Which is best for a future in business, job readiness, and just overall? Please rank.
Colgate is superior in all ways. It’s ranked significantly higher. The Skidmore student and the Lehigh student are not the same as the Colgate student (in general). What do you mean by business? Wall Street? Operations? Marketing?
@brantly like in terms of preparation for the business world. Job wise. Like yeah, marketing and Wallstreet
Yes, Colgate is ranked higher. But actually, the acceptance rates at both Colgate (SAT 1425) and Skidmore (1300) at 29% are the same with Lehigh (1400) even lower at 26%. So my point being, the student at Colgate is probably very similar to those at Skidmore, but especially at Lehigh. Now, if my student was interested in Wall Street and marketing, I don’t think Skidmore fits the bill but I think that Lehigh might be better for business and marketing. Take a good look there @Jarb15.
Where and by whom? Chapter and verse please?
Pros for choosing Lehigh over Colgate:
- Lower admit rate (~24% this year, I heard unofficially)
- Larger campus and student body allow for more clubs and activities on campus
- Higher salaries after graduation
- A bit warmer weather
- Strong engineering program (none at Colgate)
- Strong business program (none at Colgate)
- Lehigh is within an 1 and 1/2 of both NYC and Philadelphia
Lehigh and Colgate are both excellent schools and you will get a great education at either. I would choose the one that is a better fit for you!
I’d go for Lehigh or Colgate based on fit.
^Absolutely, but he is looking for Wall Street employment and Colgate doesn’t have a business program. I would def consider Lehigh, all other things being equal, the top choice here.
And we are “ranking” for him but have no idea of finances. At what point is one school better than the other? If Lehigh is full pay, Colgate COA $15k a year less and Skidmore COA $40K a year less, who is to say? Back to the “how much debit is worth it for XXX” debate.
Lehigh and Colgate have the strongest reputations for sending graduates into business. Skidmore offers business and economics degrees, but is better known for arts and humanities.
Colgate is slightly more selective than Lehigh, as measured by grades or test scores. Lehigh is slightly more selective in terms of admissions rate.
The main difference, though, is that Colgate is a liberal arts college and Lehigh is a university with a business school. This means that most pre-business students at Colgate will major in “economics”. That’s pretty much the only option for business-oriented study, although I’m sure that the econ dept. is very good. You could easily combine econ with another liberal arts discipline, such as math or a foreign language, by double-majoring.
Lehigh has a full, AACSB-accredited business school; this means that the business curriculum is much larger, and includes both theoretical and applied options. For example, Lehigh offers majors in economics, business economics, finance, management, marketing, supply chain management, and business information systems, along with minors in business, international economics, public policy economics, entrepreneurship, and real estate.
Neither is necessarily better. It depends on the kind of undergraduate business education that you want. Colgate would provide a relatively theoretical overview, in a liberal arts context. Lehigh would provide many more options for applied study. Both approaches can lead to good job opportunities.
Thanks everyone, really helps me get an insight. 
@ClassicRockerDad U.S. News and World Report.
Colgate #12 liberal arts college.
Skidmore #38 liberal arts college
Lehigh #44 in national universities.
Whatever you believe about US News rankings those are big differences. And it’s just my personal opinion that Colgate is a superior school academically.
BTW, yes, Colgate is a liberal arts college, but it has good Wall Street representation. Here’s some of the resources.
https://www.colgate.edu/alumni/professional-networks/finance-and-banking-network
https://www.colgate.edu/campus-life/career-services/industry-insights/deep-dive—finance
OP:
This is not very specific. Not that you have to know right now exactly what you want to do. But marketing is a very different career than working in the financial field on Wall Street. “Preparation for the business world” doesn’t mean anything. You’ll have internships, wherever you go to college. That’s how you familiarize yourself with the business environment.
@Jarb15 ,
Skidmore and Colgate: small liberal arts colleges with all the inherent benefits of small classes, close relationships with faculty, community feel. Lehigh: larger but not gigantic
Colgate: gorgeous campus and buildings, quiet rural area, great resources evident in both campus upkeep and opportunities for students, strong alumni connections; Skidmore: beautiful campus but modern buildings, allegedly among the roomiest dorms, environment rich in arts and creativity, great tourist town; Lehigh: suburban
Colgate and Lehigh: fraternities, with fraternity culture particularly pronounced at Lehigh; Skidmore: no fraternities
Skidmore is the most liberal and experimental in culture.
Lehigh, Colgate: division one sports; Skidmore: division three, plus horses
All three are fabulous schools that will provide a good education and smart peers. Your child can decide which feels most like a good potential “home.”
The difference between Colgate and Skidmore is significant. The differences between Lehigh and the other two is not, because Lehigh is ranked separately, in the “National Universities” category. So it’s an apples and oranges comparison.
Colgate and Lehigh are in the same league, both figuratively and literally (in literal terms, it’s the “Patriot League”). However, it is likely that econ majors at Colgate have slightly higher stats than business school majors at Lehigh. At Lehigh (as at many other universities), the overall stats are probably inflated by the large number of students in the engineering school. This doesn’t happen at Colgate, because they don’t have an engineering program.
@brantly How about I trade you a pound of silver for an ounce of gold. You’re getting 16 times as much raw metal!
Forbes rankings combining unis and LACS
Colgate #42
Lehigh #76
Skidmore #85
Forbes isn’t a very strong predictor of prestige and is generally dismissed. The prestige of schools are a lot more accurate according to US News.
^^@obsessedwcollege
Neither USNWR or Forbes are trying to ‘predict prestige’. They are trying to provide metrics for the schools based on a variety of factors. The methodologies are different, with USNWR relying more on selectivity, reputation and school resources and Forbes relying more on student outcomes. Both have their flaws as well as strengths. Nonetheless, in this particular case, they end up telling the same story. If you believe in rankings, then both methodologies show that Colgate would trump both Skidmore and Lehigh.
I think posters are placing too much weight on rankings that are not that disparate.
If you look at average salaries of graduates in The Economist rankings, Lehigh grads earn a lot more. Lehigh also has very high placement rates, and a larger alumni network, and a business school.
The OP is a career-focused student. Lehigh is the only one of these three schools that is a magnet for pre-professional students where you are surrounded by many students with similar career aspirations. Those are valuable current and future contacts. I would choose Lehigh.
I would also choose Lehigh.
@wisteria100 I didn’t say either ranking system “tries” to predict prestige. I said that one of them simply does a better job of it than the other. The OP is asking which is the best overall. Logically, prestige is a huge indicator of what is best overall and what will provide the best job opportunities. In any case, they don’t “tell the same story” whatsoever. Forbes ranks Colgate above Lehigh, but on US News Lehigh and Colgate are on completely separate ranking systems ergo they aren’t telling the same story. They can’t be compared on US News. Both of these school are in the same league. Colgate definitely doesn’t “trump” Lehigh. Lehigh’s acceptance rate is about 26 percent whereas Colgate’s is about 29 percent. The middle 50 percent ACT at Lehigh is 30-33 whereas Colgate’s is 31-34. Colgate has a slightly higher ACT score and Lehigh has a slightly lower acceptance rate. In both cases, these school are very similar in level of students and selectivity. One school is not clearly superior to the other.
http://www1.lehigh.edu/admissions/undergrad/profile
https://www.colgate.edu/admission-financial-aid/first-year-class-profile