<p>i’d attend columbia over lehigh bschool, and i think my reasoning has a lot to do with the high expectations i place on myself and my desire to be part of a very rigorous, intense and yet supportive environment.</p>
<p>lehigh is very much a regional school that doesn’t have a lot of connections or clout outside of the mid-atlantic, and doesn’t quite penetrate NYC that well.coming from allentown, i know you probably know the school well because it is a big deal there, but it doesn’t have that much clout outside, you have to admit that.</p>
<p>ultimately, columbia even at 10k a year is a great option if it is financially feasible (wont drive you or your family into bankruptcy). and 40k over 4 yrs is rather reasonable considering the benefits. </p>
<p>there are two so called schools of thought - first is that it doesn’t matter where you attend, it is what you do with it; and second that where you attend matters. in general the first only applies either among comparable schools, or for individuals that perhaps have more regional desires (like you don’t care what you do in life, want to stay in NE PA, then Lehigh free is a fine choice, means you have no expenses). </p>
<p>But there is a big jump in terms of a) quality of your peers, b) quantity of opportunities, between Lehigh to Columbia that I’d say paying a bit is worth it unquestionably. Columbia, however, caters toward the ‘ivy-minded’ student, someone who wants to push barriers in some capacity, if even working in a parochial setting, they have wider ambitions (challenging status quo, developing new technologies, accumulating wealth). Columbia prepares you in that frame of thinking, and also provides you the network to make good on that.</p>
<p>For someone that wants to just live a classic americana lifestyle (kids, job, dog) and perhaps regionally focused - for them it is harder to determine whether or not it is worth the cost. It is not to say those students don’t go to an ivy, nor do they appreciate the education, but in that case going to an ivy is not ‘necessary,’ but more of an extra.</p>