Lehigh University Admission
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The Facts

Lehigh University is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and is well known for drawing highly motivated, academically accomplished students from throughout the country. The university has over 4,609 undergraduate students and approximately 2,053 graduate students. The university is made up of several smaller colleges including the College of Education, the College of Business and Economics and the renowned P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Within these colleges, the school offers several unique academic programs including a program for bioengineering, a freshmen immersion program in the humanities, a computer science and business program, and an Integrated Product Development program, which offers a combined curriculum of design arts, engineering, and business. It is easy to see that Lehigh places a strong emphasis on the integration of various disciplines to create a well-rounded, combined major.

Some of the most popular majors at Lehigh University include mechanical engineering, finance, marketing, industrial engineering and psychology. Students emphasize that there are no such things as easy classes at the school, and their workload tends to be quite heavy; however, they also enjoy the variety and depth their classes and professors offer. The student faculty ratio hovers around 10:1, and the average class size is a fairly intimate 25 to 30 students, so professors tend to actually know their students’ names.

Admission to Lehigh is fairly competitive; last year, approximately 9,087 students applied and about 3,678 were accepted, while only 1,125 actually enrolled. The Class of 2004 had an average SAT score ranging from 1210 to 1380, with most students doing better on the math section on average.

The Social Scene

There is definitely somewhat of a motto at Lehigh of “work hard play hard.” Greek life is a big part of campus life, with over 70% of students joining either a fraternity or sorority. Drinking is a large part of the social scene, especially on the weekends, and the Greek houses are always throwing some huge bash. However, due to the administration’s recent crackdown on alchohol, several Greek houses have lost their charters, so non-alchoholic parties are becoming increasingly popular. In general, most students say that partying does not significantly detract from their studying and class time.

There are many student-run activities on campus as well, including a student-run theatrical production club that puts on many plays and one-act festivals throughout the year that are popular with many students. The school also has 24 Division I sports and their athletic facilities are state-of-the-art. The football team, the Hawks, haven’t lost a game in several years, and tailgating is a popular activity.

There are 30% more guys than girls at the college, so ladies, this is your time to shine.

What's Good

“Everyone is really hard-core here about their academics. There is a real sense of focus here during the week, but on the weekends, people aren’t afraid to let loose and have some fun.”

“The school spirit here is fantastic. People really pull together around our sports teams.”

“The campus is always really clean and safe, and the buildings are constantly being kept up.”

What's Bad

“Kids here like to party way too much. The weekends are just loud and obnoxious.”

“Bethlehem is pretty boring. It’s conservative and doesn’t really take charge as a college town.”

“The administration is pretty hard to get in touch with. There is a lot of red tape to hack through.”

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