<p>JonAdams12 - I’m glad I was able to make you laugh. However, that^^ was not a negative. I stated multiple times that I thought the Lehigh campus was gorgeous. It’s only a negative for someone who prefers lots of of sunshine vs. mostly shade and wants the option of “laying out” on a sunny day. My D did, I could have cared less and didn’t really notice the shade til she pointed it out. I’m only reporting what we saw, and how my D reacted. I would have been very happy for either of my D’s to have gone to Lehigh which is why I took the one interested in living in that area for a visit in the first place. </p>
<p>That being said, neither of us know what the OP is looking for in her college experience and at this point, she is down to the wire. Little details can make you feel one way or another about a school. The OP said she was originally looking for a warm climate, which to her could also mean she is looking for flat areas with lots of sunshine to lay out while studying since she is from CA. That warm climate may not even be a factor anymore because of where her twin is going, so this all may be a mute point.</p>
<p>njmom, very few students of the total population of each college “lay out in the sun” to study at the more serious colleges. I find this priority for choosing a college to be rather strange. Take a walk around the california campuses of Stanford, CalTech, Pomona, Pepperdine and USC, arguably the top private colleges in sunny California.</p>
<p>^^No one said “laying out in the sun” was a priority. That notion is absolutely ridiculous. And again, I never said that a shady campus is a negative either. As I’ve stated many times before, I find the Lehigh campus to be quite beautiful. You are taking much of what I’m saying out of context. You are certainly welcome to your opinion, but you are forgetting that the OP is not basing her decision purely on academics, as she stated. Students are allowed to have fun and relax too - “serious” college or otherwise, but it sounds like you think the majority of students at “serious schools” only want to study inside. How sad. Hmmmm, wonder why so many campuses now boast that they have wireless access completely across campus, including those outside quads?</p>
<p>When all things in a student’s mind are equal, trivial things such as this can make a difference - in either direction - in assessing which school is the best overall fit – for that person. Everyone has a different idea of what they want their next 4 years to be like. I for one, did not influence my two D’s decision, even when they asked what I thought. It really was up to them and not to me. So let’s stop trying to be so judgmental. It’s really not about you.</p>
<p>Why do you insist on twisting things around JohnAdams? nj_mom made it perfectly clear that she was simply describing the campus and IF that was a feature, positive or negative, that mattered to a student then they should know about it. She never said anything remotely like laying out in the sun was the only way to have fun.</p>
<p>fallenchemist, yes people can read for themselves regarding the comments made on the importance of attending a school with less trees because the kid needs to sunbathe.</p>
<p>WaitingDad, thanks for the wonderful video… yep, there were no open grass areas with plenty of sunshine for students to sunbathe, as njmom stated. Darn those beautiful trees and landscaping.</p>
<p>The toughest part of watching the video was trying to figure out how all that grass seems to richly grow without any sunlight.</p>
<p>When I visited Lehigh, I too thought it was pretty but seemed a little cramped. It might have a huge total acreage, but much of it seemed to be inaccessible. The main campus area, although pretty, doesn’t have a lot of huge open grassy spaces like you see in some colleges. I don’t think that I’d make a college decision on that basis, but for some people, it could be a negative.</p>
<p>When you say that “it seemed a little cramped”, is it that you could hardly walk because there were so many students in such a small area or that the buildings were so close to each other, or any other situation?</p>
<p>and as you review the comments above, the issue wasn’t that it was “cramped”, the issue was that there were so many trees that little sunlight was being let in for sunbathing.</p>
<p>JohnAdams-- I think it felt cramped because the main area of campus was not huge and was very crowded with students (particularly when classes were changing) and there just wasn’t enough walking room. I don’t remember the buildings being particularly close together–it was just that there were lots of buildings and lots of students in a relatively small area. There was also a road going through the same area and you had to really dodge the cars at the same time (and of course it was also very steep which probably didn’t help).</p>
<p>That said, I thought the campus was very pretty and I really enjoyed the info sessions because the curriculum was interesting and offered a lot of flexibility.</p>
<p>I too am not too happy about a school having active streets run right through the campus. It does happen often, though (Yale, Harvard, BU as examples)</p>
However, that^^ was not a negative. I stated multiple times that I thought the Lehigh campus was gorgeous. It’s only a negative for someone who prefers lots of of sunshine vs. mostly shade and wants the option of “laying out” on a sunny day. My D did, I could have cared less and didn’t really notice the shade til she pointed it out. I’m only reporting what we saw, and how my D reacted. I would have been very happy for either of my D’s to have gone to Lehigh which is why I took the one interested in living in that area for a visit in the first place. </p>