@gymrat16 Villanova and Lehigh are very similar schools. Their class sizes, student size, Greek size, acceptance rate, and notability are roughly the same. Between those two schools, I would recommend visiting them to better understand the school’s culture.
Between Lehigh/Villanova and Penn State, there is a large difference. Because Penn State is such a large school it has more alumni which can be beneficial. I can tell you first hand the Lehigh and Lehigh’s Greek alumni are very active and they recruit Lehigh students. I personally did not want to go to such a large school. I preferred the under 10,000 school size. There are a lot of Penn State graduates at Wall Street but I have heard a Penn State degree less favored compared to Ivy and secondary Ivy schools.
My favorite thing about Lehigh is its alumni. I participate in Greek life and the alumni I have met have been amazing. They have taught me the skills necessary for internships and recruitment.
My least favorite thing about Lehigh is the hills. If you visit Lehigh you will quickly learn how nice but hilly the campus is. It is a constant work out between the dorms and the classes.
@johnwall47 Lehigh has better on-campus recruitment for accounting than IB. Nevertheless, Lehigh has a lot of students go to the major IB companies: GS, Lynch, Blackrock, and other financial institutions; however, I can’t speak to the on-campus recruitment at other East Coast schools. When attending Lehigh it is important to look into its major three finance “groups/clubs”. These clubs are very difficult to be selected into but they provide great first-hand investment experience that IB companies are looking for.
Thanks for doing this AMA! Glad to hear that the party rep is being subdued a bit. It’s the major thing my D is worried about when applying to Lehigh. What’s the gender ratio of those three important clubs, roughly? And how Greek-dominated are they? I’m wondering if a female who wasn’t interested in Greek culture would feel welcome or even have a chance of being admitted to one of those clubs.
@cjjohnson Honestly, finance is not a super difficult major at any school. The more difficult aspect is how are you going to standout against other finance students? The best way is to network, an applicable major/minor (Computer Science and FinTech are great ones), investment clubs, and a good GPA. Lehigh offers great opportunities to stand out.
Depending on the Frat/Scrat it can be more expensive because of fees.
I would not recommend joining Greek Life only if your interested in the parties. Liking the “brothers” within the fraternity is far more important than the parties.
Greek Life does take some time during the recruitment periods. It’s not a lot, but time management is important.
@AMALehigh I am an international student. I loved Lehigh’s engineering program and their financial aid to package. I am going to apply in ED there. But recently I heard some bad stuff about Lehigh’s social life. Being an asian i don’t drink and don’t like to party. So will I fit in there?
@AMALehigh my relatives live in bronx. Can I stay with them, will it be too far? Sorry if the question sounds silly but I live outside US so I don’t know much.
The Bronx in New York is quite far and isn’t realistic for a daily commute. I am not sure how this year will work out with Covid-19 and all. There is a lot of time between classes so having a residency near by is very useful.
@maria0011 The party scene at Lehigh is mainly attributed to Greek Life. Lehigh is less than 40% Greek Life and is slowly shrinking. This means that a majority of Lehigh shares similar values to you. You will most definitely fit in.
@cjjohnson Join clubs, academic ones, sports ones, religious ones, honestly just talk to people, everyone is super nice.
Yeah it is a little weird using a communal bathroom at first, but it just like a gym locker. In my experience everyone is very respectful. JUST REMEMBER BUY SHOWER SHOES!!!
I forgot to mention something important for students applying in the future. If Lehigh is your reach/dream school APPLY EARLY DECISION (ED). THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. LEHIGH ACCEPTS A CRAZY AMOUNT OF ED STUDENTS COMPARED TO OTHER SCHOOLS.
Hey, thank you for doing this. I know I’m a bit late but here are my questions:
I'm currently going to be a freshman at my state school this fall semester and I was thinking of applying to transfer here for the 2021 fall semester. Do you happen to know anything about the transfer process?
Do you know how good the CSB program at Lehigh? Is it thorough in teaching both business and comp. sci?
How diverse is the campus? Is there a lot of racism? I'm a minority so I would want to go to a school that's diverse.
Are there any multicultural/cultural frats? Are there any business frats? What clubs are there for business students? Is there a student-managed investment fund?
What's the college environment like? Is it easy to make friends and meet new people because it's small? Is it in a city-like area or is it rural and quiet? Are there activities to do off-campus/are there restaurants, shops, etc. in close proximity to campus? I live close to NYC so I'm used to that city-life and I'm not sure if I would be able to adjust.
Is there a lot of OCR for finance students? Do you know if finance students are able to secure IB summer gigs or recruitment positions easily? And do any bulge bracket companies come on campus for recruitment?
I do not know much about the transfer rate besides statistics. All I know is that they want a very high GPA from your freshman year and the transfer rate is similar to the acceptance rate.
The CSB program is a very good one at Lehigh. Many of my friends are in it and love it. It has a crazy high job placement rate. It is difficult though because your schedule will be busier.
As I said in a previous post, I have not experienced any racism at Lehigh nor have my friends. I am not sure which school you will be coming from to compare diversity. Lehigh is more diverse than a lot of East Coast business schools but less than a lot of state schools.
Yes, there are three student-run investment groups. I would recommend checking out my previous posts on this as I go more in-depth on them. There is an academic business fraternity along with many social organizations for most majors. I would recommend checking this out: https://businessundergrad.lehigh.edu/BusinessClubs .
In my personal experience compared to other schools, Lehigh students are very nice and welcoming: this was a major reason I chose to attend. I come from a larger city so Bethlehem was a change, but I still enjoy it greatly. Compared to NYC there is less to do. Most students join clubs and organizations because a weekend trip to NYC or Philly isn’t realistic. That being said, I spend all of my breaks and time in NYC. There is great bus transportation called “Our Bus” which is cheap and easy.
Because Lehigh isn’t a massive school or an Ivy League recruitment is tougher for Investment Banking. At the career fairs, hedge funds and the large 4 accounting firms recruit heavily. Investment banks will set up their own date and time to recruit students. If you want to go into Investment Banking, networking is critical for the big banks. Lehigh as Alumni in all the banks so utilizing your resources is what gets you the jobs as a Lehigh student.
Hey, I just got off the waitlist yesterday and committed to Lehigh. So I set up my account and my email but I can’t seem to find how to do my housing/dining and the Student portal says that it was decommissioned June 5. Can you explain the process of applying for housing for first year students and what is my main “hub” to track my progress as a student? Thanks!