I’ve recently become really interested in Lehigh. I am fascinated with their unique CSB program and love the look of the campus (from what I’ve seen from pictures, videos, and the virtual tour). I’ve heard about how demonstrated interest plays a large role in admissions and am afraid I’ll be turned down because of it. I am from Texas and most likely won’t be able to visit the campus. I also just recently found out about the school and have possibly missed admission counselor sessions in my area. I have done a virtual tour and signed up for their mailing list but I’m not sure if that’s enough and am worried about my chances. Lehigh is looking like a top 2 or 3 school for me and I’m willing to apply ED2. However, I’ve read posts about their minimal aid for upper middle class applicants and am afraid if I apply ED I wont be able to afford the school. Please know what you guys think about my chances and if you have any suggestions for my demonstrated interest situation.
Upper middle class male Asian applicant
top 7.1% from a competitive high school in suburban Houston
1540 SAT
800 Math 2 subject test
740 chemistry subject test
honors and ap courses whenever possible
9 ap courses by the end of senior year
3.94 uw GPA 4.59 w GPA
4 year soccer player at the JV and Varsity levels
club soccer team won the south texas state championships, semifinalists at the regional championships, will compete at the national level next year
NHS member
science NHS member
spanish NHS member
chess club treasurer
founded and ran my own youth soccer camp
tech summer camp counselor in china for 2 weeks
chinese immersion camp counselor for 2 weeks
part time youth soccer referee
That’s not how it works.
Lehigh’s traditional “base” is the tri-state area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Lehigh is very popular within this area, and they get tons of local applications – way more than they need, because they actually want their enrollment to be nationally (and internationally) representative. So they use “demonstrated interest” to help “weed out” the locals. An applicant from New Jersey who can’t be bothered to make the short drive over to Lehigh will probably get dinged for it.
But if you are from a distant state like Florida or Texas or California, the rules are different. Lehigh wants more students from places like that, which is the opposite of “weeding out”. For example, Lehigh recently established a secondary admissions office in California to help with their recruitment on the West Coast. They want to encourage applications from distant states like Texas, and won’t ding you if you can’t visit (although you would probably get additional points if you did).
Colleges typically send admissions officers on school tours in the fall. Email the admissions office and ask them if they are sending anyone to Texas. Admissions offices usually have different people who handle different parts of the country, so there may be a person who handles Texas specifically. Asking about regional info sessions will get you points for demonstrated interest – although if there is a session near you this fall, and you fail to attend, you may lose them.
Run the NPC. If it’s affordable, then save the results and apply ED. If you are accepted, but the financial aid offer comes in below the NPC result (which you saved for comparison), then point out the discrepancy. If they don’t fix it, then you have legitimate grounds for backing out of the ED commitment. The ED commitment isn’t binding if a school doesn’t provide reasonable financial aid.
I think you get in if you apply ED (which had an acceptance rate of around 60% for Fall 2017). You would also have a solid chance by RD (although the RD rate is much lower, at around 20%). The question is whether Lehigh would be affordable for you.
If you go to their website, there is a page that lists the AO contact info for each region. You could also see about meeting with someone locally for an interview.