Just wondering what other schools Lehigh is comparable to in academics and career outcomes. I specifically care about general, engineering, CS, and business.
I also want the reality. I don’t want Lehigh’s inflated idea or another colleges aspirations. I suppose I want what employers, academics, and the public think.
By “peer institution”, do you mean (a) those which Lehigh considers to be “peer institutions”, or (b) those which consider Lehigh to be a “peer institution”?
In general, group (a) will be “higher” in various prestige and selectivity factors than group (b), since universities tend to see themselves as “peers” in an “upward” direction.
I suppose I mean in reality. I don’t want Lehigh’s inflated idea or another colleges aspirations. I suppose I want what employers, academics, and the public think.
I am going to edit this into the main post.
My opinion….Lafayette, Union, Dickinson, Villanova.
From the Fiske Guide To Colleges 2020 edition:
Lehigh’s overlap schools: Wake Forest, Boston College, Tulane, William & Mary, Northeastern, Cornell, Villanova, & Bucknell.
My immediate reaction: Lafayette College & Bucknell University. Then Union College.
No LACs are overlaps: UG population is much larger plus G students , D1 athletics, well respected business and engineering colleges plus unique interdisciplinary majors, more STEM oriented.
Bucknell, Villanova, URochester, Rensselaer, case western
Possibly BC and Northeastern
Assuming you want similar enrollment campuses 4K-11K, not too far west, private institutions, a suburban/urban environment, and admit rates near or somewhat less selective than Lehigh’s …
George Washington U
Bucknell
Elon
SMU
Hofstra
Drexel
Marquette
Manhattan College
St Louis University
Loyola Maryland
Fairfield University
Depending on your stats, some of these may be reaches while others may be matches or safeties.
Not all will have all majors of engineering/CS/Business, or have each ranked in the same regard.
Regarding what “employers, academics, the public think” is something of a red herring. Good students from all these schools who graduate with a good GPA and who take advantage of career services and internships should land good jobs in their chosen fields. Students who graduate with a lower GPA and/or do not take advantage of career services and internships will likely have a more difficult go at it no matter which school it is.
I chose schools with equal or lesser selectivity than Lehigh because it might not make sense to suggest schools that are so selective as to be unlikely for admittance for most applicants. Certainly take a shot if a more selective school is a favorite, but also include several more-likely options. Also, it’s sort of a smaller grouping of schools that offer those three majors and have that mid-size feel.
Some of these schools fly under the radar for students not in the area - like St Louis University, which offers degrees in all your choices and has a medical school. It’s easy to get caught up in the rankings and miss all the many fine universities that may actually be better fits for most students.
The OP is already attending Lehigh in the fall.
Oops. I guess I missed the point of the inquiry in the first message by OP.
What is the point?
To the OP. We know a number of Lehigh grads. They all have great jobs. Why are you asking this question if you are already going to attend Lehigh.
I’d like to see Lehigh’s standing. I need to know where I’ll be sitting on the chain, and quite frankly rankings aren’t really that helpful for my purposes. Please don’t assume this is just another post of mine doubting Lehigh because it is not.
Lehigh places quite well in business and engineering related jobs. Don’t worry so much about similar schools. Concentrate on what you want to study and how you feel about the college / university. If you want to work in finance or accounting in the NE, Lehigh is very strong. Engineering is strong. The interdisciplinary majors are outstanding and unique and place very well. Know a kid that just placed into KKR from the engineering / business track. Look at their first destination reports.
Beautiful campus. Smart kids. Known to be “work hard / play hard”. Great outcomes. See if the culture (lot of Greek life) works for you.
Standing/rankings don’t matter. What you will do with your time at Lehigh will be what matters. Be aggressive in finding internships, get involved on campus, make connections with professors. Some of the most successful people I know went to schools ranked much much lower than Lehigh.
For engineering I would say they overlap is with Case, RPI, Lafayette, Bucknell type schools.
When u get to campus go to career placement and find out what type of jobs people get coming out of your program at Lehigh. I think that would give you more of the information you want than this exercise.
You’re absolutely right. With so many threads I lost track of the screenname and thought this was a question from a student looking for help in choosing a college. I’ll never get those ten minutes back. 