<p>Sometimes you get a better view of a college by looking at what students/faculty/applicants don't like about a college than by looking at what's awesome about it.</p>
<p>Surrounding town isn’t all that great. Lack of racial diversity. High tuition. Majority men. Campus police I hear are more concerned with busting parties than the safety of the students. </p>
<p>Not too many cons for me, definitely not enough to outweigh the pros.</p>
<p>I registered for this site just to reply to coastin.</p>
<p>I’m a junior at lehigh and even though they make it out to be a safe school with their own police force AND the bethlehem police, it really isnt. </p>
<p>yesterday morning (sunday) i got an email saying that a student and four of his friends were robbed at gunpoint right by the school at 1am that morning. it’s a shock to be because i was out last night a within 2 minute walking distance from where this occurred.</p>
<p>between that and the occasional mugging by small groups of teenagers at knife point (happens occasionally), i would say take this into consideration.</p>
<p>I may seem a little over dramatic about it but it is because i live in broadhead (it’s one of the only places to live at the bottom of the hill, pretty much off campus) that i think about it more.</p>
<p>if you have any other questions just let me know.</p>
<p>I am a senior and I would say that a lot of the things previously mentioned are getting better. Our racial diversity has changed a lot in the last four years and as for our tuition, while it might be high, it includes a lot of things that are extra costs at other schools that make costs add up really quickly. My friends at state schools are having trouble finishing in four years because they can’t get classes which means they pay tuition for extra semesters in addition to paying for printing and tutoring all of which are included in Lehigh tuition. I like that it’s fairly all inclusive rather than being nickel and dimed for every little thing.</p>
<p>^^ That’s funny. They give us printing and tutoring? At the cost of 20k more than the last private school i attended?</p>
<p>Ha… explain to me why i just paid $175 today for a parking pass for a year AND 13$ so my girlfriend could park her car here friday-monday. At my last private school? Free.</p>
<p>It is true that there is a lot to do on campus, but you’re definitely paying for it.</p>
<p>the parking sounds kinda cheap. i know a few schools that charge a whole lot closer to a thousand for the year</p>
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<p>Hah that e-mail freaked me out too - I was down on e 5th that night.</p>
<p>That’s the only thing I don’t like about Lehigh so far. I haven’t really been off-campus that much because of the surrounding area.</p>
<p>^^ I don’t know whether the crime is getting worse or the reporting of it is getting better.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, crime is an issue at any urban school. And the cost of a private university seems to be about the same, whether you are talking number one in the country or number 100; the only differences seem to be in the amount of merit aid offered.</p>
<p>Here’s just a slightly different perspective on Lehigh (from Grad student/TA perspective):</p>
<p>Lehigh holds a special place for its engineering/science/business programs, and their journalism program to a lesser extent. These are the areas where Lehigh truly shines. While the school wants to make efforts to improve their humanities/liberal arts/social sciences areas, it just does not compare to the investments made in their key programs. If you are seeking out a school that you can truly explore your interests, particularly in these less prominent areas, I do not feel you will have the best experience at Lehigh. You CAN find a good experience, as you can at almost any school, but you are going to have to work harder and will need more initiative in order to do so. You need to be more of a go-getter, because the opportunities aren’t just going to be dropped in your lap like they would be for business/science/engineering.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman in Engineering, so I can speak for that perspective. </p>
<p>1) crime - he has not yet ventured off campus, but on campus feels perfectly safe and happy. As Momwaiting has remarked, urban schools do unfortunately experience off campus and sometimes on campus crime from time to time, but my son certainly FEELS very safe.</p>
<p>2) Opportunities - in engineering it is boundless, the school has a very good rep with employers and grad schools and my son gets regular emails with engineering internship and job opportunities. I understand it is like that in business also, so if you plan on either of those majors Lehigh is a first rate choice.</p>
<p>3) Hills, yes it has intense hills. My son counted 319 steps from the bookstore to his dorm room. It cuts down on gym time, you only have to work the upper body!</p>
<p>Okay I am a student at Lehigh and I would like to respond to a few things. </p>
<p>1) Crime- I was at the location of that crime 5 minutes before it happened. I was with two friends and nothing happened. The reason they were robbed was because it was one guy and multiple girls and the robbers probably did not see it as much of a fight. If you travel in groups, there is usually no problem. Most of my friends male and female would say that to you. As long as you travel with friends you are usually okay. There are occasional robberies, but that occurs in any city. </p>
<p>2) Hills- Everyone complains about the hills, but you eventually get used to them.</p>
<p>3)Campus Police- The campus police are there to help students. Very rarely do they try to catch kids. It is the Bethlehem Police that go after most students. The patrol right on the edge of campus, but even they aren’t overly concerned with busting kids. </p>
<p>4) Surrounding Neighborhood- This is being fixed slowly. There are clearly tensions there, but things are moving in the right direction. </p>
<p>As for what I personally do not like at Lehigh. There really is nothing. Anything I have a problem with is being fixed or students are working on fixing and that is the main goal for any colllege. Improving every way possible.</p>