Lehigh valley PA colleges

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could also toss in Scranton, which is just about an hour north of Lehigh. It's a little gem ... crappy town but strong academics and happy, spirited students. I've had nieces and nephews attend and they were very happy.

+1 My friend's daughter just decided to go to Scranton and she's very excited about it.

My son is thinking of Scranton but it’s an academic reach for him. He’s been recommended to look at Marywood - anyone know anything about it?

I only know that it used to be all female. I'm never sure about the male/female dynamic at these colleges. But why not check it out? Scranton is not nice, per se, but there's plenty to do in the area, especially if your kid likes to ski.

I think we will go see it this summer. My son actually likes Scranton - he’s a big The Office fan and the rust belt vibe doesn’t bother any of us. I have no idea whether only 33% men would be a turn off - he will be a recruited athlete so he’ll spend hours every day in an all male environment with built in male buddies, so it may not matter much to him.

I like Scranton, too. It's got character. Good luck on your journey!

[Anonymous]

Folks, if depressed PA urban areas are your thing, then look at Lehigh Valley colleges.

I consider their locations the worst of both worlds. They are located in depressed, small cities with little to do for a college kid (and even next to nothing right by the campus). Crime doesn't really touch the campuses...but it is not far away.

The reason I would pick Lehigh is that it actually has a bunch of stuff going on, even if that is lots of fraternity parties or what not. It is much larger than the other schools, which adds to its appeal. Downtown Bethlehem is quaint for 50 year old couples for a nice weekend around the holidays (which is maybe why parents like it)...but again, not much for 18-22 year olds.

There are so many college options in dynamic or quaint or interesting places. I just don't see the appeal of Lehigh Valley schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Folks, if depressed PA urban areas are your thing, then look at Lehigh Valley colleges.

I consider their locations the worst of both worlds. They are located in depressed, small cities with little to do for a college kid (and even next to nothing right by the campus). Crime doesn't really touch the campuses...but it is not far away.

The reason I would pick Lehigh is that it actually has a bunch of stuff going on, even if that is lots of fraternity parties or what not. It is much larger than the other schools, which adds to its appeal. Downtown Bethlehem is quaint for 50 year old couples for a nice weekend around the holidays (which is maybe why parents like it)...but again, not much for 18-22 year olds.

There are so many college options in dynamic or quaint or interesting places. I just don't see the appeal of Lehigh Valley schools.

I wouldn’t say that the location is an attraction, but I also don’t think kids should be isolated from what normal American life is. My kid has grown up in a blue collar part of the DMV, but he goes to a private school and also sees a lot of very wealthy families/neighborhoods. I’d absolutely appreciate him spending four years in a place so different from home.

I went to college in Boston. I rarely left campus. We did go to the movies occasionally or to a bagel joint. Everything I needed was on campus, and Boston was just immaterial. People are different and need different things but at least for my family an upscale suburb or city isn’t one of them.

[Anonymous]

Interesting re: the Boston poster just above. My kiddo's top school is in a small town in the Boston burbs, but right next to a commuter train station. She is so excited about the opportunity to take the train into Boston from time to time. The campus is super small, but in a very cute little town that I am sure she will walk around from time to time, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had an internet friend who is a professor at a suburban Philly area university warn me about DeSales being almost fundie Catholic and crazy conservative. That would be a very wrong fit for our children.

I grew up nearby and it seems like a normal Catholic regional/commuter college to me. Great theater productions. A fair amount of older/non-traditional students. It used to be called Allentown College. I don’t know why you’d go from out of state but I have never heard of weird religious overtones. The area is conservative compared to DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks, if depressed PA urban areas are your thing, then look at Lehigh Valley colleges.

I consider their locations the worst of both worlds. They are located in depressed, small cities with little to do for a college kid (and even next to nothing right by the campus). Crime doesn't really touch the campuses...but it is not far away.

The reason I would pick Lehigh is that it actually has a bunch of stuff going on, even if that is lots of fraternity parties or what not. It is much larger than the other schools, which adds to its appeal. Downtown Bethlehem is quaint for 50 year old couples for a nice weekend around the holidays (which is maybe why parents like it)...but again, not much for 18-22 year olds.

There are so many college options in dynamic or quaint or interesting places. I just don't see the appeal of Lehigh Valley schools.

I wouldn’t say that the location is an attraction, but I also don’t think kids should be isolated from what normal American life is. My kid has grown up in a blue collar part of the DMV, but he goes to a private school and also sees a lot of very wealthy families/neighborhoods. I’d absolutely appreciate him spending four years in a place so different from home.

I went to college in Boston. I rarely left campus. We did go to the movies occasionally or to a bagel joint. Everything I needed was on campus, and Boston was just immaterial. People are different and need different things but at least for my family an upscale suburb or city isn’t one of them.

This is one of the stranger brags I have read. You went to college in Boston...and you never left campus except to go to a bagel shop? That sounds very sad and a waste of four years in a pretty cool place for someone 18-22.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had an internet friend who is a professor at a suburban Philly area university warn me about DeSales being almost fundie Catholic and crazy conservative. That would be a very wrong fit for our children.

I grew up nearby and it seems like a normal Catholic regional/commuter college to me. Great theater productions. A fair amount of older/non-traditional students. It used to be called Allentown College. I don’t know why you’d go from out of state but I have never heard of weird religious overtones. The area is conservative compared to DC.

she guest taught during covid and was really unhappy with the way things were handled at DeSales

They are part of her network through the school she teaches at and I think her daughter could have attended for cheap, but she was very turned off after her experience there. Her daughter is going to be going to a school in Philly instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks, if depressed PA urban areas are your thing, then look at Lehigh Valley colleges.

I consider their locations the worst of both worlds. They are located in depressed, small cities with little to do for a college kid (and even next to nothing right by the campus). Crime doesn't really touch the campuses...but it is not far away.

The reason I would pick Lehigh is that it actually has a bunch of stuff going on, even if that is lots of fraternity parties or what not. It is much larger than the other schools, which adds to its appeal. Downtown Bethlehem is quaint for 50 year old couples for a nice weekend around the holidays (which is maybe why parents like it)...but again, not much for 18-22 year olds.

There are so many college options in dynamic or quaint or interesting places. I just don't see the appeal of Lehigh Valley schools.

I wouldn’t say that the location is an attraction, but I also don’t think kids should be isolated from what normal American life is. My kid has grown up in a blue collar part of the DMV, but he goes to a private school and also sees a lot of very wealthy families/neighborhoods. I’d absolutely appreciate him spending four years in a place so different from home.

I went to college in Boston. I rarely left campus. We did go to the movies occasionally or to a bagel joint. Everything I needed was on campus, and Boston was just immaterial. People are different and need different things but at least for my family an upscale suburb or city isn’t one of them.

This is one of the stranger brags I have read. You went to college in Boston...and you never left campus except to go to a bagel shop? That sounds very sad and a waste of four years in a pretty cool place for someone 18-22.

Brag? Not a brag at all, and I didn't go to Harvard. I was a typical young person who didn't take advantage of the wealth of opportunities Boston offered. Instead I went to Bruggers Bagels with my friends after crew practice. We sat on the library roof and ate ice cream and talked about the meaning of life. It was a good four years that could have been anywhere - the city didn't define my time. Yeah, that's a little sad. But it does mean that when my kid is picking colleges I'm not going to tell them that they should avoid/seek out one kind of location or another. I don't think it will matter to their experience much. But your kid may be entirely different, and maybe they'll take advantage of everything a cool city has to offer.

[Anonymous]

I actually wish I had looked at schools near a more exciting city. My campus was awesome, beautiful and pretty self contained, but the nearby city was not at all interesting. I mean, we'd leave campus to shop at big box stores, go to the movies and go to the mall, sometimes go for a meal. But it wasn't anything like Boston. My daughter spent just a couple hours in Boston on our way to and from the little college in the burbs and just absolutely fell in love with it. It is a big perk weighing her options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Folks, if depressed PA urban areas are your thing, then look at Lehigh Valley colleges.

I consider their locations the worst of both worlds. They are located in depressed, small cities with little to do for a college kid (and even next to nothing right by the campus). Crime doesn't really touch the campuses...but it is not far away.

The reason I would pick Lehigh is that it actually has a bunch of stuff going on, even if that is lots of fraternity parties or what not. It is much larger than the other schools, which adds to its appeal. Downtown Bethlehem is quaint for 50 year old couples for a nice weekend around the holidays (which is maybe why parents like it)...but again, not much for 18-22 year olds.

There are so many college options in dynamic or quaint or interesting places. I just don't see the appeal of Lehigh Valley schools.

Concur. Many options in DMV. No need to go to L valley unless you have family/friends around there and want to be closer to them, or a kid looking to be close enough yet far enough to their DMV home. If the latter, many other options exist.

[Anonymous]

Bucknell isn't in the Lehigh Valley but it's a highly regarded rural PA school with a fun, outgoing student body and lively campus vibe. It also sends a ton of graduates to The Street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks, if depressed PA urban areas are your thing, then look at Lehigh Valley colleges.

I consider their locations the worst of both worlds. They are located in depressed, small cities with little to do for a college kid (and even next to nothing right by the campus). Crime doesn't really touch the campuses...but it is not far away.

The reason I would pick Lehigh is that it actually has a bunch of stuff going on, even if that is lots of fraternity parties or what not. It is much larger than the other schools, which adds to its appeal. Downtown Bethlehem is quaint for 50 year old couples for a nice weekend around the holidays (which is maybe why parents like it)...but again, not much for 18-22 year olds.

There are so many college options in dynamic or quaint or interesting places. I just don't see the appeal of Lehigh Valley schools.

I wouldn’t say that the location is an attraction, but I also don’t think kids should be isolated from what normal American life is. My kid has grown up in a blue collar part of the DMV, but he goes to a private school and also sees a lot of very wealthy families/neighborhoods. I’d absolutely appreciate him spending four years in a place so different from home.

I went to college in Boston. I rarely left campus. We did go to the movies occasionally or to a bagel joint. Everything I needed was on campus, and Boston was just immaterial. People are different and need different things but at least for my family an upscale suburb or city isn’t one of them.

This is one of the stranger brags I have read. You went to college in Boston...and you never left campus except to go to a bagel shop? That sounds very sad and a waste of four years in a pretty cool place for someone 18-22.

+1

[Anonymous]

These comments are seriously outdated. There is a TON of stuff going on at Lehigh/Bethlehem/Allentown. Bethlehem has a thriving arts community, good restaurants, breweries. Lehigh has very active clubs and life outside of Greek, deep traditions and alumni involvement. Of course not every school is for every kid, but that's more about fit than anything. If you have an engaged/outgoing kid (there are a lot of type A kids there), it's totally fine. If you expect some social llife to be handed out on the first day, then it won't really work out. But there are so many opps to meet people. Compared to my other dd who went to school in a big city - it was extremely difficult to find friends and a sense of community. So, yes - it's wonderful for a kid who is more independent and would rather do things outside of college life. There's a school for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These comments are seriously outdated. There is a TON of stuff going on at Lehigh/Bethlehem/Allentown. Bethlehem has a thriving arts community, good restaurants, breweries. Lehigh has very active clubs and life outside of Greek, deep traditions and alumni involvement. Of course not every school is for every kid, but that's more about fit than anything. If you have an engaged/outgoing kid (there are a lot of type A kids there), it's totally fine. If you expect some social llife to be handed out on the first day, then it won't really work out. But there are so many opps to meet people. Compared to my other dd who went to school in a big city - it was extremely difficult to find friends and a sense of community. So, yes - it's wonderful for a kid who is more independent and would rather do things outside of college life. There's a school for everyone.

This is good to hear before we head back in a couple of weeks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured and DC loved Lehigh. Liked the midsize (they are rare), beautiful campus and the overall vibe. We stayed at Hotel Bethlehem and I didn’t understand the gripes people had about Bethlehem…it wasn’t Darien, CT but it was fine. We also toured Lafayette and I thought the campus was quaint and it would be a great place to go to school. DC vetoed it because it’s small.

People gripe about South Bethlehem, which is adjacent to Lehigh’s campus. There is a bit of crime there, unfortunately, and sometimes the undesirables make their way to campus or Lehigh kids become affected. Kids from the DMV would be nonplussed, but if you are from a sleepy little town with no crime, it might be a concern.

That word does not mean what you think it means

It has multiple meanings, Poindexter.