<p>I was told to ask here for more opinions. I am deciding between Penn State Schreyer Honors College and Lehigh University. Which is better academically?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Definitely Lehigh.</p>
<p>And what makes you say that, shimmer? I don’t know either well enough to have an informed opinion, but I’m interested to hear the reasoning.</p>
<p>I think you need to take the time to visit both schools. They are hugely different in terms of size (close to 40,000 undergrads at Penn State compared to close to 5,000 at Lehigh). Look at the students, find out about class sizes at each school, research opportunities, see which school is particularly good in your area of interest, if finances are a factor look at that, etc. I never visited Penn State so I cannot comment on the school at all (neither of my children wanted such a big university) but I was impressed when I visited Lehigh.</p>
<p>I actually visited both schools already and like both environments. Cost may have a small impact on my decision. I can’t decide which has the better Computer Science program though. That’s why I’m asking around to see what others think of the programs :)</p>
<p>How does Schreyers work with one’s chosen major?</p>
<p>Are you instate for PSU? Is that the school that will be more affordable? I think Schreyers kids get about $5k in merit, right? (do you already know that you’ve been selected for SHC??)</p>
<p>You basically take about 2 honors classes per year. If no honors classes exist, then you would ask one of your professors to do an “honors option,” which is a supplement to the regular class. After the third year, you would do an honors thesis, a research project. There are also study abroad options and other things you can do. That’s all I know about the program so far.</p>
<p>Yeah I’m in state. I think scholars get 4k/year in merit aid this year. I don’t know if I’ve been accepted yet. They mail the letters out in March.</p>
<p>If anyone has any insight/first-hand experience into the academic quality of Schreyer or Lehigh, please share! I’d be interested to know.</p>
<p>bump
10 char.</p>
<p>Since you haven’t been accepted yet to SHU, why are you asking this now? The issue may be moot if you’re not accepted.</p>
<p>Are these the only 2 schools that you’ve applied to? If so, that seems like a problem. Are you certain that you have a good affordable school? Do you know how much your parents will pay? If you’re not sure of all funding (grants, etc), then which school is your financial safety school (the school that you know FOR SURE that you have all costs covered AND you’d like to attend?)</p>
<p>It may be moot, but it takes a while to get good responses to a thread. That’s why I’m asking now.</p>
<p>I have plenty of backup financial aid schools. Honestly, my parents could probably pay most of it, and they do want me to go to a good school if I get in.</p>
<p>Lehigh. The specific college means nothing, just the university name on your resume.</p>
<p>The university name means far less than the experiences that you have while at the university. Especially at the undergraduate level.</p>
<p>So disregarding the prestige/name of both universities, anyone have any first-hand experiences with Lehigh or SHC?</p>
<p>Penn State is a great school as is Lehigh. It depends on what kind of school you want.</p>
<p>People really don’t want to answer your question :-). I don’t have any inside information for either school, though just looking at them their curriculum looks strong for both schools, and they both have graduate programs, so you won’t run out of courses to take.</p>
<p>The one big difference I see from a quick scan is that PSU offers a B.S. in computer science from the engineering school. In contrast, Lehigh offers a B.S. from the engineering school, a B.S. from the School of Arts and Sciences, and a B.A. from A&S. Each has a different set of requirements. You might look and see which option makes more sense to you. If you can’t decide, Lehigh might give you more flexibility if you decide later to move from one to the other. </p>
<p>However, comparing the research areas for the CS faculty, PSU is broader than Lehigh. The may be misleading as some research topics may “live” in other departments.</p>