lehigh does not have national name recog (i'm from, pa, lived out west, no one knows lehigh out west).

however if your daughter does well at lehigh, it defnitely will open doors to finance and consulting in nyc and boston that jmu wouldn't.

Lehigh network on wall street is very decent.

I am originally from the Lehigh Valley area and love that part of PA, so I have a bias in that direction.
To me, the big difference between the two is that your daughter is likely to encounter more people like her at JMU, and more people very unlike her at Lehigh. Both have positive and negative aspects. If she wants college to really expand her horizons, I think Lehigh would serve her well. If that isn't what she's looking for in a college experience, then it might not be worth the cost. To me, at least, that is the big difference.

Anonymous wrote:If money is no issue- Lehigh.

This. 100% this.

JMU has a great business school, and has excellent connections with major employers in Metro DC and the Richmond area. It also manages to maintain a personal feel, despite its size.

No knock on Lehigh whatsoever, but does it really have a national reputation?

If money is no issue- Lehigh.

Lehigh ... Hahaha. You must be kidding if you think it has much name recognition.

Funny - I went to JMU and my spouse to Lehigh. I loved my college experience; his was lukewarm. While a larger university, at JMU, I had close relationships with several faculty member and he did not. Cost was a factor for me; for him it was not.
Chaos here. Too crowded. Getting a cold ?
I agree with PP, if she wantts to work in NYC and cost is not a major factor, Lehigh is probably the better option.

End the end of the day, IMO both are great options. By the way, we both ended up at the same elite firm after graduation.

^ Yes

Anonymous wrote:One has national name recognition. The other, regional at best.

Surely you're not saying Lehigh has "national name recognition"?

JMU has been a wonderful experience for my son, who is not a Business major. He truly has never seemed happier. His classes are very interesting and he's made some terrific friends. We're happy that the school isn't too far from NoVA, and of course, in-state tuition is great. Excellent internship opportunities in DC, and study abroad programs. Beautiful main campus.

JMU has a higher rated business program than Lehigh. No way Lehigh is worth the money vs JMU for business.

One has national name recognition. The other, regional at best.

Kind of an apples to oranges comparison. Lehigh is more selective and has a 10 to 1 student/faculty ratio. Forbes ranks it 77th, versus JMU at 188th. JMU much larger, student faculty ratio of 16 to 1. JMU has an endowment of $78 million. Lehigh has an endowment of $1 billion. Lehigh has much more history.

I would say a big factor would also be where you want to end up after college. If you have hopes for NYC then Lehigh would be a much better choice. JMU is bigger, less personal, and operating on a shoestring by comparison. But the Business program is a JMU strength with excellent placement in the DC area.


Suggest go to Lehigh if the cost isn't going to cause family commotion. It's got more flexibility to create options after college. But for a large, inexpensive school JMU provides a very good education and not far away. Good luck.

DD can't decide between the two....and the cost of Lehigh seems astronomical in comparison. She is interested in Business and both seem well regarded-what are other parents' thoughts? We are in VA BTW...