Lehigh vs Purdue

My DS was accepted to both of these schools as a second year engineering transfer. He is struggling to decide where to attend. Unfortunately because of Covid he’s been unable to do visits although he was able to see the Lehigh campus in March but there were no tours and most of the buildings were closed. He thought it would be Purdue but after looking online it seems to be a pressure cooker with very little social life for the students. Lehigh while challenging seems to be a bit more humane. It is however much more expensive and may not have the same name recognition as Purdue. He has a deadline for this Monday and since he hasn’t been able to visit is at a loss what to do. Does anyone have any insight and advice?

@momofsenior1 should have some insights for you.

FWIW when D19 and I toured Lehigh we got the impression that it is very academically rigorous, and a lot of pressure to keep grades up especially in engineering. Lehigh is definitely a work hard play hard school. Maybe the poster child for that. Obviously just an n of 1.

Personally I would go with Purdue and its lower cost, especially if affording Lehigh would require loans.

Yes, both are very rigorous but with limited information we have to rely on the internet and there are many posts characterizing Purdue in this way, failing many, weeding them out and again having time only for academics. I don’t know if these are outliers or more of the standard. Cost, while important, is secondary to being the right fit for him.

I expect that he needs to be readmitted to major after a certain number of credits from Purdue and GPA correct? Is Lehigh the same?

He was accepted to EE at Purdue and engineering at Lehigh, I assume until his spring grades are evaluated.

I would expect it all depends on him. I have a kid at Michigan State and another at Penn State and both engineering programs take up a lot of time class wise and workload. Classes are large at State schools compared to private schools. The Sparty just got admitted to Upper School Chemical Engineering and I felt like I was in school with him waiting for his final admission. Just make sure its not pre major admissions and I would go with saving money especially in these crazy times. Told both boys I will not pay if there is a free option.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to repost and I’m not sure how to edit it

Not sure where you’re getting much of your info on Purdue. My D just finished her Junior year in Engineering. Yes, it’s a rigorous program, but any top engineering school is going to be. I can’t imagine Lehigh is going to be much different.

Students drop out/transfer to other majors, but I don’t think the numbers are abnormal. She had a group of students with which she does homework, studies, etc., and they are quite collaborative/supportive.

She’s an officer in a performing group, doing acting/set design/costumes/etc. for stage plays. She occasionally goes to sporting and social events. There’s not a lot of free time, but it’s not a crushing grindstone.

She was accepted to Lehigh. It was her 3rd or 4th choice behind a clear Purdue/Virginia Tech top two. Lehigh certainly has a more attractive campus, up there with VT at the top. But the engineering facilities, student support options, and general approach/attitude of everyone we met made Purdue an easy choice for both her and her parents. The 9-years-and-running cost freeze was a bonus. We’re still quite happy with the choice.

I was accepted at Lehigh when I was in HS, one of only three schools I applied to. I was somewhat surprised that it seemed to have fallen in recognition/reputation in the intervening decades. Just my observation/opinion.

I’m from NJ and Lehigh has a great reputation for engineering, it’s very selective too. I applied and was accepted for business, but I will be attending UW-Madison next fall. I don’t know much about Purdue, but its location is isolated while Lehigh is in a large town with close proximity to NYC and Philly. Both schools will probably be very difficult for engineering since they both have great programs.

In engineering or generally? By standardized scoring profiles, Lehigh, 77th in the below analysis of a few years ago, places much higher than Purdue, at 196th. For engineering specifically, however, it might be best to ignore this consideration.

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9

My D is a rising junior in chemical engineering at Purdue. She was also accepted to Lehigh.

Let me start that I loved the Lehigh campus. One of the most strikingly beautiful campuses I’ve ever been on. Personally I loved it.

D was 100% sold on Purdue the second she saw the admissions presentation. It has a midwest, laid back, collaborative vibe that she was wanted. Students are very down to earth.

We’ve been blown away by how wonderful Purdue has turned out to be. (Both H and I went to Cornell and were nervous about the huge, public school environment). It’s been fantastic all around. Super professors, lots of tight connections, and amazing opportunities.

My D absolutely works hard but has time to be an officer and perform in a theater group, does SWE, is on a mentor council, is a co-op student, dates, goes to sporting events, etc… She has a very full social life and still has great grades.

Boiler Up!

I’m not clear on what SAT scores have to do with name recognition. I can assure you Harvey Mudd (#7) doesn’t have higher name recognition than Duke (#15), Alabama (196) or even Oregon State (#414)

Purdue Engineering has a vastly different profile than the school as a whole. Engineering last year was 1414, vs. the article’s 2015 school average of 1205. Fwiw, Lehigh’s was somewhere around the same - their 25-75% range was 1300-1430, Engineering surely on the higher end.

Name recognition/reputation is one of the few things for which ranking data is often a decent proxy. USNews ranks engineering schools on “reputation score”, which is just “surveyed engineering school deans and faculty members in spring 2019 and asked them to rate each program they were familiar with”. I collected rankings from many sources when my D was looking.

Purdue: 9 (USNews), 16, 9, 29, 11, 13, 8, 24, 10, 17, 9
Lehigh: 47(USNews), NR, 40, NR, 20, 47, NR, NR, 49, 38 [NR=Not Ranked, either T25(2) or T50(2)]

These are just a couple of data points. My D applied to and was accepted to both and I would have been fine with either.

Fwiw, I grew up in NJ but moved away after HS. Maybe reputation is a regional thing.

Thanks to everyone for the input. Looks like it’s gonna be Purdue.

Best of luck to your son at Purdue, @Madaldad!