We toured both Lafayette and Lehigh. DC didn’t care for Lafayette at all- too small, kids seemed less mainstream, etc. It also seemed like every kid was from NJ or PA burbs or Long Island. Or that is at least how the tour guide described it. DC surprisingly really liked Lehigh - had an awesome tour guide, the facilities were really nice and the kids seemed normal and happy.

Anonymous wrote:Toured both last summer (DH graduated from Lafayette in 90s). Both my kids preferred Lafayette because of the friendly, confident students. Both complained about the Lehigh hills too, which aren't really THAT bad. I found Lehigh to be beautiful.

Well, the hills are not welcoming and that can be the deal breaker for those deciding between these two schools. If Engineering, choose Lehigh over the other one tho.

what is dark academia?

Toured both last summer (DH graduated from Lafayette in 90s). Both my kids preferred Lafayette because of the friendly, confident students. Both complained about the Lehigh hills too, which aren't really THAT bad. I found Lehigh to be beautiful.

Anonymous wrote:We just toured Lehigh this past weekend. Have to admit that we like to Lafayette’s campus much more and we’re pretty underwhelmed with Lehigh.DD thought that having the entire campus at a slant was really disconcerting. Plus, all of the students looked fairly stressed and unhappy. We were hoping that it would be a fit, but I think it is relegated to the maybe category only because of the schools reputation and strong engineering. Not sure she would even consider it otherwise.Surprisingly, she loved Lafayette, even though it is much smaller than what she is hoping for.

It is. It's bad driving around on it too.

^^this has been my kid’s experience

there’s alot to like with these second tier schools - and i don’t mean that disparagingly, I mean the tier behind ivy+. Kids are a bit more relaxed, prioritize fun and social aspects, have great professors and quality of education, and have great placement with very loyal alumni - swarthmore may open a couple more doors initially , but i’m sure 10 years out most outcomes are pretty similar

Anonymous wrote:We just toured Lehigh this past weekend. Have to admit that we like to Lafayette’s campus much more and we’re pretty underwhelmed with Lehigh.DD thought that having the entire campus at a slant was really disconcerting. Plus, all of the students looked fairly stressed and unhappy. We were hoping that it would be a fit, but I think it is relegated to the maybe category only because of the schools reputation and strong engineering. Not sure she would even consider it otherwise.Surprisingly, she loved Lafayette, even though it is much smaller than what she is hoping for.

We went to Lehigh and Lafayette open houses last Fall. Agree with you. The other thing we noticed at Lehigh was that even though it was a weekend and college was in session, there didn't seem to be many students around, it was mostly potential students. Maybe the actual students hide in their dorms on open house days? In contrast, lots of kids were around on the Lafayette campus.

Lehigh and Lafayette good schools both in Patriot League .

^^really enjoy the culture (typing too quickly)

My kid is a sophomore at Lehigh and loves it. They work hard academically, play a club sport, participate in a couple clubs, and participate in Greek life. They are always busy and really the culture, despite the steep campus.

3 kids with many friends at both Lehigh and Lafayette

Lehigh has the better reputation and stronger alumni base, both place evenly, and Lafayette kids have more fun / are nicer on a whole

Anonymous wrote:We just toured Lehigh this past weekend. Have to admit that we like to Lafayette’s campus much more and we’re pretty underwhelmed with Lehigh.DD thought that having the entire campus at a slant was really disconcerting. Plus, all of the students looked fairly stressed and unhappy. We were hoping that it would be a fit, but I think it is relegated to the maybe category only because of the schools reputation and strong engineering. Not sure she would even consider it otherwise.Surprisingly, she loved Lafayette, even though it is much smaller than what she is hoping for.

I believe that you toured during midterms so it makes sense that the kids may have looked a bit stressed. My daughter is a first year there - she is working hard but is very happy with the school, fwiw. We didn't see her as the type of kid that this board believes Lehigh is full of. She is not much into Greek life or much of a partier at all. She has found a nice group of friends through club sports, music, and her first year peers. As far as the 'slanted' campus goes - fair point. You can build strong glutes or take the bus.

That said, I was hoping my daughter would like Lafayette but she found it to be a little too small for her tastes.

Chacun a son gout I guess.

We just toured Lehigh this past weekend. Have to admit that we like to Lafayette’s campus much more and we’re pretty underwhelmed with Lehigh.DD thought that having the entire campus at a slant was really disconcerting. Plus, all of the students looked fairly stressed and unhappy. We were hoping that it would be a fit, but I think it is relegated to the maybe category only because of the schools reputation and strong engineering. Not sure she would even consider it otherwise.Surprisingly, she loved Lafayette, even though it is much smaller than what she is hoping for.

Just made an "unofficial" campus visit this weekend. Despite 90+ degrees, walking straight up a mountainside (no idea!), DS and I were pleasantly surprised. Beautiful. Think it's now on the list. No issues with the town of Bethlehem. Has some character!