p>
<p>But the fact is that you are looking at an undergraduate education, not medical school. Your summers can be spent anywhere. </p>
<p>Besides academics, the other thing you want to consider is student life. Do most students stay on campus or do they go elsewhere for entertainment? (Going elsewhere indicates a less cohesive student community.) Do alumni give a lot of money back to the university? (This indicates loyalty and a positive undergraduate experience.) How much school spirit is there, and does it matter to you? (It matters to a lot of people.) </p>
<p>Did you attend Candidates’ Day at Lehigh? A similar event at Northeastern? Sometimes meeting other students who are considering a college lets you know whether you’d feel at home with them.</p>
<p>[Grants</a> for Experiential Learning in Health](<a href=“http://cas.lehigh.edu/casweb/gelh]Grants”>http://cas.lehigh.edu/casweb/gelh)</p>
<p>I have one of these for this summer. Lehigh is very interested in health; I know health economics is one of the specialties of the economics department. We have a Health and Biopharmaceutical Economics Program and a PhD. Program. We also added a few professorships related to health last summer.</p>
<p>Here is the link for the new professorships [Lehigh</a> University Presidential Endowed Chair: Professorship in Health-related Social Sciences/Humanities Search: President’s Announcement](<a href=“http://www.lehigh.edu/healthsearches/socialscienceandhumanities/position.html]Lehigh”>http://www.lehigh.edu/healthsearches/socialscienceandhumanities/position.html)</p>
<p>I also worked with a few people who had one of these [Research</a> Scholar Program | Lehigh Valley Health Network | Education | College Students | Research Scholar Program](<a href=“Welcome to Lehigh Valley Health Network | Lehigh Valley Health Network”>Welcome to Lehigh Valley Health Network | Lehigh Valley Health Network) last summer.</p>