<p>I just transferred to Lehigh this semester as a junior and am loving it so far. I found this site to be very helpful when looking for information about transferring and want to take an opportunity to help out anyone else who's thinking about it. So if anyone has any transfer-specific questions about Lehigh, don't hesitate to post them here and I'll try my best at answering.</p>
<p>Hey I know this was a couple of months old but I have a couple questions. Anyone can answer if they have any info. </p>
<p>I was reading last year’s threads and people mentioned instructor evaluations. As far as I can see on Lehigh’s website, it doesn’t say anything about instructor evaluations or rec’s. It does mention the College Official’s Report but that’s it. Do you need instructor rec’s?</p>
<p>Another thing that I noticed was people were saying they hadn’t heard a decision in May. Does it really take that long? I am planning to finish my app’s by the end of January. Did you apply early? Some of the other schools I am applying to will start releasing decisions in March or even earlier. Lehigh is up there on my list, top 2, especially because of the good FA reputation. But I’d hate to lose my chance at another school only to get rejected at Lehigh. I also just hate the thought of not even knowing what city I’m going to live in until that late. </p>
<p>I think one person mentioned the supplement, there isn’t one is there?</p>
<p>And someone else mentioned that Lehigh didn’t ask for HS transcripts for those applying for Junior year transfer. Do you know if that is true? </p>
<p>I spent some time on Lehigh’s website looking at this stuff and didn’t see evidence of any of these issues. I sent an email to admissions counselor but got an auto-reply that she won’t be replying to emails until Jan 3 because of winter break so I thought I’d just see what people said on CC.</p>
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<p>You do indeed need an instructor evaluation (just one, if I remember correctly). I also thought they were unnecessary because they weren’t mentioned on the site and I ended up sending mine in really late.</p>
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<p>I received mine in early May; it was the second decision I received, actually (out of 8).</p>
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<p>I just checked the admissions page to be sure and didn’t see it mentioned but I remember one when I applied.</p>
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<p>This one I’m not entirely sure about but I’m pretty sure they’re required, or at least I submitted mine. I think test scores may be optional if you’re a junior</p>
<p>I wish I could be more helpful but I forget some of the details from applying, haha - it seems like it was so long ago!</p>
<p>Thank you for the response. It’s nice to hear from those who have gone before you! :)</p>
<p>I emailed Lehigh today asking about the evaluation and they wrote back already saying no evaluation or LOR’s! So weird! Maybe they changed their requirements or something? I don’t know.</p>
<p>No problem, transferring was a really annoying/stressful process so I’d love to help out if I can.</p>
<p>That is really strange about the LOR’s and evaluations; I just went through my old e-mails to make sure I wasn’t crazy because I had to ask the same thing when I was filling out Lehigh’s application and the advisor told me I needed both the dean’s reference and one LOR despite them not being listed. I guess they had to have changed it - that’s good though, two fewer things for you to worry about!</p>
<p>I am finding this process incredibly stressful! </p>
<p>The admissions counselor also told me that this year they are expecting to get decisions out starting the first week in April. That is must better for me. I think Lehigh is the only school I’m applying to that doesn’t have rolling decisions so i’m expecting to hear back from other schools as early as February or March. </p>
<p>I suppose this is something I should have already ascertained but is Lehigh need blind for transfer admissions? And does that policy of being loan free for incomes under $50k apply to transfer students? That means they meet full need for people who make less than $50k right? Otherwise it wouldn’t mean too much if you didn’t have loans but had a huge gap from need to what they provided.</p>
<p>I don’t know how the financial aid works, sorry. The only thing I really know is that merit aid isn’t offered to transfers. I do remember somebody at orientation talking about how they had to take out a ton in loans though, so I don’t think it’s loan-free. The admissions office should be able to answer that one much better than my anecdote.</p>
<p>Yeah I just feel like I’m bothering the guy. I keep having all these questions. One time he thanked me for my ‘diligence’! :P</p>
<p>How’s the city around Lehigh? I’ve heard it was dangerous. I guess there’s danger everywhere, lol, but I think I read somewhere on CC that someone got mugged right outside the campus. Kinda creepy… D:</p>
<p>Also, how are the professors? Are the courses challenging? I feel totally unchallenged by the courses in my major at my current school. And it’s not that my major is not challenging, because I know that it gets really hard, but my classes are moving at such a slow pace!</p>
<p>And what’s the social scene like? Is there anything to do on the weekends? There’s NOTHING to do at my current school…it’s either getting wasted at a sketchy frat party or nothing…</p>
<p>Oh, and what’s the transportation like? I don’t know much about Bethlehem, haha. </p>
<p>Sorry for all the questions!!</p>
<p>Hey, NotAClue, if you find out about Lehigh’s FA, could you let me know? Because my income is below $50K, so it would be amazing if I could get loan free FA! Thanks!</p>
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<p>All in all, Bethlehem isn’t that bad of a place. There are two sides to it, north and south. Lehigh is in south Bethlehem which is the “rougher” of the two and has its crime much like any school in an urban area. The campus itself is completely safe and it’s generally safe to be 1-3 blocks off campus. Most muggings and robberies occur late night / early morning on streets that aren’t so well-lit and to people walking alone. We get e-mail alerts from the Lehigh police when incidents occur and I think I received maybe four or five last semester? I was a little unnerved about the safety of the area too when I came here but now after experiencing it I think it could easily be much, much worse. Our police and the city’s police have been stepping up patrols lately too in response to some robberies that occurred at the end of last semester. </p>
<p>North Bethlehem, in contrast, is pretty nice. That’s across the river and like a 5-10min drive or ~30 minute walk.</p>
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<p>I’d definitely say it’s challenging; that’s something that all of my transfer friends agree with too. We’re all much more challenged than at our previous institutions. Professors on average are pretty good, but like any school, some will be better than others. They’re all very well accomplished in their fields though and all seem pretty accessible to students via e-mail and office hours. </p>
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<p>The party scene is pretty big here. All of the fraternities are located up on “the hill” and have a lot of parties; we have a pretty good greek life here so I wouldn’t describe them (for the most part) as sketchy. Athletic houses and other students who live off campus on streets like east 5th and birkel also have parties. There’s a a ton of clubs and extracurricular activities to get involved with, too. We’re also practically equidistant to Philly and NY so it’s usually possible to at least find something to do here or in the area.</p>
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I have a car on campus so I don’t know much about the public transportation but I’ll try my best :). There’s a bus called the “loop” that runs around the city and has two stops right off campus that’ll take you to north Bethlehem (or the casino!). There’s also a bus that goes to NY and I think there may be one to Philly too. On campus, we have a system at night called TRACS (Take a Ride Around Campus Safely) which has various stops around campus so you don’t have to walk. There’s also a bus on campus that runs during the day between the different Lehigh campuses. I think we also have shuttles that run to the Lehigh Valley Mall on certain days too but I’m not positive about that one.</p>
<p>Hope some of these helped!</p>
<p>Thanks, transferstudent2! </p>
<p>And if anyone still wants to know about Lehigh’s FA, I emailed the financial aid department and received this response: </p>
<p>"To further enhance the universitys commitment and support for need-based financial aid, Lehigh recently introduced its Loan Elimination and Reduction Initiatives. For students who are eligible for financial aid, and whose familys calculated annual income* is less than $50,000, their financial aid package will not include any loans to meet their calculated financial need**. For students who are eligible for financial aid, and whose familys calculated annual income is between $50,000 and $75,000, the loan portion of their need-based financial aid package will be limited to a maximum of $3,000 per year.</p>
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<li>Family calculated annual income is a combination of taxable and untaxed income, includes both custodial and non-custodial income and may include items added back to income such as losses that are merely tax allowances. The Office of Financial Aid will continue to include an expected family contribution (EFC). The EFC is the responsibility of the family and may be paid utilizing current income, savings, a payment plan, borrowing options or some combination. Additional borrowing is at the discretion of the family and is not packaged to meet need.</li>
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<p>**A familys calculated financial need is:</p>
<pre><code>Cost of Attendance less EFC = Need
</code></pre>
<p>NOTE: Special circumstances and other changes that occur after our funds have been exhausted may result in unmet financial need, or the use of loans to meet need.</p>
<p>Now we are not able to provide you with a financial aid figures until all the application and forms are submitted to our office. You should go onto our financial aid web page, click on Transfer student so you can get the application/forms and due dates for transfer students. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us."</p>
<p>So as long as there’s money left over, FA is good! :D</p>
<p>That is very nice! Thank you. 
It’s very similiar to what is on the website but it’s very comforting to know for sure that it applies to transfers. It’s a nice to know that if accepted, there is actually a chance it will be affordable! </p>
<p>Note: They haven’t put up the correct Transfer Application for Financial Aid yet. The one that is there is from last year. The admissions guy told me they ‘hope’ to have it up by next week. That is my last thing to do and then my application to Lehigh will be complete… well everything will be on its way at least.</p>
<p>I know this post is nearly a year old but if you wouldn’t mind could you share your college stats? Also what do you think got you in?</p>
<p>Thank you transferstudent2 for creating this thread! like kevpa1, I too am wondering if you could share your college stats and what you think made your application stand out amongst the rest of Lehigh transfer applications. Thanks!</p>