Greater name recognition: Lehigh, Lafayette, Dickinson, Bucknell?
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Anonymous
Not really. No one from my high school class (and I went to GS 2 HS in rural NC with W AP classes with fewer than 10 kids in each) went outside NC for college. Zero students. The class ahead of me one student went to GE. More kids enlisted than went to college. And many more went to work in the textile factories. We had one Duke, one Davidson, one Wake Forest, a handful go to UNC and the rest went to non-flagship NC state schools. I had an affluent friend who probably had undosagnosed learning disabilities who went to Guilford. No one suggested I could leave the state, so I never looked at OOS schools without a brand name, especially outside the South, where I live. That makes me like 90% of Americans. If you want name recognition, here it is. Most Americans have not heard of these schools unless they live near them. Now that I’ve done a college search, I realize that Lehigh is a great school and not at all an easy admission and our babysitter had indeed done very well. And Dickerson can be a great fit for the right kid who is a solid hard worker, but not a superstar. I’m also the person who said if you know you know. It doesn’t matter if random people in the rural South have heard of these schools. It matters if they fit your kid’s academic profile, if it’s a good fit, and if the schools has a good placement record in your kids area of interest. Most people don’t dissect the USNWR, especially the liberal arts colleges, unless they have a high performing kid and live in an area where it’s common and accepted for kids to go to college more than a couple of hours from home. They don’t care and you don’t need to impress them. |
Anonymous
| Do not recalling hearing anything at all about these schools. Crickets. |
Anonymous
My cousin was an Iacocca scholar at Lehigh from MD back in the 90s |
Anonymous
| I would put Lehigh above and Dickinson significantly below. I had a lot of HS peers who went to these schools. Not saying that reflects what the schools are now but just in terms of name recognition to someone my age (40). |
Anonymous
I am the PP and wanted to add we called Farleigh Dickinson "fairly ridiculous." No idea why, truly. This was at an NJ private school where that was probably the midrange target of many kids. |
Anonymous
| Dickinson and Fairleigh Dickinson are two different schools. 😭 |
Anonymous
Just clarifying that Dickinson and Fairleigh Dickinson are different, and you weren’t the only ones calling it that. I have multiple family members who went to Lehigh, and I’m trying not to be biased but I think it’s first on this list, mainly due to size. Then Bucknell, then Lafayette, then Dickinson. |
Anonymous
How many people under 40 have even heard of Lee Iacocca? |
Anonymous
Ha!!! Sorry I'm that PP and I didn't know that! Are they both in PA? I already knew my comment was kinda dumb but now I feel even dumber 
But per the "name recognition" Q - I don't think this pt helps Dickinson. |
Anonymous
The irony of this post |
Anonymous
| I'd say Lehigh as it more closely resembles a university than the others—larger, grad programs, etc. Otherwise I think Bucknell > Lafayette > Dickinson. Dickinson seems to be a bit in decline recently, lower enrolment, slightly increasing acceptance rate |
Anonymous
I don’t think that’s true…and I have no fig in this fight but I recently visited Dickinson and it’s not a top choice for my DC for various reasons but I was really impressed. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
|
One should not attend any of these schools if name recognition is an important factor.
This thread is almost as sad as the folks who insist on using the acronym SLAC when describing their favorite LAC. |
Anonymous
| I think Lefadicknell is much more prestigious and well known |