Hello! I’m applying to Lehigh (haven’t decided ED or RD yet), and after reading the original thread (started in 2008) about the social life, I was wondering if anyone can give me an actual honest view of what goes down :). The old thread seems to have turned into a fighting match haha. I know Lehigh is a good school, and I would like to go to parties with my friends, but I’m worried that the party scene is almost too much. There was also an old post that claimed that rushing sororities was a dangerous and mean process. Can anyone (preferably a student or past student) shine some light on what the social scene is like? Thank you so much.
@ayutrzi
The administration has been working hard to reign in parties on campus in an effort to improve student safety. Remember that Lehigh has over 5,000 undergrads, and that means it has every type of student. There are many activities for students who don’t drink at all, and there are also many students who drink modestly, but have no interest in heavy drinking on a regular basis. You can find peeps that are right for you. Also, Lehigh has a large number of engineers and hard science students who have time consuming courses and don’t have time to party much.
Sorority rush process is pretty standard compared to other schools. Rush is not dangerous. I think you mean pledging? With regard to pledging, there are 9 sororities at Lehigh. What happens depends on the specific sorority. That is true at all schools.
I have not aware of any of the hazing for sororities being actually dangerous. At least one sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, is very vocal that they do absolutely no hazing at all. Zeta seems to be becoming more popular.
Thank you!! That was super helpful, I visited it this weekend and all the students seemed super nice and it’s such a pretty school 
First of all I think I it is important for you to know my son was a Lehigh student. So I am not able to tell you what the “real” social life at Lehigh. But my son did not participate in any social activities in his high school. He felt very comfortable at Lehigh from the very beginning. Lehigh works very hard to help the freshman get connected with others. My son had a great group of male and female friends that were a very diverse group of kids. Some chose to go Greek and others didn’t. They all continued to be friends. My son had not planned to join a fraternity but he went to a couple events and really liked the guys. Lehigh is big enough that they are able to offer many choices for students but small enough to feel like a close knit family.
I am so glad you visited the campus! Everyone just has to find the school that feels right for them! Best of luck to you!!!
As a current freshman at Lehigh I can say it is easy to find a party, but it is also easy to avoid parties. I know a lot of people who go to a party or two a week, I know people who never party, and people who go out nearly every night of the week. It’s super dependent on the student.