Son wants to visit Bucknell, Lafayette and Lehigh. Would welcome any experience with either of the three schools and how they might compare/contrast. He would likely be a econ/finance and history double major.
Thank you!
Bucknell is in a very rural area and somewhat difficult to reach if you aren’t driving there, Lafayette and Lehigh are outside of Philadelphia and not far from NYC, so he’d have access to cities, airports, etc. Lehigh is a midsized school, Lafayette is much smaller, but both beautiful campuses.
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I can only comment on Lehigh since my son is a freshman there. The town of Bethlehem is super cute. If you visit the downtown area there are lots of restaurants and shops. There are also restaurants and a small grocery store within walking distance of campus. We really like a student favorite sandwich shop just off campus called The Goose. You should get something to eat there while visiting.
My son has never been happier. He absolutely loves Lehigh, has made tons of friends, started a literary club and got himself a girlfriend too! 
He said “I love it here. I live in a castle with all of my friends.” He is not involved in Greek life although many students are - but most are not.
The campus is unbelievably beautiful, the chapel and the library are a sight to behold (definitely go INSIDE). There is a new business building that is very nice, modern but it’s still cool. My son is a finance major, and finance is very well known at Lehigh, their outcomes are really good. I would say a finance/history dbl major would be very doable.
The campus is on a mountainside. So, the drawback is that there are TONS of stairs. The joke is that you will have great legs after 4 years at Lehigh. I would add great lungs too. But the students get used to them quickly and it doesn’t seem to bother them. They are probably all in better shape when they graduate, honestly. The school is very fun, very welcoming and the students there seem to be having a blast. It’s a work hard, play hard environment.
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We toured Bucknell and Lehigh with my daughter, albeit for a different major. As noted, Bucknell is in a very rural, small town setting and is small. Personally I love Bucknell and it was my second choice school for myself when I was applying to college back in the stone ages. My D though it was beautiful and was fine with the location, but it’s small and she felt that there wouldn’t be enough depth for her major. It also has a big Greek participation.
Lehigh she loved. One of the most beautiful campuses I’ve ever seen. It’s in the town of Bethlehem which we all enjoyed so doesn’t feel isolated in the same way that Bucknell does. My daughter was intrigued by the entrepreneurship minor there. Students seemed friendly and engaged, academic but not cutthroat.
We didn’t have Lafayette on the list but know a current student who is having a great experience.
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All three have beautiful campuses. As others have said, Bucknell is more rural and more difficult to get to. Lafayette is in Easton and Lehigh is in Bethlehem- both small towns. Easton and Bethlehem are about 1 hr and 20 minutes to downtown Philly. While Lehigh and Lafayette are not known for generous merit, they both have merit-based scholarships for top students. Bucknell recently changed their merit scholarship structure. There used to be Presidential Scholarships but those have ended (last class was 2028). Now there will be scholarships from the individual schools within the university. I am not sure what that looks like.
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All three are strong schools with respect to academics and job placement.
Lots of finance pros from Lehigh.
Colgate University in New York might be another school to consider if you like Bucknell, Lehigh, and Lafayette.
Of the three, Lafayette is the smallest (2800) and the one that is most in the mold of a traditional small liberal arts college. This means that an Econ/Finance major will be studying Econ as a social science and not so much from a business POV. In contrast, Lehigh (5600) and Bucknell (3800) both have business schools, so they are better choices for someone who wants the business perspective and is intending to pursue that track.
Just to note a small detail . . . Something that is unusual about all 3 of these colleges is that all 3 are pretty close to a 50:50 split in male:female ratio. Lafayette is exactly 50:50. Lehigh is 53:47 male:female and Bucknell is 47:53 male:female.
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My D is a graduate of Lafayette College but we did look at these three schools. D wanted a LAC with a strong STEM program. (And FWIW she was quick to dismiss schools that didn’t strike her.)
– Bucknell – She felt the location was remote and was a bit put off by the school’s reputation of being heavily Greek. That said, I know students who love the school.
–Lehigh – H and I pushed D into visiting one mid-sized university. Lehigh’s campus is gorgeous, we know students who have had good experiences there, and it was close to other schools were were visiting on our PA swing. In all honesty, D didn’t give Lehigh a fair chance as she really wanted to attend a LAC. But definitely worth a visit – especially with your son’s interest in business.
Lafayette – My D had a fantastic experience at Lafayette in every respect. Great friends, outstanding academics, developed relationships with a number of professors, had many opportunities to do research (and was published in a peer reviewed journal), easy to get involved in ECs, lovely campus, etc. IMO Lafayette has found that secret formula where students are challenged academically but still have time for other activities. I expect other schools have a similar balance, but for D Lafayette was a great fit. Feel free to PM me if you want more information about her experience. As noted by others above, Lafayette does not have a business school so I’d suggest your son look at the curriculum for an undergraduate b-school and an economics major – there are notable differences in coursework.
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